Developing Higher Education and Research Capacity in the IDB Member Countries

Prof. Ahmed Abdullah Azad
PhD, FTWAS, FIAS, FBAS, MASSAf, FRSSA
TWAS Research Professor, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
a_azad05@yahoo.com.au

Content

I. Summary:

II. Introduction:

III. Economic Development and Scientific Proficiency in the IDB Member Countries 

IV. Current State of Higher Education and Research in IDB Member Countries

V. Brain Drain: Reasons, Consequences and Possible Remedies

VI. Strategies for Achieving Required Reform in Higher Education and Research

VII. Need for Multidisciplinary Collaboration and Focus in Areas of Priority:

VIII.   Capacity Development for Internationally Competitive Research and Training:

IX. A specific example where Higher Education and Research can Provide Competitive Advantage for Economic Development in IDB Member Countries:  

X.   How the IDB can Foster and Catalyse the Development of Higher Education and Research Capacity in IDB Member Countries:

XI. The Role IDB Scholarships could play in Developing Higher Education and Research Capacity in the IDB Member Countries:

I. Summary:

Excellence in higher education is very closely linked to research productivity; the highest ranked universities in the world are also the best in research. The dismal state of higher education in the Islamic World is evident from the fact that not a single university among all the IDB member countries ranks within the top 400 universities in the world. None of the IDB member country is classified as economically advanced or scientifically proficient; 21 of the 57 OIC member states are designated least developed countries. Some IDB member countries have huge resource and cash reserves but because of lack of human resources have opted to import technology and scientific expertise. Most of the other member states, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, are very poor with subsistence economies. Sustainable knowledge-based economic development in IDB member countries will, therefore, require a very substantial investment for the modernization of the higher education sector and development of the required research capacity.

This article identifies factors that contribute to the deficiencies and weaknesses in higher education and research capacity in the OIC region and suggests strategies that could be adopted to overcome these and achieve the desired reforms. The causes of the debilitating brain drain of academics and scientists to the developed countries are discussed and strategies are suggested for reversing this trend. With the limited infrastructure and trained human resources the IDB member countries can not be internationally competitive in all areas of higher learning and research and, therefore, need to focus in areas of highest priority and niche areas of competitive strength. The best outcomes for both higher education and research will be best achieved through multidisciplinary collaboration between academics and research groups with complementary expertise and facilities.

One of the biggest obstacles to knowledge-based economic development in the OIC region is the huge “R&D chasm” that exists between discovery and its final commercial or social outcome. This deficiency can only be met by supporting fundamental and developmental research and establishing all the contemporary cutting edge technologies in strategically located “Centres of Excellence” and “Core Facilities” throughout the OIC region. These advanced technology centres could become regional hubs for advanced training and research for all IDB member countries. An example of a model multidisciplinary and multi-institutional project is presented in an area of research where there is existing competitive strength and expertise in the IDB member countries, and which could be used as a vehicle for knowledge-based economic development. Specific recommendations are provided as to how the IDB can best promote and develop higher education and research in its member state. The very important role that the IDB scholarship programme can play in this process is discussed, and suggestions are made for making the scholarship scheme more relevant and useful.

II. Introduction:

In this age of technology and globalisation it is expected that sustainable economic development needs to be based on intelligent and judicious use of existing resources and intellectual capital. This is especially true for developing countries that are inherently poor or are heavily dependent on non-renewable and finite natural resources. Knowledge-based sustainable development requires excellence in higher education and proficiency in scientific, technological and social science disciplines that underpin economic development. Excellence in higher education and quality of research are very closely related; the highest ranking universities of the world also happen to be the best research universities. It is no wonder that the top-ranked universities in the world are almost exclusively situated in the economically and technologically advanced countries in the North, with only a handful in the rapidly advancing countries of the developing world.

It is a matter of great concern that there is only one university among all the IDB member countries, Cairo University, which ranks within the top 400-500 universities of the world. This is in sharp contrast to the pre-eminent position that knowledge and learning occupied in the Islamic world till the late middle age. However, there is very little value in harking back to the glorious past and being complacent; it is more useful to identify and recognise the prevailing weaknesses in the IDB member countries and develop strategies to overcome them.

