Science, Technology and Innovation: Imperatives for Socio-economic Development Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS UNESCO Science Laureate

! Truth Stranger than Fiction ! Metamaterials---cloaking devices Metamaterials---cloaking devices Bullet proof paper: Nanocellulose Bullet proof paper: Nanocellulose Cellulose to Butanol---running cars on old newspapers Cellulose to Butanol---running cars on old newspapers Stem cells Stem cells Anti-Ageing Compounds (Resveratol) Anti-Ageing Compounds (Resveratol) Graphene, Molybdenite (MoS 2 ) Graphene, Molybdenite (MoS 2 )

! Truth Stranger than Fiction ! Seeds No Longer Needed Seeds No Longer Needed Luminescent Orchids Luminescent Orchids Cars Running on Air ! Cars Running on Air ! Aeroplanes flying without internal fuel Aeroplanes flying without internal fuel Paralysed moving wheel chairs, and cars driven --- with thought control Paralysed moving wheel chairs, and cars driven --- with thought control Blind Seeing with the Tongue Blind Seeing with the Tongue

Seeing with the Tongue !! “Wicab” in Wisconsin, in collaboration with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has developed a “lollipop” like device which allows completely blind persons to partly see with their tongue !! “Wicab” in Wisconsin, in collaboration with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has developed a “lollipop” like device which allows completely blind persons to partly see with their tongue !! Video-camera on sunglasses plus base unit transmit electrical signals to the tongue, that allows partial sight--- soon to be commercially available. Video-camera on sunglasses plus base unit transmit electrical signals to the tongue, that allows partial sight--- soon to be commercially available.

Cyborg beetle: a giant flower beetle with a processor and implanting electrodes - a living machine whose flight can be wirelessly controlled

Korea: A Direct Correlation Between Technical Manpower and Exports Higher Education Enrollment 5%8.7%16%37.7% 68% *(2.6%) 92% Exports US$(Millions) ,214 63,214150,439354,000

Impact of just one institution---- MIT MIT graduates and faculty have founded 4000 companies Employ: 1.1 million people Annual Sales: $240 billion Collectively these companies are the 18th largest economy in the World!

Overarching Approach Simultaneous Bi-Modal Approach Simultaneous Bi-Modal Approach Bottom-Up (Basic Needs) Bottom-Up (Basic Needs) Basic Health, Primary Education, Water …. Basic Health, Primary Education, Water …. Top-Down (Knowledge Economy) Top-Down (Knowledge Economy) Higher Education Higher Education Building Advanced Human Capital Building Advanced Human Capital Enhancing and funding domestic research for adapting foreign technologies Enhancing and funding domestic research for adapting foreign technologies Industrial Linkage Industrial Linkage Enhance Competitiveness Enhance Competitiveness

Requirements for Rapid Progress  Human capital with knowledge and skills and skills  Technology  Technology  Innovation/Entrepreneurship Infrastructure and incentives to innovate Technology --- acting like a huge suction pump --- taking away the wealth of developing countries - --eg. Cars

Pakistan---An Exciting Beginning !! My appointment as Federal Minister of Science & Technology (2000) and Chairman Higher Education Commission ( ) My appointment as Federal Minister of Science & Technology (2000) and Chairman Higher Education Commission ( ) 6000% Increase in Development Budget of Science Ministry and 2400% increase in Dev. Budget of Higher Education 6000% Increase in Development Budget of Science Ministry and 2400% increase in Dev. Budget of Higher Education HEC an autonomous body reporting to PM HEC an autonomous body reporting to PM

Key Challenges Access Skilled manpower (enrolment) Access Skilled manpower (enrolment) Facilities Facilities Information Information Quality Assurance Systems Assurance Systems Faculty FacultyRelevance

Challenge: How do we attract our brightest to Education/Research ? Pakistan has 90 million below age 19 (56% of population) ! Both a Challenge and an Opportunity Both a Challenge and an Opportunity It is the brightest among them who must provide the leadership in all fields--- education, S&T, Government It is the brightest among them who must provide the leadership in all fields--- education, S&T, Government HOW ??

about the wonders of science ! Excite young minds about the wonders of science ! Select and train the Brightest in top universities abroad -- by creating an enabling environment : Attract them back--- by creating an enabling environment : Salaries Research Funding Access to Literature/ Instrumentation Critical Mass—create clusters !

