Tapping Expatriate Talents

1
Tapping Expatriate Talents

• To Help Creation of Centers of Excellence in
  Islamic Countries

2
Brain Drain Started from mid-eighties in Indian
subcontinent

• Ministry of non-resident Pakistan (NRP)
• Ministry of non-resident India (NRI)
• Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas
  Employment, Govt. of Bangladesh. While the
  objective of the NRP and NRI are more or less on
  the same line, the one of Bangladesh is different
  and aimed at helping Bangladeshis to get
  employment and deal with matters relating to
  their welfare. Website address Click here.

• Ministry of non-resident Pakistan (NRP)
• Ministry of non-resident India (NRI)
• Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas
  Employment, Govt. of Bangladesh. While the
  objective of the NRP and NRI are more or less on
  the same line, the one of Bangladesh is different
  and aimed at helping Bangladeshis to get
  employment and deal with matters relating to
  their welfare. Website address Click here.

3
How are the objectives of Bangladeshi Ministry
different from NRP and NRI?

• The Ministry in Bangladesh trains people for jobs
  overseas to generate foreign exchange through
  remittance inflow.
• The aim of NRP and NRI is to create educational
  talent pools so that prominent academicians
  working overseas can come to their respective
  country and teach at different universities for a
  limited time in multitude of fields in science,
  medicine, engineering, advanced technology etc.

4
Majority of expatriates love to serve their
country, if given opportunity

• If proper environment is created, the majority
  will serve their country at least part time on a
  specific assignment.
• Towards achievement of that goal, a Ministry of
  non-resident nationals be created in Islamic
  counties where such a functionary does not exist
  more or less as it exists in Pakistan.

5
How to motivate the Governments to establish such
a Ministry of non-resident nationals

• Unfortunately Majority of Islamic countries do
  not look upon the scientific bodies of the
  respective country for advice on important
  matters vital to the economy of the country.
• Unlike developed countries, learned bodies in
  Bangladesh e.g. BAS, BAAS, mono-disciplinary
  organizations have no voice in shaping the
  scientific policies of the Government. Sometimes
  they consult individual scientists and their
  opinion may or may not influence the decision of
  the Govt.

6
Let us compare the role of Public between some
Asian countries

• For six weeks the Indian biotechnology policy
  was posted on the website of the concerned
  department inviting public opinion including
  industry representatives, academia, NGOs.
• 300 responses were obtained of which majority
  came from students. These suggestions were
  incorporated These suggestions were incorporated.
• In Bangladesh the document was published without
  referring it to public. At this stage GNOBB
  intervened.

7
What is GNOBB? It stands for Global Network of
Bangladeshi Biotechnologists

• Some Bangladeshi scientists approached the author
  whether a website linking the activities of
  Bangladeshi biotechnologists could be launched.
  This was in July 2004.
• Two months later October witnessed the birth of
  the Website under the name GNOBB www.gnobb.org
  with the following objectives.

8
Objectives of GNOBB

• Establish contact/liaison with fellow
  brothers/sisters working in the same biotech
  field.
• To create a database (a) listing both local and
  expatriate biotech scientists alphabetically both
  by their last and first names with their CV (b)
  provide a search engine to help the browser both
  in the government and private sectors find out
  the number of scientists working in a particular
  field.

9
How does search engine work?

• Suppose the browser wants to know the number of
  BB working in various facets of cancer research.
• What he/she should do?
• Go to GNOBB homepage and place your cursor in the
  right hand blank box underneath, Search
  Scientist.
• Write the word, cancer if you want to know how
  many are working in this vitally important area.
• And Click, GO below the Search Engine Box.
• Search results reveal names of eleven scientists,
  each with a link.
• Click the link and you will know the details of
  the scientist of your choice.