III. Economic Development and Scientific Proficiency in the IDB Member Countries (OIC Region):

While higher education is an essential prerequisite for the development of knowledge-based economies in the IDB-member countries, both academic excellence and sustainable development are critically dependent on scientific proficiency and a strong technology base. Unfortunately none of the 57 OIC member countries are classified as being economically advanced; 21 of these are classified as least developed countries. Not a single IDB member country is either scientifically advanced or proficient; they are all classified as scientifically lagging countries. Because of the lack of scientific proficiency it is not surprising that no university within the IDB member countries is ranked within the top 400 in the world.

Wealth by itself is not a determinant of economic and scientific advancement. Some IDB member countries have huge cash reserves because of their natural resources and yet they are not considered to be economically advanced or even qualify as rapidly advancing countries. The main determinant of their current development status is their lack of scientific and technological proficiency. Some of these countries, especially the oil-rich states, have opted to import required technology and expertise from the West rather than using their transient wealth to build a sustainable economy based on intellectual capital through development of higher education and research capacity. In the case of some of the relatively wealthy countries sustainable economic development has been deterred due to a lack of manpower and scientific expertise. On the other hand there are other IDB member countries that have significant populations, relatively well developed higher education sectors, and small but well trained academic and scientific manpower which they can not utilize properly due to lack of adequate funding and resources. Some of the above problems facing the two sets of IDB member countries, and others in between, could be overcome through coordination and cooperation in areas of common interest.

IV. Current State of Higher Education and Research in IDB Member Countries:

The attainment of knowledge-based sustainable development in the IDB member countries will require the establishment of at least a few “world-class” research universities with the capacity to carry out internationally competitive research in strategic and priority areas. To identify such universities the IDB, OIC and IAS commissioned an extensive study to measure research productivity of different universities based on various parameters (SESRTCIC Report, April 2007)). While a set of rankings of universities within the OIC region has been obtained by using different data sets based on overall research productivity, the figures unfortunately suggest that the research productivity of even the highest ranked universities in the OIC region is almost negligible in comparison to universities in the developed world.

The poor standing in higher education is in part due to the fact that traditionally research has not been a priority in universities in the IDB member countries in the modern era, and they have tended to spread themselves too thin by getting involved in too many research projects without adequate support. The results could be more meaningful if research productivity was measured separately for different scientific disciplines/departments as this might lead to the identification of some areas of competitive strength within different universities which could be candidates for development as discipline-based “Centres of Excellence” for advanced teaching, research and training.

As it stands now there is hardly any university in the IDB member countries that can be termed world-class especially in terms of research and training. In order to suggest remedies it is important to reflect on the current status of research and technology education in the IDB member countries. Some of the factors that effect teaching and research outcomes in many of the universities of the IDB member countries are listed below:

1. Meagre funds from governments for R&D in universities
2. Curricula often not appropriate for producing science and technology graduates for local market
3. Most university libraries are severely under resourced and lack very important international scientific journals
4. Research productivity and innovation are not important determinants for personal advancement for teachers in many universities
5. Teaching and administrative loads for senior academics is too high leaving little time for research
6. Inadequate supervision of junior researchers and research students
7. Absence of competitive research grant schemes
8. Lack of focus in areas of strength or national/regional priority
9. Lack of regional coordination and cooperation for tackling common problems
10. Very little interaction between universities and non-campus research institutions
11. Negligible interaction with or funding from private sector
12. Poor infrastructure and research environment
13. Unavailability of major equipment and cutting edge technologies
14. Absence of post-doctoral fellowships
15. Serious lack of “critical mass” of trained personnel and full time researchers
16. BRAIN DRAIN

V. Brain Drain: Reasons, Consequences and Possible Remedies:

The ultimate consequence of the myriad of problems facing academics and researchers is a very debilitating brain drain from the IDB member countries to the economically and technologically advanced countries in the West. This is especially true for those who have the potential to be world class researchers and have been exposed to the contemporary technologies during their overseas postgraduate training, the very people who are most needed in their countries of origin. Many bright young people return home but get frustrated and leave for reasons given below:

