February 27, 2005

If we’re to progress as a ‘literate nation’ in the true sense of the phrase, the significance of research culture has to be understood

EFFECTIVE higher education as an instrument of change and growth has always been integral, and indeed central, to the agendas of nations seeking intelligent, comprehensive and lasting socio-economic development. Institutes of higher learning are meant not only to impart quality education to graduates, but also to incubate new ideas, concepts and technologies through marketable research. In this context, for quite a long time now, I have been following the discussions about the research culture in Pakistani universities.

I would like to share with you that I am a beneficiary of the Ministry of S & T (MOST) scholarship, which was introduced in the mid-80s under the development plan proposed by Dr Mahboobul Haq. As per the programme, it was planned that 1,000 Pakistanis would be sent abroad for PhD studies. In the very first year the number was reduced to 500 due to the barrage of criticism let off by fellow Pakistanis. Within one year the intake was reduced to 200 and subsequently the programme was completely abolished. It is not surprising to observe that the major component of the current faculty at Pakistani universities has benefited from that scheme. I am sure that if the programme had been allowed to continue for at least five years, it would have brought enormous technological benefits to this country. Those interested in finding out the details of efforts made in rendering ineffective the said scheme may visit the archives at the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST).

I think it is safe to say that not all obtainers of a PhD degree produced in the US, Japan and Europe are top-notch researchers. Amongst them, you can find all tiers of expertise: some are good at teaching, some are better in providing research support, and some are undoubtedly bright researchers. I agree with the suggestions about ensuring quality in the PhD output, put forward by some colleagues, but we must have concrete measures to support the suggestions.

Research is the hallmark of any university’s credibility. Amongst a number of newly established universities in Pakistan, there are still many who have a firm grip on teaching according to the modern curricula as well as research traditions. NUST Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) at Rawalpindi is one such example. Since the year 2001, students and faculty of the NIIT have been working on collaborative research with the CERN on distributed computing problems relating to GRID computing. The faculty and students from the NIIT frequently visit the CERN for collaborative research activities. This prestigious European centre of Nuclear Research Geneva, Switzerland (CERN) has awarded the status of “Associate Research Institute” to the NIIT. To keep a regular flow of knowledge, a number of research groups are working at the NIIT. These include NIIT Network Research Group (NNRG) headed by Dr S.M.H. Zaidi, Distributed and Grid Computing Group (DGCG) headed by myself and Dr Farooq Ahmed, Object Oriented and Database Technologies (NOODBaRG) headed by Dr Sharifullah Khan, and Artificial Intelligence Research Group (AIRG) headed by Dr Waqar Mahmood.

Industrial linkages help in the conduct of home grown research relevant to our needs. The NIIT has achieved academic-cum-industrial linkages with Intel that has led to the establishment of an Intel sponsored state-of-the-art laboratory at the NIIT to familiarize the students with the latest technological trends in computing. Intel experts from abroad deliver lectures on emerging technologies at the NIIT on a regular basis.

At the institute, a firm belief exists that faculty research helps in creating active learning environment where a student uses an investigative process to discover (rediscover) knowledge and that international collaborations offer an excellent window of opportunity for participating institutions to benefit in correspondence to their vision and imagination. The international collaboration has now expanded to Caltech USA (Prof Harvey Newman) in the area of interactive grid analysis environment and the project is being jointly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Pakistan and US State Dept, Stanford USA (Dr Les Cottrell) in the area of Measurement and Analysis for the Global Grid Internet End-to-end Performance (MAGGIE) jointly funded by HEC and US State Dept, Arkansas University at Little Rock (Dr Kamran Iqbal) in the area Autonomous semantic Grid for automating system management tasks, University of North Carolina at Charlotte USA in the area of High Capacity Optical Networks and Databases (Dr Mirsad Hadzikadic), University of West England UK (Dr Richard McClatchey), Beijing Institute of Technology China (Dr C T Chen), University of Savoie France (Dr Flavio Oqendo) in the area of Semantic Grid and Knowledge Management funded by European Union under their Asia Link programme, COMTEC Japan (Dr Hiroki Suguri) in the area of Multiagent System for the development of public domain open source software applications development. Since 2001, the faculty at the NIIT have produced 108 research papers and 34 reports for both international and internal publication. For its prolific research in the areas of international interest, the NIIT has attracted funding from diverse sources.

I am sure you will agree with me that having ongoing research collaboration with such high profile universities speaks volumes about the quality of research being conducted at this institute in Pakistan. I have also seen higher level of interest in research among the academicians of other colleges/institutes of NUST, slowly and gradually it will accelerate at other universities in Pakistan as well. All those involved in research very well know that creating research culture is a painstakingly slow process because it is not something that can be activated or switched off on a momentary impulse.

The NIIT’s remarkable transformation into a quality academic institute engaged in state-of-the-art research with world class research centres would not have been possible without the strong support of the HEC and the senior management of NUST. It would give me great satisfaction to share these experiences with colleagues who are interested in collaborating with us at the NIIT. I would also request all the research network members to identify the specific contribution each individual would like to make to support all endeavours to create better prospects for Pakistan’s academic and research community.

While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity. Criticism for the sake of criticism or of nay saying can yield little benefit to national development. However, constructive and positive criticism allied with concrete actions and personal contribution has been the catalyst for many a nation’s rehabilitation and progress. In the spirit of social responsibility, let all individuals who wish to have a stake in Pakistan step forward and contribute what they can to build a better future for which the HEC is striving so hard, and needs to be complimented. We should be proud of our achievements.

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