Attracting the Brightest ! Dramatic Change in Salary Structures/Benefits Under new “Tenure Track” system salaries of Professors raised to over US $ 5,000 per month (equal to US$ 7,000 per month after tax concessions)---five times more than Federal Ministers in Government ! Performance based system Performance based system 75% Tax waiver for University Teachers (maximum 5%)

Massive Foreign scholarship programs Nearly 11,000 awarded (mostly for Europe) --World’s largest Fulbright Scholarship program for the US Nearly 11,000 awarded (mostly for Europe) --World’s largest Fulbright Scholarship program for the US Each returning scholar given access to $ 100,000 research fund with guaranteed jobs Each returning scholar given access to $ 100,000 research fund with guaranteed jobs About US$ 1 Billion being spent on Foreign Scholarships (1500 in IT) Indigenous PhD programs promoted

Using Technology to Leap-Frog! Pakistan Educational Research Network Digital Library Program PAKSAT 1 (Pakistan’s Educational Satellite) Pakistan’s International Video- conferencing Network

18 August 14, Cities

Spread of Internet Services in Cities & Towns of Pakistan Information Technology Year

822 cities on the Internet 2002 Iran Afghanistan India China From 40 to 1,000 Cities on Optical Fibre ( ) SDH/PDH (525/622 Mb/s) backbone being upgraded to DWDM 10 Gb/s

Internet user growth Start point Today June 2000: 130,000 Oct 2006: >12 million Actual users more than 12 Million! Dial up

Plummeting costs…. Start point Today June 2000: US$ 87,000/E1 August 2001: US$ 6,000 October 2004 : US$ 3,800 Now US$ 98 per month/2 Mb/s !

Communications Network---the Effect of one Good Decision! , little Growth(300,000 phones) 2001, CPP regime brought in Network expansion of 3 million phone- lines ordered in 2002 ! Mobilink, U-fone Explosive growth continues till today (over 96 million phones today—hottest sector of the economy)

Pakistan Education & Research Network PERN – I Status (2003 – 08) Universities/ Institutes80 Core Bandwidth155 Mbps Last Mile Bandwidth4-24 Mbps International Leased Circuit 155 Mbps PERN – II Plans ( ) Universities/ Institutes/R&E Org Core Bandwidth10 Gbps Last Mile Bandwidth1 Gbps International Leased Circuit1.3 Gbps

Digital Library E-Journals: 25,000 full text journals 220 international publishers E-Books: access to 45,000 text books and monographs international publishers Free, nation-wide Free, nation-wide

Key Indicators No. of universities Max. bandwidth to a university (Mbps) Avg. bandwidth provided (Mbps) Total Bandwidth Allocated (Mbps) Cost per Mbps per month (USD) Training to universities’ resources

Digital Library Usage National Digital Library Program

Paksat 1 Ku Band C-Band

Increasing Access : 270,000 university students : 270,000 university students 2011 : 950,000 university students 2011 : 950,000 university students No. of Public Sector Universities / Degree Awarding Institutes : Doubled from 59 in 2000 to 137 in 2011 No. of Public Sector Universities / Degree Awarding Institutes : Doubled from 59 in 2000 to 137 in 2011

A Focus on Quality Assurance Four year undergraduate program Four year undergraduate program Standardisation of Degree Programmes Standardisation of Degree Programmes Quality Assurance Structure Quality Assurance Structure Min. Eligibility Criteria for Appointments of Faculty and M.Phil/PhD Degrees Min. Eligibility Criteria for Appointments of Faculty and M.Phil/PhD Degrees 30

31 Gender-wise Enrollment in Higher Education Institutions

Year-wise PhDs Produced

International Research Publications

Pakistan’s Share of World Articles

World University Rankings Higher Education Times, UK Rankings, November : Higher Education Times, UK Rankings, November : Several Pakistani universities ranked among the top 500 universities of the World -- In Natural Sciences: Several Pakistani universities ranked among the top 500 universities of the World -- In Natural Sciences: Karachi University at 223, NUST at 250 and UET (Lahore) at 281 in world! Karachi University at 223, NUST at 250 and UET (Lahore) at 281 in world!

International Video-lecturing Program / Distance Learning High quality video-conferencin g equipment installed Series of international lectures (nation- wide) by top professors from leading world universities MIT Mirror Website for access to Open Source materials established (

International Video-lecturing Program / Distance Learning 1,300 Lectures delivered in last 2 years (live/interactive) to university students 1,300 Lectures delivered in last 2 years (live/interactive) to university students Complete synchronous courses being delivered followed by exams/credit recognition English language courses English language courses PhD theses public defense PhD theses public defense Microsoft Communicator Microsoft Communicator EdX, Coursera (asynchronous) EdX, Coursera (asynchronous) (Chinese language, preparatory A-Level courses for new university entrants) (Chinese language, preparatory A-Level courses for new university entrants)