1. Postgraduate training in the advanced countries of the West has often very little relevance to the needs of home countries of the students
2. Training grants and scholarships are rarely in areas of national or regional priority
3. The research and training agenda is mostly externally driven, and interventions are mostly donor-driven and not need-driven
4. The research atmosphere and the availability of adequate resources at home are not conducive to continuation of sophisticated research the students were involved in during their overseas training
5. There is economic, physical and political instability in most IDB member countries
6. The remuneration and living conditions are most often below reasonable expectations
7. There is a serious lack of opportunities to get involved in “world class” research on national or regional problems while working in their countries of origin

The last point is the one most often cited by the brightest young expatriate scientists as the reason for their emigration to the West. It is ironic that the engine for research, and especially modern biosciences research, in the West is largely driven by an army of young scientists from the developing world while there is an acute shortage of trained manpower in their own countries of origin. It is unfortunate that the scientifically lagging and least developed countries are not only failing to keep pace but their expatriate scientists are contributing to wealth creation in the West, instead of being provided the opportunity to help build research proficiency and capacity in their own countries. To remedy this situation there is really no option but to develop and strengthen biosciences and other basic sciences research in scientifically lagging and least developed countries in the OIC region.

If the desire to develop excellence in higher education and research is genuine, and if the debilitating brain drain is to be stemmed, then the IDB and OIC must strive to drastically improve the research environment and transform the research culture in the universities in their member countries. A very serious effort should be made to transform the brain drain from the developing world to the industrially advanced countries into brain retention and brain circulation within the OIC region through appropriate support for both basic and applied research. Additionally, the development of a vibrant and supportive research atmosphere and provision of decent living and working conditions could persuade expatriate researchers to return home, and failure to create such conditions will accentuate the debilitating brain drain. A further aim should be to develop a brain bank by tapping into the enormous talent and expertise available among the region’s expatriate scientists and encouraging them to contribute to the development of science and technology in their countries of origin and in the OIC region in whatever way they can.

VI. Strategies for Achieving Required Reform in Higher Education and Research:

The current state of higher education and research in the scientifically lagging IDB member countries is alarming but the prevailing trends are not irreversible. Some encouraging developments have taken place in the rapidly advancing countries of the developing world where it has been clearly demonstrated that national will and pride, visionary leadership and nurturing of scientific talent can turn the tide. This has already started in India , China , Brazil , South Korea and Cuba , and to a lesser extent in Chile , Mexico and Singapore . This has been largely possible because of the vibrant and supportive academic and research atmosphere that now prevails in these countries.

The scientifically lagging OIC member countries can learn from these examples. Already the governments of Pakistan , Turkey and Malaysia have embarked on this path in a big way and their respective governments are spending very large amounts of money in an attempt to catch up. The government of UAE has also pledged to contribute substantially to development of  education and research capacity in the Arab world. Even though the trends are in the right direction for the above countries, they will achieve a lot more through strategic collaborations with other IDB member countries through sharing of complementary resources.

In Pakistan the drive for modernization of higher education has been largely driven by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman with very strong support of the government. One area that could be emulated by the other IDB member countries, individually or in regional groups, is the way that every significant science and technology journal in the world has been made accessible through the web to every institution of higher learning in Pakistan . Dr. Mahathir personally dragged Malaysian education and research into the modern ages and subsequent political and educational leaders have maintained the surge. Turkey and Malaysia have built very useful models of productive partnerships between universities and industry that would be good examples to follow by other IDB member countries.

Strategies for developing relevant and modern curricula for teaching and training in the natural sciences, and particularly in contemporary technologies in the molecular biosciences, and for developing research productivity and capacity, in the scientifically lagging IDB member countries are summarized below:

