05 February 2004	Thursday	13 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Feb 4: In the past more than 43 years the Pakistani scientists have managed to get just eight patents registered internationally. This shows that they have largely failed in translating their findings into applications which could be utilized in the production sector.

According to a detailed study carried out by the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST), corrective steps are badly needed in this area.

In the foreword to the report on the study, PCST Chairperson Dr S.T.K. Nasim says: "It is a shocking reality of our 'innovation system' that in the past 50 years scientists working in our R&D organizations and universities have registered only eight international patents.

"This is a stark indication of the complete isolation of our knowledge-producing organizations from the production sector and calls for immediate corrective action and policy measures to evolve a public-private partnership for the use of created knowledge for productivity increases and value addition in industrial products and processes".

The study, entitled "Productive Scientists of Pakistan", has quantified both the quality and quantity of the research work undertaken at the public sector research organizations and universities from 1960 to 2003. It is based on the performances of 709 scientists, out of a total of 3,500, who contributed at least one paper to any of the internationally recognized and cited journals in the period from 1999 to 2001.

The study, a copy of which has been obtained by Dawn, is the third and latest in the PCST's series of publications aimed at separating the "productive" scientists from the below-average ones. The first two studies were respectively entitled "Leading Scientists of Pakistan", which was published in 1999, and "Scientific Research In Pakistan", which was released in 2001.

The authors of the study, which analysed the scientists' output during a 43-year-period, have identified several shortcomings in the 'innovation system' of the country. Some of these are:

- Of almost 47 public sector universities and 100 major R&D organizations, only seven are actively involved in international quality research;

- Most of the quality research conducted in the known centres of the country has been supply-oriented and despite acceptance by top journals has resulted in only eight patents registered internationally;

- Almost 46 per cent of the 709 scientists who are productive are in the 41-50 years age group. Thirty per cent belong to the 51-60 years group. In the age group 31-40 only 19 per cent are actively involved;

- Chemistry, biology and physics are relatively strong areas. There are very few scientists in mathematics and their contribution is also relatively small. In applied sciences, such as agriculture and engineering, not many scientists have been published internationally;

- The HEJ Institute of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Aga Khan University, Dr A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories and Centre for Advanced Molecular Biology have fared better than the other research organizations, and;

- Of 73 public and private universities, there are only 33 that have one or more scientists who can be classified as "productive". The remaining 40 universities have zero cumulative points and no "productive" scientists which is a matter of great concern.

The study mentions specifically that attempts were made by the PCST to contact each scientist individually for verification of the data gleaned from their resumes. However, some scientists may not have been reached.

The book does not list scientists who were unable to get any paper published from 1999 to 2001.