Glowing International Reviews-- World Bank World Bank USAID USAID British Council British Council “Nature”--27 th November “The Paradox of Pakistan” “Nature”--27 th November “The Paradox of Pakistan” “Nature” --28 th August “After Musharraf” “Nature” --28 th August “After Musharraf” “Nature”--- 3 rd September 2009 “Nature”--- 3 rd September 2009 “Nature” nd September 2010 “Nature” nd September 2010

Nature, 22 nd September “Rahman's strong scientific background, enthusiasm for reform and impressive ability to secure cash made him a hit at home and abroad---- It really was an anomaly that we had a person of that stature with that kind of backing Atta-ur-Rahman was a force of nature."

Royal Society (London) In a survey entitled “A New Golden Age ?” the Royal Society (London) has come forward with examples of recent positive changes in some Islamic countries and quoted Pakistan as the best practice model to be followed by other developing countries In a survey entitled “A New Golden Age ?” the Royal Society (London) has come forward with examples of recent positive changes in some Islamic countries and quoted Pakistan as the best practice model to be followed by other developing countries

Highest Civil Award of Austria

Investment in HRD Pays Back a Million fold – with perseverance ! 12 Students trained under our scholarship program formed an IT company in Islamabad 12 Students trained under our scholarship program formed an IT company in Islamabad ---won a contract of US $ 250 million (Rs 20 billion) in competition to major international companies Innovation determines Progress----but we must create and nurture Innovation ! Innovation determines Progress----but we must create and nurture Innovation ! Time lag between investment and impact on socio-economic development Time lag between investment and impact on socio-economic development

Indian Govt. Worried at Pakistan’s Progress! Presentation to Indian Prime Minister about silent revolution in Higher Education sector of Pakistan Presentation to Indian Prime Minister about silent revolution in Higher Education sector of Pakistan Prof. C.N.R. Rao (Advisor to Indian PM on Science & Technology) requested Prime Minister of India to carry out similar reforms in India Prof. C.N.R. Rao (Advisor to Indian PM on Science & Technology) requested Prime Minister of India to carry out similar reforms in India Hindustan Times, 23 July 2006 Hindustan Times, 23 July 2006

Presentation to Indian PM “Pak threat to Indian science” --- Hindustan Times “Pak threat to Indian science” --- Hindustan Times Neha Mehta New Delhi, July 23, 2006 “Pakistan may soon join China in giving India serious competition in science. Science is a lucrative profession in Pakistan”.

Historic Meeting: Presidents of Pakistan and Indian Science Academies – Science building bridges

PROPOSAL South Asian Countries need to cooperate together South Asian Countries need to cooperate together

From Teaching to Tutoring! High quality contents are becoming increasingly available on the web: High quality contents are becoming increasingly available on the web: MIT Open Access (Mirror web site established in Pakistan in 2004) MIT Open Access (Mirror web site established in Pakistan in 2004) edX (Recent MIT-Harvard initiative) edX (Recent MIT-Harvard initiative) Coursera (Stanford, Princeton, U Penn, Michigan initiative) $ 16 million VC funds Coursera (Stanford, Princeton, U Penn, Michigan initiative) $ 16 million VC funds Udaucity (Stanford Professor) Udaucity (Stanford Professor) Apple iTunes x Apple iTunes x

STRATEGIC APPROACH: The Higher Education Network In this hall we have huge potential : Can we unleash it through creative strategies and programs ? In this hall we have huge potential : Can we unleash it through creative strategies and programs ? Let us stop looking only at governments to help us --- let us try and help ourselves Let us stop looking only at governments to help us --- let us try and help ourselves What is the single biggest hurdle to our development ? It is the lack of highly talented & creative faculty What is the single biggest hurdle to our development ? It is the lack of highly talented & creative faculty

STRATEGIC APPROACH: The Higher Education Network New technologies allow us to share faculty New technologies allow us to share faculty 1) Each of us should identify 10 of its best faculty members and nominate them to give 1 credit hour courses annually ---additional honorarium at suitable levels should be paid by the university ---if 50 of us make such nominations we will have an excellent resource group of 500 top quality professionals

STRATEGIC APPROACH: The Higher Education Network 2) These courses should be directly related to the curricula being taught at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels 3) The courses should be followed by an examination under the supervision of the faculty member delivering the course 3) The courses should be followed by an examination under the supervision of the faculty member delivering the course 4) These courses recognised by the respective academic bodies as part of the students credit needs 4) These courses recognised by the respective academic bodies as part of the students credit needs

PAKISTAN’s Potential Winners of International Science Olympiads