1. Development of locally relevant and multidisciplinary curricula so that graduates are appropriately trained for local employment, and not for US or European market
2. Development of web-based science and technology libraries for universities and research institutions
3. Development of independent and locally-driven R&D agenda for tackling the major problems in the IDB member countries
4. Establishment and fostering of regional academic and R&D partnerships in focused areas of research
5. Transformation of research culture with increased emphasis on multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration, development of Intellectual Property, technology transfer, and commercialization of research
6. South-South academic and research collaborations between “Centres of Excellence” in IDB member countries with complementary expertise and facilities
7. Higher education and training in technologically more advanced IDB member countries, instead of in advanced countries in the West, will be both cheaper and more relevant
8. Strategic and long term funding for basic and applied research, including IDB-sponsored competitive research grant scheme and post-doctoral fellowships to support collaborative research in areas of priority
9. Active partnership with local industries to fund academic and industrial research  and for the commercialization of research outcomes

VII. Need for Multidisciplinary Collaboration and Focus in Areas of Priority:

Because of lack of adequate resources and infrastructure it is not practical for the scientifically lagging IDB member countries to be internationally competitive and productive in all areas of research. In order to improve research productivity and proficiency there must be regional focus on only a small number of priority areas where there is greatest need and also existing strength and potential. The major goals of knowledge-based sustainable development in the mostly poor IDB member countries are to achieve food security, health equity, protection of the environment and eco-systems, and a guaranteed supply of energy and water. So universities in the OIC region should be encouraged and supported to teach subjects that are relevant to these needs, and to carry out strategic research in areas such as:

1. Production of high yielding crops and plants resistant to infections, pests,  drought, heat and salinity
2. Development of new and affordable drugs and vaccines against the most important diseases affecting the IDB member countries including “orphan” drugs of the poor
3. Protection of biodiversity and natural resources and their judicious use for sustainable economic advancement
4. Development of alternative sources of (renewable) energy including bio-energy

The above areas of research are by no means the only areas of priority for the OIC and IDB member countries, but are nonetheless extremely important for achieving sustainable development. Productive research in these areas will require multidisciplinary and multinational collaboration and cooperation between “Centres of Excellence” in different universities in the IDB member countries, with special emphasis on modern biotechnology (molecular biosciences) in addition to other natural sciences and ICT.

Contemporary biomedical, agricultural and environmental research, employing all the cutting edge biological, chemical and physical technologies, that together constitute molecular biosciences or modern biotechnology, is the one area where the gap between the North and IDB member countries is the greatest. Instead of catching up or even keeping pace, this gap is increasing exponentially with time. Yet without being involved in internationally competitive biosciences research, the developing world is never going to achieve self sufficiency in food and health care needs.

Most policy makers, including those in the OIC region, believe that the scientifically lagging and least developed countries have much more pressing priorities to simply cope and survive, and internationally competitive biosciences research should be carried out by those best equipped to do this, namely the R&D laboratories in the West and in the relatively technologically proficient and rapidly advancing countries of the developing world such as China, India and Brazil. In effect this means that bioscientists living and working in most of the developing world should confine their activities to what is deemed appropriate by those who set the R&D agenda in far away countries that do not face the same problems faced by much of the developing world. This defeatist attitude ignores the actual needs and underestimates the existing capabilities in the scientifically lagging countries of the developing world including the least developed ones. Such thinking will ensure that the agenda for growth and sustainability will continue to remain externally driven and scientifically lagging IDB member countries in the region, and much of the developing world, will be reduced to permanent dependency and perhaps to permanent destitution.

The solution is in developing bold initiatives for the modernization of the educational system and building internationally competitive research capacity through the pooling of resources and expertise within the entire IDB membership. However, for this strategy to succeed it is necessary to focus on a small number of initiatives where there is the greatest need and existing strength. 

VIII.   Capacity Development for Internationally Competitive Research and Training:

One of the biggest obstacles to sustainable knowledge-based economic development in the OIC region is the huge “R&D chasm” that exists between initial discover and its final commercial or social outcome. This serious structural deficiency can not be overcome by supporting only late stage commercial research and importation of technology for that purpose. There must be very strong support for fundamental and developmental research preceding commercialization, and necessary contemporary technologies and expertise must be established.

Excellence in university teaching and training and productivity in research will not only depend on concentration of efforts in areas of priority but also on the ready availability of cutting edge technologies, major equipment and regional core facilities.   