10
Let us choose a name of an active scientist in
cancer research

• The first name is Dr. Zaheed Husain, Assistant
  Professor, Pathology, Harvard Medical School,
  working on cancer immunology (human)
• Another name in the list is of Dr. Altaf Hossain
  Sarker, working on DNA repair in cancer affected
  cells.
• So you can scan all the names and choose the
  scientist who comes nearest to your requirement.

11
Advantages of such a list

• Such a list will help the Government prepare a
  scheme in any sector such as health, agriculture,
  bio-fuel, bio-fertilizer, bio-safety, IPR etc.
  by inviting its own expatriates.
• Expatriates will not only do a better job because
  of his familiarity with the local conditions
  compared to a foreign national but do it at one
  fraction of the cost.

12
Why has the site become popular?

• It publishes CV of each forum member with a
  passport size photo.
• It highlights the achievements of the scholar
  including the award(s) and their future plans
  and a list of their five important publications.
• It publishes their views on important biotech
  issues publicizes their academic activity
  e.g., seminars, they give while they are in
  Bangladesh.

13
Recognition of the media by news Media and the
Government of Bangladesh

• Prothom-Alo, one of leading Bangla Dailies
  adjudged GNOBB to be the best science
  organization of the year 2004-2005
• It expressed the hope that this Forum would enter
  into a dialog with the GOB to bring the announced
  National Biotechnology Policy internationally
  competitive.

14
Response of GNOBB to News Media and to Forum
members

• GNOBB responded to the call of its members and
  public by arranging two workshops one in December
  and another in April to discuss in depth the
  following
• Establishment of National Commission of
  Biotechnology and outlining its function as a
  supreme body to overview all issues pertaining to
  biotechnology in the country.

15
Partnership between NIB, private and public
universities, industries

• To create better salary structure in order to
  attract Bangladeshi nationals from abroad,
• To create better infrastructure for mol biol.
  research including field stations.
• proposition for partnership with NGOs like
  BRAC, pharmaceutical industries etc. to be
  considered.

16
Establishment of Millennium Institute for
biotechnology

• To discuss in depth as to how to take advantage
  of the favorable climate in favor of establishing
  Millennium Institute for biotechnology.
• Discuss ways and means as to how to convince the
  Government to approach TWAS and The World Bank
  for a loan available for this purpose.

17
Cost of running such a website

• The cost is only 500 a year which include (if
  this is done on a voluntary basis as it is run by
  the author)
• Hiring of a domain,
• Hiring of a webmaster just for design and
  maintaining backup files,
• Cost of Internet Service Provider.

18
Message of the article

• Web page such as GNOBB has been able to create a
  network of nearly 200 biotechnologists, working
  all over the world with database and search
  engine.
• Has been able to influence the policy decision of
  the Government which until now ignored the
  opinion of the learned bodies of Bangladesh.

19
Message of the Article (contd.)

• Provided inspiration to the university students
  to form their own group of biotechnologists
  (Yahoo Group of BB). They now derive inspiration
  from expatriates and try to follow their examples
  to acquire cutting edge knowledge in multitude
  fields of biotechnology.
• Help local universities, research organizations
  by providing them the itinerary of the visits of
  expatriates to Bangladesh based on which a number
  of seminar talks have already been organized both
  in the capital city and outside.

20
My Appeal to Fellows

• Pl consider launching websites on the line as
  suggested by my presentation.
• If GNOBB can achieve for weaving biotech
  community into one solid forum, chances are that
  you can achieve similar success.
• By doing so, you may be able to discover and
  mobilize the great expatriate resources for the
  promotion and development of ST in your own
  country.

21
IAS may help OIC countries in launching such
websites

• If consensus is reached about the benefit and
  impact that such a website can generate, IAS may
  consider helping the Islamic countries desirous
  of launching such websites by providing them
  expertise.
• It might prove to be a powerful weapon for
  mobilizing expatriate forces and utilize them in
  the service of their respective country, as well
  as inspire the young scientists that some of
  their countrymen are known worldwide for their
  outstanding scientific contributions.