On the Issues and Problems of Scientific Research in the Arab World

1
On the Issues and Problems of Scientific
Research in the Arab World

• Bibliotheca Alexandrina
• Reporting Session
• 15 November 2006
• Rafik Nakhla

2
Building a Better Future

• The urgency to promote worldwide science and
  technology capacity
• Science, technology, and society
• Expanding human resources
• Creating world-class research institutions
• Engaging the public and private sectors
• Targeted funding of research and training efforts
• Inter Academy Council 2004

3
The urgency to promote worldwide science and
technology capacity

• The world is changing at a rapid pace, driven by
  science an technology
• Business-as-usual will leave an ever-growing gap
  between have and have-not nations
• Local ST capacity is essential for using and
  contributing to the worlds valuable store of
  knowledge
• Universities have an essential role to play in
  building ST capacities
• The culture and values of science are critical
  for building a global community
• Investments in science and technology are
  increasingly important for economic growth
• Building capacity in agriculture, engineering,
  health, and the social sciences is essential for
  national development
• Inter Academy Council 2004

4
Scientific Research

• What is Research?
• Research is
• A pursuit for an answer driven by a specific
  question or idea
• It requires a clear goal
• It follows a specific course of action
• It is realistic in its assumptions
• It is performed by qualified personal
• Research is not
• Just information gathering
• Rearranging of facts
• A sales pitch.
• Good Research is based on several pillars
• Vision
• Strategy
• Human Resources
• Logistics

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Research

• The priority of Research should be directed to
  solving problems of society rather than
  publishing.

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Key words

• Human Resources Human Capital
• Centers of excellence
• Virtual centers
• Mission Research
• Involving society
• Political will
• Sustainable political support
• Lobbying for science
• ST policies

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Problems of Research

• Absence of scientific research potentials.
• Absence of time required for the scientific
  research.
• Absence of funding organizations.
• Absence of societal benefits from scientific
  research.
• Absence of enough appreciation of research from
  society.
• Absence of association between the scientific
  research the scientific problems.
• Absence of scientific libraries scientific
  references
• Absence of international collaboration
  experience exchange.
• Plagiarism
• Reward not based on merit for researchers
  regardless of work

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The State of Arab World

• Rising needs of the educational scientific
  institutes
• Untapped Accumulated knowledge in science and
  technology
• NO use is made from what civilizations have
  produced
• Development will not be sustained without making
  use of available technological
• Sluggish transformation in the arab world
• Huge gap between Arab World and developed world

9
Obstacles for Research in Arab World

• Industry
• Turn key approach
• Government- Political
• Absence of will
• Research Entity Academic
• Fragmented, uncoordinated
• Education
• kids are trained to be workers not researchers
• Economic
• Shortage of fund acquisition
• Administrative
• Management of scientific research,
• policies
• Social
• Society not oriented to science

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Questions

• Are scientists doing the right job in approaching
  the society?
• Are they creating a positive image with the
  society?

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• We need
• Capacity buildings not technology transfer
• Motivate people to invest in RD
• Create a data base for researcher collaboration
• Better marketing policy for universities

12
Problems in Education

• Education became competition
• Memorization not understanding
• Addiction to play stations
• Students are used to short working hours
• Students are used to short spans of concentration

13
Learning

• Advancement of learning is based on
• Discovery
• Integration
• Application
• Teaching

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Imperatives

• There is nothing that can be done without human
  resources.
• Quality is doing what we want to do in the
  future.
• There must be a lobby for science, there must be
  local, national, international policies, there
  must be implementation and follow-up.
• There must be positive attitude.

15
Successful Models

• India
• China
• Korea
• Finland
• Europe
• RAE in UK

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Successful Models

• China India
• Courageous political will to create a two tier
  approach to development
• Creation of networked centers of excellence
• Formulation of national priorities that place a
  premium on human resource development
• Building research capability by offering to out
  source industrial research
• Nokia product design in India
• Motorola research in China
• Boeing RD in India
• Leveraging off shoring to enhance local RD
  capability

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Interrelationship between educational and
economic development
Phase of education and training
Saemaul Undong
Adult literacy campaign
Universal primary education
Universal Secondary education
Mass higher education
Can Do spirit
1945 1950 1960
1970
Phase of manpower supply
Skilled work force
Knowledge work force
Literate and manually skilled work force
Semi-skilled work force
Phase of economic development
INDUSTRIALIZATION
POST INDUSTRIALIZATION
TRADITIONAL INDUSTRY
IT,BT,CT, ET,NT Services e business
Capital intensive heavy and chemical industries
High technology/ knowledge intensive industries
Agriculture
Labor intensive industries

• Source Kwak 2003

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Finland

• Exports of Finnish high tech products totalled
  0.9 billion euros in 2001
• 21 of total exports of goods

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The European revival

• Acceptance of the value of new research models
  that stress partnerships, alliance and networks
• Networking resources and focusing them in
  thematic ways
• Working together on a common concern,
  strengthening each others research and
  communications capacity
• Increasing investment in RDT so as to approach 3
  of GDP by the end of the decade (of which two
  thirds should be from the private sector).