Some of the required cutting edge technologies primarily for biomedical and agricultural sciences include:

1. Molecular and Cell Biology including Tissue Culture Facilities
2. Recombinant DNA Technology
3. Genomics
4. Proteomics
5. Bioinformatics (computational biology)
6. Containment facilities for work with recombinant and transgenic organism
7. Fermentation and down-stream processing
8. Pre-clinical animal studies
9. Synthetic and combinatorial chemistry
10. Structural Biology (X-ray crystallography including access to Synchrotron X-ray beam for protein crystallography, NMR Spectroscopy)
11. Computational Chemistry; Rational drug design and synthesis

Some other cutting edge technologies that have applications in the physical, chemical, engineering and biomedical sciences include:

12. Information and Communications Technology

13. Nanotechnology and Polymer Science

14. Laser and Fiber Optics

15. Chemical Engineering and Process Technology

16. Conductor and Semi-Conductor Technology

17. Remote Sensing Technology and Telemedicine

18. Material Sciences and Biomaterials Technology

Internationally competitive research, especially in contemporary biosciences, is not possible without the availability of the above technologies. Unfortunately much of it is almost non-existent in the universities in the IDB member countries. Some of the technologies require very specialized expertise and sophisticated and expensive equipment. It is simply not possible, at least in the near future, to provide these uniformly to all universities in the OIC region. However a proper audit of existing expertise and major equipment and research productivity in the different universities might allow the identification of potential “Centres of Excellence” which could be supported adequately to become teaching, training and research hubs. A network of discipline-based “Centres of Excellence” with complementary expertise and facilities could provide the range of expertise, equipment and facilities necessary for carrying our world-class multidisciplinary research in the OIC region.

Academics and researchers in the universities in the OIC region will also need access to certain Core Facilities that can not be easily duplicated and, therefore, need to be established as regional resource centres for the entire OIC region. Some of these essential Core Facilities include:

1. Animal research facility (toxicology and efficacy; infectivity; transgenic animals)
2. Growth and containment facilities for GM crops
3. Pilot scale Bio-processing unit (GMP conditions)
4. Pilot scale drug production unit (GMP conditions)
5. Clinical trial facilities (drugs and vaccines)
6. Field trial facilities (for GM crops)
7. IP, technology transfer and commercialization centre (Innovation and Technology Management).

IX. A specific example where Higher Education and Research can Provide Competitive Advantage for Economic Development in IDB Member Countries:  

One niche area where most IDB member countries could have competitive advantage would be the harnessing of the natural biodiversity and indigenous knowledge as the basis for the discovery and development of new drugs targeted to the critical health care needs of the region.

The IDB member countries are endowed with unique and rich flora and fauna and a wealth of traditional knowledge systems. So why have countries in this region failed to exploit their abundant biodiversity to develop and produce new and essential drugs required for their own health care needs, and why have they failed to use this as a vehicle for the economic development of the region?

The simple answer is that within the OIC region the scientific and technical base required for this initiative is grossly inadequate and there is a serious lack of capacity, infrastructure and funds available for research. There is a lot of research activity, and research publications, based on medicinal plants and medicinal chemistry in countries within the region, but hardly any new drugs have come to the market from these efforts. One of the main reasons is that chemists and biologists have usually not joined forces to tackle the same problem. Also the research is often carried out in the absence of a disease-defining and target-specific biological assay for identification of lead molecules.

In recent times there has been a greater awareness about validation of claims, and stringent requirement for demonstration of efficacy, safety and bioavailability of traditional medicines. However, the discovery and development of new drugs from natural products and traditional knowledge of the usefulness of indigenous flora and fauna affords many advantages, including the shortening of time for pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. Thus, there is great interest in developing modern medicines from traditional ones. This also affords the opportunity to build research capacity at the same time.

Modern biomedical research required for drug discovery and development is critically dependent on multidisciplinary research teams with expertise and facilities in various branches of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Scientists working in isolated laboratories in the scientifically lagging countries in the OIC region could attain the required critical mass and gain access to cutting edge technologies and specialist core facilities if South-South collaborations were established in strategic areas, especially with countries that are scientifically more proficient.

