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.
Growth of Science & Innovation in the Muslim WorldWe have a lot of stereotypes among of which is that Muslim women are repressed and do not get a chance to reach their full potential in their chosen fields, especially in the science fora. The session on the growth of science in the Islamic world, at the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 in Dublin, sounded intriguing and interesting for me as a a woman science journalist.
The topic being addressed was about the social and political shifts in the wake of the regional revolutions we are witnessing, as well as studying the place that science, technology and innovation have in the growth trajectory of the Islamic world. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar are pouring funds into universities and building technology parks. But what about countries like Indonesia and Egypt?
Both speakers at the session – Priya Shetty and Michael Bond, freelance science writers from London, had differing tales to tell. Shetty had done a three-month research project on the issue in Indonesia. She was eloquent about the beauty of Indonesia and the country’s natural resources, however she said her research showed that the country hadn’t caught up with the 21st century in terms of moving forward after President Suharto resigned in 1998. “Indonesia lags behind other ASEAN countries, in fact after President Suharto, the country’s progress has gone into a tailspin and the development has stopped for the last 20-25 years. Indonesia isn’t getting it right and there is a big disconnect between policies and implementation,” revealed Shetty.
Is Indonesia Suffering?
She went on to say that Indonesia just produces and exports its raw materials, and research is at a very basic level. If anything, she said scientists are totally neglected and if anyone goes abroad on a government scholarship, they are expected to come back and work twice as long as their stay abroad for the country.
Innovation spaces come in many shapes and sizes. Starting from the legendary Silicon Valley in Northern California, to Route 128 in Boston, Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia, and Bangalore in India, innovation spaces have been a talk of popular business and technology press, but have often defied formal analysis and policy models. Part of the lure of the Silicon Valley, is in its culture, its willingness to accept failure, and the eagerness of its investors to take a chance. At a smaller scale too, innovation spaces are often defined by the electrifying energy, that is often ‘in the air.’
In the Muslim World, like in t...
By: Maheen Hasan, Editor - Muslim-Science.Com
Muslim-Science.Com has the pleasure of presenting to you, the first ever List of ‘Top-20 Most Influential Women in Science in the Islamic World’. These are truly the unsung and little known heroines of the Islamic World whose contribution to the development of science and innovation of the Islamic World is no less than any others…
Our list encompasses 20 Remarkable Women who have performed amazing feats during the course of their careers. These pertain to all five main regions of the Islamic World, namely, South East Asia, South and Central Asia, Gulf and Persia, Maghreb and North Africa, and North Am...
By the Editors of Muslim-Science.com
Human brains are hardwired to see patterns in things. This makes life easy for man as it allows him (or her) to conserve on processing power. Often these patterns manifest themselves in the form of stereotypes. Scientists are referred to as ‘nerds’, academics as ‘absent-minded’, and policy-makers as ‘wonks’. Our society and culture is full of stereotypes. A number of these stereotypes affect women in particular. Women are often portrayed or reflected as doing certain kinds of things and not others. For instance, they’re hardly portrayed as scientists. It is common to show them as dental hygienist but never as dentists...
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...
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...
