Four students of Pakistani American descent won the coveted $1m Hult Prize in New York City last month. They were handed over their award by former US President Bill Clinton.

Recent graduates of the Rutgers University, Gia Lakhani, Hasan Usmani, Moneed Mian and Hanaa won seed funding for their transportation startup called Roshni Rides. The team devised a solution to provide affordable, readily available and reliable public transportation for informal settlements in the South Asian region. Customers have the option of using preloaded Roshni cards that act as tickets to ensure an efficient and uniform payment option.

The Hult challenge is one of the most prestigious awards for social entrepreneurs and enterprises and has gained considerable popularity in a very short span of time. The contest invites teams from all over the world to address pressing social issues centered around food and water issues, energy, climate change, sustainable growth and education.

This year’s contest on social ventures to address problems of people residing in informal settlements anywhere. After several rounds in the competition six finalists, including Team Roshni Rides and another team from Pakistan, pitched before a jury in New York to take the ultimate prize.

Roshni Rides had successfully raised around $30,000 through a crowd funding campaign to put their idea to practice in Karachi’s Orangi Town. The team felt that transportation was a major challenge for the informal communities because of lack of infrastructure and this resulted in poor access to hospitals, schools or workplaces. Due to poorly constructed roads even three wheeled rickshaws cannot make it to some of these localities and those that do often demanded often staggering fares.

Beginning with trying to build a solar powered electric rickshaw, the team ended up using ride sharing app for existing rickshaw fleets. This way the drivers could share rides and earn a higher income than what he could as an independent driver.

In the coming years, Roshni Rides hopes to use the prize money to expand the company. By 2022, they aim to have a fleet of 1,200 rickshaws across south Asia and serve 2.2 million refugees. If they meet that goal, the company is projected to make a profit of over $5 million a year through advertising revenue and fares.

Report launched on Oct 29, 2015

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Iran is civilisation that is several thousand years old. Some believe that what was once Persia was the cradle of civilisation. Many of early contributions of Muslim Scientists originating out of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad were inspired by the works of now forgotten. Persian scholars and philosophers. Legend has it that a substantial part of Greek science and philosophy was also influenced by Persian scholars by virtue of their impact on Aristotle as he passed through Persia along with the army of Alexander the Great.

If all this were to be true, and it probably is, today’s science in technology is in debt of thousand of years of tradition of scholarship of unknown Persian scholars and philosophers.

In recent past, Persia (now Iran) has been through a difficult period in their history. An impasse with United States and the West has left them isolated in the World and hence falling somewhat behind in the realm of science, technology, and innovation, though this isolation has also had the effect of inspiring Iranians to not depend on the West and develop an indigenous capability in science and technology.

Despite the Western Sanctions, Iran has a fairly decent educational system that continuously produces some highly talented and hardworking people – particularly scientists and engineers for the social-system somehow favors STEM careers – that are not only capable of carrying out some quality science at home but are also in great demand abroad (see article on Sharif University of Technology).

Iran’s scientific, technological, innovative, and recently entrepreneurial capabilities are some of most well-kept secrets in the World. The following infographic illustrates some the key features of the Iranian STI eco-system.

(Click here to download the high resolution version of this infographic)

Infograhic by: Rimsha Ali Shah and Hifza Sajjad

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Task Force on Islam and Science

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Task Force on Science at Universities

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Dato’Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid
Nidhal Guessoum
Adil Najam
Bruce Alberts
Jamal Mimouni
Micheal Reiss
Dato Ir Lee Yee Cheong
Mouneef R Zou’bi
Mustafa El Tayeb
Nadia M Al Hasani
Shoaib Zaidi

A task force of 11 experts on science research in Muslim Nations is seeking to jump-start a discussion on how to reform science education in universities throughout the Muslim world.

The Task Force on Science at Universities in the Muslim World met for the first time on 16 December in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

At the meeting, task force chair Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid, science Advisor to Malaysia’s prime minister, said that science and technology in the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has generally lagged behind other parts of the world.

“We are being left behind in the mastery of science, technology, engineering, mathematics — and reforming science education is the way to alleviate the situation,” he said.

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Task Force Seeks Reform at Muslim World Universities

Prof. Nidhal Guessoum, Convenor of localhost/muslim Task Force, on Challenges of Science in Universities in the Islamic World

localhost/muslim on Vimeo.

Adil Najam on Purpose of Universities – localhost/muslim Task Force in Science at Universities in the Islamic World

localhost/muslim on Vimeo.

Bruce Alberts, former President of NAS on Importance of IBSE and Religion-Science Conflict at localhost/muslim Task Force

localhost/muslim on Vimeo.