The existing expertise and infrastructure within the OIC region could be coordinated to form the nucleus of a drug discovery and development programme, which could be the launching platform for regional sufficiency in critically required medicines, and to create employment opportunities for the trained manpower. This could eventuate through developing working partnerships within a network of “Centres of Excellence” such as the International Centre for Chemistry and Biological Sciences at Karachi University ( Pakistan ), and with the help of development partners.

By developing sensible regional priorities in areas of common interest, starting from a strong knowledge base, pooling existing natural resources, sharing multidisciplinary expertise and facilities, employing rational approaches to the discovery and optimization of candidate drugs, and by taking advantage of the relatively low cost of labour, it is feasible to establish a research-based drug development programme in the OIC region that can be less time consuming and much more cost effective than similar operations carried out by multinational pharmaceutical companies in the North.

Besides the strong possibility of useful therapeutic products, this initiative would also raise the level of science and technology proficiency in the universities of the OIC region, and lead to much needed research capacity development, with beneficial knock-on effects for many other areas of science. This project will require excellence and sophistication in research that is rarely seen in the universities and research centres of the Islamic World today. The objectives may appear ambitious and optimistic, but they are achievable through cooperation and collaboration. What is required for success is the will to succeed and unity of purpose among academics, scientists and governments of the OIC countries.

X.   How the IDB can Foster and Catalyse the Development of Higher Education and Research Capacity in IDB Member Countries:

The IDB could have an influential role in the modernization of higher education and research in its member countries not only through direct funding but also by encouraging collaborative activities and sharing of expertise and resources that could improve research capacity and productivity. This could help academics and scientists from the OIC region to attract major research and development grants from international funding agencies and development partners. Some of the things that IDB, in conjunction with COMSTECH, could do to develop excellence in teaching and research are as follows:

1.      Extend the IDB survey (SESRTCIC Report, April 2007; Ranking of universities in IDB member countries ) to identify individual departments, units or centres in the different universities which could be internationally competitive in any particular scientific discipline

2.      Carry out an audit of essential expertise, major equipment and facilities in the different universities to identify technology strengths

3.      Use the above information to identify potential “Centres of Excellence” that could be adequately supported to become regional hubs for training and research. A network of such centres could provide the necessary expertise and facilities for the OIC region

4.      Carry out a priority exercise to identify niche areas of greatest need and existing strength where the IDB member countries would have a competitive advantage through collaboration and cooperation within the OIC region

5.      Provide funding for the development of web-based virtual regional libraries (based on the extremely cost effective HEC model in Pakistan ) so that academics and researchers have access to all important scientific and technological journals

6.      Increase the number of IDB post-graduate scholarships for training in IDB recognised “Centres of Excellence” in the OIC region. Such training will be both cost effective and more relevant in comparison to training in the West

7.      Provide preferential funding to university researchers involved in multidisciplinary collaborative research in priority areas through a merit-based research grant scheme, a major equipment grant, and provision of post-doctoral and short term visiting fellowships

8.      Encourage partnership between university-based “Centres of Excellence” and local industry for product-oriented development research and its commercialisation

9.      With the help of science academies (TWAS, IAS, AAS etc.) persuade governments of member countries to invest in higher education and R&D in their own countries and to improve the infrastructure and research environment

10.  Persuade some wealthy and strategically located IDB member countries to host the regional Core Facilities perhaps in partnership with industry for the entire OIC region

It will not be possible to achieve excellence in higher education or research in the IDB member countries without the above interventions. This will be a very expensive exercise but one that can not be avoided if the IDB member countries wish to become internationally competitive in this age of high technology, and if they wish to be independent of externally-driven development agenda. Fortunately it will not be necessary to start from scratch as the IDB has already initiated some measures towards attaining the above goals through its scholarship programmes.

XI. The Role IDB Scholarships could play in Developing Higher Education and Research Capacity in the IDB Member Countries:

The level of intervention required to transform the higher education sector and to implement the required changes in research culture in the Islamic World is so big that it can not happen instantaneously or through the agency of any single organization. However, the IDB is ideally placed to take the lead, in partnership with like-minded organizations and countries, in initiating the necessary changes through the Scholarship Programmes it has already established:

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The IDB offers scholarships in three different categories, of which two are directly relevant to the development of higher education and scientific proficiency in IDB member countries.

