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
Technological Advancements in the world.
7 September 2010 | EN
Scientific cooperation in the Islamic world needs more than secure funding — a compelling set of projects is also essential, says Athar Osama.
Scientific cooperation between Islamic countries has a lacklustre record, marked by a shortage of resources and a lack of political will for investment. The few countries that have invested heavily in recent years — including Iran, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — have chosen to work instead with scientifically advanced countries in North–South collaborations that offer more obvious benefits than partnerships among themselves.
But the need for South–South cooperation is becoming increasingly clear, particularly on shared problems, such as tropical diseases, agriculture or threats from climate change, that are unique to the developing world or have low priority in the North.
By Peer Muhammad
Pakistan is aspiring to become an associate member of European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). The application from Pakistan for the associate membership was submitted one year back, in February 2013.
A four-member high powered CERN Technical Team (CTT) – led by CERN’s Director for Research and Scientific Computing, Dr Sergio Bertolucci – is due to arrive on Monday (today) on a four-day visit to Pakistan, as part of the evaluation process for the Associate Membership (AM) of CERN for Pakistan.
Besides holding meetings with the authorities concerned, the team will also hold meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hu...
By: Alex Dehgan, former Science Advisor to Administrator of USAID.
Dear Colleagues,
December 13th will be my last day as the Chief Scientist for US Agency for International Development, and the end of nearly ten years of service of applying science in furtherance of US foreign policy and foreign assistance. This has included transforming development at USAID, helping build the first national park in Afghanistan (through the Wildlife Conservation Society), engaging Iran through science diplomacy, using science to rebuild Iraq, and empowering the world through science, technology, and innovation. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve.
I apologize about ...
Editors Note: With the events in Egypt turning south after the deposition of an elected government and re-imposition of de-facto Martial Law, it is perhaps, opportunate to review what The Royal Society said late last year in its Atlas of Islamic World Science and Innovation Project report on Egypt. Here is the summary of the document. - A.O.
It is not often that a country is faced with the prospect of rebuilding from the ground up. Egypt’s recent revolution – notwithstanding the many and inevitable challenges it presents – has ushered in an era of unprecedented hope and expectation. This report assesses the current state of science, technology and innovat...
The Islamic world’s current science effort is on life support and without major ‘surgery’ could be yet another policy failure, says Athar Osama.
In 2007, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) created the Science, Technology and Innovation Organisation (STIO) to jumpstart science cooperation among its 57 member countries. Three years later, a founding meeting approved an annual budget of US$70 million, with four founding members — Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and and Syria — committing US$5 million each to the budget.
To date, 20 countries have joined STIO — but none has honoured its financial commitment, according to the organisatio...
By Zakri Abdul Hamid –
Science Adviser to the Prime Minister of Malaysia
For Malaysia, the past three decades have been a period of rapid and sustained growth. Measuring growth with the traditional Gross Domestic Product yardstick, Malaysia’s economy has increased more than a hundredfold. Over the past four decades, we have averaged nearly 7% annual growth. Poverty rates have fallen from 49%, to less than 4%. Per-capita GDP has risen from US$370, to more than US$9,000.
This growth has been matched by a fundamental change in the structure of our economy. Like many Asian countries, we have moved from a basis of agriculture and raw commodities to a multi-sector eco...
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...
