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Application of new knowledge towards useful social ends
By: A. A. KhanPublished on 29 September 2011 at SciDev.Net
[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’s S&T system.
The policy was presented to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani last week (20 September), whose personal support may help to fast-track it through the legislative process. But it still has to go through the Ministry of Law and the Cabinet, before being passed by the Parliament in a formal vote.
Read the full story »
On May 17, 2011 the inaugural meeting of the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) for Malaysia was chaired by Prime Minister Najib Razak at the premises of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS).
A brainchild of the Prime Minister, the GSIAC was mooted arising from Malaysia’s positive experiences in utilizing expert advice from the private sector and academia to shape her socio-economic development plans. What is unique for the GSIAC is the depth and breadth of its membership which is both multidisciplinary and multisectoral in nature.
The council includes 25 renowned international figures of economics, business, science and technology volunteering t...
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: 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...
By: Dr. Zakri Abdul Hamid
On March 30, 2010, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced the New Economic Model (NEM) with the objective of doubling the current per capita income of approximately US$7,000 to US$15,000 by 2020. The NEM is a package comprising of the 1Malaysia concept, the Economic Transformation Programme, the Government Transformation Programme and the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
However, to be sustainable in the long run, the NEM initiatives need underpinning by a strong set of fundamentals embedded in knowledge — a solid mastery in science and technology, a penchant for innovation and a culture of doing well in Science and Mathematic...
By: Athar Osama
Published on SciDev.Net on 15 December 2011
Arab Spring revolutionaries turning to governance must adopt knowledge and innovation as barometers for progress, says Athar Osama.
As revolutions swept countries and shook governments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year, they created opportunities for greater public voice in governance. Tunisia, for example, recently went through an election, and the Egyptian people are in the process of electing an assembly whose job is to write a new constitution.
And as revolutionaries turn to governance, they will have to address the socioeconomic and cultural challenges facing ten...
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...