A. The IDB M.Sc. Scholarship Programme in Science and Technology is aimed at developing human resources in science and technology fields that are both relevant and necessary for the economic development of 20 least developed member countries (LDMC), 18 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa. This programme was launched in 1998 and offers about 20 scholarships per year for two-year M.Sc. studies in science and technology in more advanced institutions in IDB member countries.

This programme is extremely valuable for developing human resources in the LDMC. Since the scholarships are for the development of science and technology, and are offered for two years, it would be better if training consisting exclusively of course work be replaced with course work plus training in the operation of high technology instrumentation, or course work with a research component. Some of the brightest students from LDMC who show special promise in research during their M.Sc. course could be allowed to convert to the merit-based Ph.D. as it would be very difficult for them to compete directly from the LDMC with a simple B.Sc. degree.

Since the IDB M.Sc. Scholarship Programme is eligible only to students from LDMC which are mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa it would be sensible to work together with organizations in the region which have similar aims (e.g. USHEPiA network in Sub-Saharan Africa), or organizations that have been set up specifically for development of science and technology in the region (e.g. the ICGEB Component in Cape Town).

B. The IDB Merit Scholarship Programme for High Technology was launched in 1991 to support advanced studies and research in sixteen high technology areas deemed necessary for the economic development of IDB member countries. About 50 scholarships are awarded each year for either 3-year Ph.D. or 6-12 month post-doctoral studies. Since the inception of this programme 332 scholarships have been awarded to applicants from 45 IDB member countries, of which 175 scholars have completed their studies. (In order to comment on the success of the scheme it is necessary to have answers to the following questions: How many of the 175 scholars completed their Ph.D.? How many returned home after the completion of their training? How many of them are still working productively after their return to their home countries?)

The main objectives of the Merit Scholarship Programme are to produce technically qualified scientific leaders, to develop national scientific proficiency, and to develop scientific and technological capacity in the higher education and research institutions. These scholarships are, therefore, strategically directed towards achieving knowledge-based economic development in IDB member countries. While the IDB should be congratulated for this very important initiative, there is also a need to review the scholarship programme to assess the extent to which the strategic objectives have been met, and if there is any scope for improvement.

The number of IDB scholarships being offered is hardly sufficient to transform the IDB member countries from being scientifically lagging to becoming scientifically proficient, let alone becoming scientifically advanced. The most rapidly advancing countries of the developing world ( China , India and Brazil ) are producing huge numbers of Ph.D. graduates in science and technology each year and they are playing a pivotal role in economic advancement of these countries. In the early 1950s Brazil had only a handful of Ph.D. graduates and all of them had been trained overseas. Today about 13,000 Ph.D. students are being graduated every year within Brazil itself and even that is not enough to meet the demands for trained scientific manpower, and Brazil is still a long way from being considered to be economically advanced. So how can 50 IDB-sponsored scholarships per year for advanced studies make any significant difference to the economic development of the Islamic World?

Sixteen high technology areas, all of them very important, have been earmarked for support through the IDM merit scholarship scheme. This list needs to be revised as some very important contemporary technologies are not included. The 50 scholarships per year are hardly enough to make any meaningful contribution to all the identified technologies when a critical mass is required for each one of them. Each one of the contemporary technologies requires very expensive equipment and each piece of major equipment requires dedicated operators. There is very little point in sending bright students from IDB member countries to the West for training in the use of the sophisticated technologies and operation of the expensive equipment if these do not exist in the OIC region or are not coupled to specific projects that are of high priority to the individual countries or the region.

It is simply not possible for the Islamic World to be competitive in all areas of R&D right now or to get involved in every area of exciting research being carried out in the developed countries due to lack of capacity and trained human resources. It is better to become world leaders in a small number of areas than to spread the meager resources too thin and achieve very little in terms of impact. It is, therefore, very important to identify areas of priority or niche areas of competitive strength and direct the IDB scholarships to support these adequately, and especially projects that become internationally competitive because of multidisciplinary collaboration between research groups or institutions with complementary expertise and facilities.

