Formation of startups and new companies
Commercial exploitation of science, technology, and novelty
System of laws, regulations, strategies, and funding priorities
Discovery and creation of new knowledge of the natural world
Application of new knowledge towards useful social ends
By: Hazem Badr
Published on SciDev.Net on 18 January 2012
[CAIRO] Scientists have been reflecting on the astonishing gains that the Egyptian revolution has delivered them, as the first anniversary of Egypt’s Tahrir Square uprising approaches next week (25 January).
Over the past year, the science budget has increased by more than a third, salaries have risen and plans have been made for a science and technology city.
“Change has begun on both financial and administrative levels,” Maged El-Sherbiny, president of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (the government body responsible for funding research in Egypt), told SciDev.Net.
All the research centres affiliated to different ministries will be gathered under the Supreme Council of Research Centers, and the scientific research budget, which jumped 35 per cent in 2011−12, is likely to increase in 2012−13, said El-Sherbiny, with a government target of one per cent of gross domestic product to be spent on science.
The sharp increase in funding stems from a widespread perception that investment in science is crucial for the future of Egypt.
Ashraf Shaalan, president of the National Research Centre (NRC) ―the largest research centre in Egypt ― said that this surge of national fervour for science, as well as increased funding, had motivated Egypt’s scientists.
For example, it has sparked interest in getting research published in international journals, he said. Output rose by a quarter to about 2,000 in 2011, he claimed.
The NRC won about US$13 million from the National Science and Technology Fund in 2011 to fund 80 research projects, he said. But, despite salary rises, the centre lost 400 researchers in the brain drain last year, especially to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The private sector has not fared so well post-revolution. The Nile University, the first private non-profit research university in Egypt, came under threat because of links to the former fallen regime. The university had moved into new accommodation just before the revolution and was then told by the new government to move out because they were on government land.
“Such stumbles are expected after revolutions,” said Tarek Khalil, president of the Nile University.
By: Athar Osama
Published on SciDev.Net on 12 January 2012
Some Muslim countries’ powerful financial incentives to make quick progress in research could backfire, cautions Athar Osama.
Over a decade ago, several governments in the Islamic world woke up from decades of slumber to begin investing heavily in science and innovation. A funding boost helped set up new universities, enhance research grants, and send thousands of students to do PhDs in the developed world.
The regulators and ministries that rolled out these ambitious efforts cautioned against judging their effectiveness and viability too soon, pointing to the limited scientific capacity in...
By Murtaza Haider, Published at Dawn.Com on November 2, 2011
A recent public opinion poll revealed that the top-most research priority areas identified by Pakistanis included Chemistry, Urdu literature, Islamic studies, Arabic, Botany and Zoology. Those who responded to the survey asked of Pakistani academics to devote their energies on the above-mentioned research areas and requested the governments to fund additional research in Chemistry and other basic sciences.
You are not alone in wondering how you missed seeing the results of this critical opinion poll in which Pakistanis identified research priority areas for the nation. In fact, no such poll exists. But what exi...
By: A. A. Khan
Published on 29 September 2011 at SciDev.Net
The ten-year science roadmap was presented to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
[ISLAMABAD] In a major policy shift, Pakistan’s government has declared science and innovation as a “central pillar of socio-economic development”, and has promised to increase research spending from 0.59 to two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020.
Pakistan’s ‘Science, Technology and Innovation Policy’ — more than three years in the making — outlines a ten-year roadmap for developing science and technology (S&T) and recognises innovation as a central part of the country...
By: Athar Osama
Malaysian Government established the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) in 1992 with a view to “spearhead[ing] the development of technology businesses in Malaysia.” MTDC was created as a Private Limited company under the Malaysian venture capital regulations to allow it to invest in new technology based start-ups and other investments that may facilitate inward attraction of technology into Malaysia. The nascent entity was initially given MYR 52mn in paid up capital to be invested in technology-based companies (TBCs).
Today, MTDC manages a MYR 1 billion non-ICT venture capital fund on behalf of the Government of Malaysia. T...
By: Athar Osama
Published on SciDev.Net on 12 January 2012
Some Muslim countries’ powerful financial incentives to make quick progress in research could backfire, cautions Athar Osama.
Over a decade ago, several governments in the Islamic world woke up from decades of slumber to begin investing heavily in science and innovation. A funding boost helped set up new universities, enhance research grants, and send thousands of students to do PhDs in the developed world.
The regulators and ministries that rolled out these ambitious efforts cautioned against judging their effectiveness and viability too soon, pointing to the limited scientific capacity in...
By: Frank Lehner
Published in Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy on 30 August 2011.
The idea of generating solar energy on a large scale in the sun-intensive countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to satisfy their own increasing energy demand and to export surplus energy to Europe as advocated in the DESERTEC concept1 has publicly received much attention in some countries, particularly in Germany, Morocco, Tunisia, and also substantial support from their governments. Besides the DESERTEC Foundation, an industrial consortium (Dii GmbH) was founded in 2009 which consists of major European and MENA companies to push this project further b...
By: Dr. Athar Osama
Muslim-Science.Com met with Tan Sri Dr. Omar Abdur Rahman, Mahathir’s Science Advisor for over a decade and half and, the “prime mover” behind Mahathir Mohammed’s vision of a Knowledge-driven Malaysia. A deeply humble man, Tan Sri Omar insists that Mahathir was a science policymaker par excellence in his own right and that he would hardly have needed a science advisor. However, he played a critical role in providing scientific credibility to Mahathir’s plans and helping the Prime Minister reach out to the scientific community to build support for his policies.
As Malaysia’s first and longest serving Science Advisor – a position t...
