Day 1 : Plenary II (Theme: Research and Technology; Enhanced learning & Simulation)
The development of Pakistan’s research Eco-system
Location
AKU Auditorium
Start Date
26-1-2013 1:30 PM
Abstract
Research. Is it a luxury or a necessity for developing countries? A related question pertains to higher education and whether a developing country should place any focus and allocate reasonable resources to the development of its universities. These questions are especially relevant in the context of Pakistan, where the majority of the populace does not have access to basic health and education, clean drinking water, electricity, etc. Is it then “right” to talk about higher education and research? Ten years ago, when the process of reform of the higher education system of Pakistan was initiated, these issues were debated and the conclusions reached were that good quality, accessible and relevant higher education integral to the development of a country, while the pursuit of new knowledge or research, is fundamental to the development of a vibrant university sector.
Research cannot be conducted in a vacuum, however, and the development of research in a country essentially implies the development of a research eco-system comprising academic programs at the Bachelor, Master and PhD levels, access to literature, access to high speed internet, recognition of high quality research output for faculty advancement, access to research funding, access to research equipment, access to graduate students and many other factors that create the environment in which research flourishes. In this talk I discuss the astounding progress made by Pakistan over the past decade in the research domain resulting in the fourth fastest growth in research publications of all countries of the world and a SCIMAGO forecast of Pakistan to be included among the top thirty countries of the world for high quality research output, by 2018.
The development of Pakistan’s research Eco-system
AKU Auditorium
Research. Is it a luxury or a necessity for developing countries? A related question pertains to higher education and whether a developing country should place any focus and allocate reasonable resources to the development of its universities. These questions are especially relevant in the context of Pakistan, where the majority of the populace does not have access to basic health and education, clean drinking water, electricity, etc. Is it then “right” to talk about higher education and research? Ten years ago, when the process of reform of the higher education system of Pakistan was initiated, these issues were debated and the conclusions reached were that good quality, accessible and relevant higher education integral to the development of a country, while the pursuit of new knowledge or research, is fundamental to the development of a vibrant university sector.
Research cannot be conducted in a vacuum, however, and the development of research in a country essentially implies the development of a research eco-system comprising academic programs at the Bachelor, Master and PhD levels, access to literature, access to high speed internet, recognition of high quality research output for faculty advancement, access to research funding, access to research equipment, access to graduate students and many other factors that create the environment in which research flourishes. In this talk I discuss the astounding progress made by Pakistan over the past decade in the research domain resulting in the fourth fastest growth in research publications of all countries of the world and a SCIMAGO forecast of Pakistan to be included among the top thirty countries of the world for high quality research output, by 2018.