The selection of candidates for IDB Ph.D. scholarships is based strictly on merit, and this should continue to be the case. However, national and regional needs should also be taken into consideration in the selection process. The current emphasis is on training in the advanced laboratories in the West, and this is perhaps necessary for a time to a certain extent, but steps need to be taken to ensure that this does not accentuate the brain drain to the advanced countries due to lack of research capacity at home. There is no dearth of Ph.D. scholarships in the West for bright students from the developing world and these opportunities should continue to be availed. However, a supportive research atmosphere needs to be created in the OIC region so that the trained scientists can return home to a productive research career.

The small number of IDB scholarships could be better utilized for “sandwich” programmes where students initiate their research on topics of direct relevance to their countries or the OIC region. With the setting up of “Centres of Excellence” in the IDB member countries more and more of the IDB Ph.D. scholars should be encouraged to train there. This will not only be more relevant to national and regional needs but also much cheaper than training in the West. The surplus funds could be used to increase the number of scholarships. This could be augmented by other scholarships awarded for training in the technologically more advanced countries in the developing world. In conjunction with TWAS, a number of countries such as China , India and Brazil are providing at least 50 graduate scholarships each year to students from the developing countries to study and train in their countries. Additional scholarships are provided by other countries such as Pakistan , Turkey and South Africa , and international organizations such as ICGEB, TWAS, and USHEPiA.

Taking all the above factors into consideration it is suggested that the following measures be taken to both increase the numbers and effectiveness of the IDB scholarship programme:

1. It will be much less expensive, and more relevant, if IDB scholarships were used predominantly for training in technologically more advanced countries and “Centres of Excellence” in the OIC region and the developing world
2. The IDB scholarship programmes could be augmented by coordination with other programmes offering scholarships for training in more advanced developing countries
3. The IDB scholarship scheme would be more useful and much cheaper through “sandwich” programmes where students initiate research on national or regional priorities in their country of origin, and go to advanced laboratories to access required expertise and facilities. This requires collaboration as two sets of supervisors are needed
4. After completion of training the graduates should be provided with support for a specified time in their home institutions. The above two measures have proved to be an extremely useful anti-dote for the debilitating brain drain
5. The IDB Ph.D. scholarship programme will have long lasting usefulness only if the researchers can continue to access cutting edge technology when they return home. The IDB should consider ways to support the establishment of strategically located and discipline-based “Centres of Excellence” and “Core Facilities” as it is not possible to establish these in all IDB countries in the near future
6. A short-term Visiting Fellowship Programme should be established to allow researchers, especially those in less developed countries, to access high technology in the “Centres of Excellence”
7. A 6 month-1 year Post-doctoral Fellowship (as currently stipulated) is of no value to either the researcher or the host institution. The IDB should consider the establishment of a separate Post-doctoral Fellowship programme (2-3 years) to support the career development of the PDF and to provide full time research support to their host institutions
8. The IDB M.Sc. and Ph.D. scholarships, short-term visiting fellowships and post-doctoral fellowships should be preferentially directed to research groups and “Centres of Excellence” involved in collaborative research in areas of regional priority identified by the IDB.

Knowledge-based economic development of the entire OIC region is an enormously expensive and lengthy undertaking that is beyond the capability of any single organization like the IDB. It will require the cooperation of governments of IDB member states, UN agencies, international and regional science and educational organizations, regional science academies, international and regional development banks, international funding agencies and development partners. However, the IDB could take the lead in initiating the necessary changes and developments by expanding its scholarship and training programmes and inviting other partners to provide further support and resources.

The initial higher education and research budget to get the process off the ground may not be as daunting as it appears, and a one-off donation of 0.1% of GDP (or even less) from each member country and matched by the IDB could be sufficient for the acquisition of cutting edge technologies, to support the funding of research grants and fellowships in universities, and to kick-start knowledge-based sustainable development. The initial focus must be on a small number of very carefully chosen projects (such as the one described on pages 10-12) that are also likely to be supported by international funding agencies and development partners. However, there has to be willingness on the part of IDB member countries, and their universities and industries to share expertise and resources and work cooperatively in areas of common interest.