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The European revival

• FP7 (2007-2013) Based on nine themes
• Health
• Food, agriculture and biotechnology
• Information and communication technologies
• Nanosciences and nanotechnologies, materials and
  new production technologies
• Energy
• Environment (including climate change)
• Transport (including aeronautics)
• Socio-economic sciences and the humanities
• Security and Space
• Emphasis on cross-thematic research

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RAE

• The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is a
  periodic national exercise which assesses the
  quality of research.
• The information used for the selective
  distribution of public funds for research by the
  Institutes of Higher Education funding bodies.
• 1986, 1989, 1992, 1996, 2001, 2008

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The Way Forward for the Arab World

• Improving incentives for technology generation,
  access, and use
• Pooling scientific resources
• Formulating a region wide science agenda
• Creating centers of excellence (Including
  Virtual)
• Building multidisciplinary networks
• Focus on Quality rather than Quantity
• Transmitters and receptors (Basic research
  /Adaptive research)
• Efficient use of funds
• Marketing science scientific discoveries

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The Way Forward for the Arab World

• Building a top quality Sustainable research
  critical mass
• Creating an enabling research environment
• Improving the educational system to engender
• Initiative taking/ creativity
• Team working
• Integrity and Pride
• Critical thinking

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• Arabs are capable of advancing through
• Real institutions that use real talents
• Political system
• Plan ST correctly

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An Important Question

• In the absence of decision makers how can we
  achieve what we aspire to?

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The road ahead

• Two tracks
• Short term
• Product oriented research
• Creation of institutes
• Responding to the immediate needs of society
• Centers of excellence
• Long term
• Establishing vision
• Establishing strategic plan
• Mission research

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A Product Based Research Project

• Drug research based on Natural Flora Screening
• In Vitro assessment of bioactivity using new
  methods based on cell cultures

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Centers of Excellence

• Dedicated Brain-Power Centers
• Thematic with several programs
• Strong Leadership
• Unique competences - State of the art
  instrumentations
• Central Facilities (National/Arab-wide)
• Strong International collaborations
• Have commercialization strategies (SME,
  incubators, etc.)
• Human resource development and training

On the Issues and Problems of Scientific Research
in the Arab World, Alex 14-15, 2006
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Center of Excellences

• The Indian Experience IITs
• Bilkent University (Ankara)
• KOC University (Istanbul).
• Central Metal RD Institute (Helwan)
• AGERI, ARC (Giza)
• Marmara Research Center (Istanbul)
• European institute of technology EIT (2008-2013
  budget of up to 2.4 billion euros)

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Virtual Centers of Excellence

• Quick and fast establishment
• Dynamic
• Sharing resources
• Defined programs
• Geographically concentrated
• Strongly networked

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World Production of Information

• Nearly 900,000 titles are published yearly
• 73.6 published in developed countries
• In relation to population it is 101 in
  industrialized vs. developing countries

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Responsibilities of the Research Library

• Pooling and preserving the evidence of research
  through a deliberate process.
• Adding value through services that enable the
  discovery and use of resources within and across
  disciplines.

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The Publishing Dilemma

• The availability of recognized scientific
  magazines is important.
• Created in 1993 Gulf Arabian Scientific Journal
  is an example
• Another dilemma Publish or patent?

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Finance

• Financing is Necessary but not Sufficient
• Suggested Sources
• Current budgets for educational scholarships
• Budgets of existing research centers
• Research budgets of various industrial
  government organizations in the region
• Imposed RD allocation on Industry ()
• Allocation commitment from government
• Foreign research foundations
• Private endowments

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Support Institute

• Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
• Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Science

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Support Institute

• Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Science
• A private Organization created to support
  research and technology
• To Support scientific advancement that helps
  build society to be able to cope with scientific
  innovation
• It receives 1 of profit from 1000 Kuwaiti
  corporations
• Supported 630 research projects
• Provided 71 Million US
• Issued 207 publications
• Translates Scientific American

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The 7 (5) Recommendations

• Establish National Research Foundations
• Promote Mission Research and abandon the notion
  of doing everything
• Establish a QUALIFIED think-tank team to steer
  societies toward national interests
• Revolutionize the education system to meet
  national interests
• Establish an effective technology transfer system
• Sustainable political will to support research
  innovation
• Effective research management

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Recommendations

• Link science to the Society
• Focusing on other fields of science
• Acquiring management of technology and science
  competences

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Recommendations

• Developing Human resources and Infrastructure
• Improving the administrative and economic
  frameworks
• Increasing funds
• Improving education, training and evaluation
• Create an environment that encourages RD
• Unifying and tying research to national needs
• Improving information and communication
• Introducing a mechanism to link research to the
  industrial sector

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Recommendations

• The creation of an Arab Science Research Forum
  hosted by BA
• The creation of an Arab Research Fund

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Thank You