Each year, students at universities across the country come up with innovative ideas, many of which never get implemented and never move beyond the stage of 'prototypes.' Due to their limited budgets and resources, these students have to improvise which is also why they think of intriguing ideas and designs on a limited budget. There is absolutely no transfer of technology from educational institutions to the industry on a large scale in a systematic and institutionalised manner. Even though there are some exceptions like NUST and CASE where few projects are funded by military but it goes without saying that such projects hardly form a large percentage of the larger pool of design and ideas.
“The industry is not confident in the educational institutions, they don't trust us. At the same time, the little funding that is available for the students is hardly given on merit. The bureaucratic delays and endless follow-up visits add to the woes of students and they eventually lose interest,” said Khalid Munawar, a professor at the College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, NUST.
Ahmed Hussain, a student of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI), was the team leader of Aqua which participated in the Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010 held at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia from July 8-10 2010. The event encourages teams from around the world to design and build energy-efficient cars that are tested on a circuit track. From the 81 teams that participated from around the world, only 35 teams qualified to join the track. Team Aqua was the only Pakistani team which not only qualified but also completed its laps. Their vehicle achieved efficiency of 56 km per litre as they modified its exhaust intake by using gasoline as fuel.
“It was not even our final year project but we spent a lot of time on it. We believe that this efficiency figure can be improved a lot more than it is right now, and we want to take this effort further, provided there are opportunities for us to research in this field,” says Hussain. He is upbeat about his project and firmly believes that their study can contribute greatly in solving energy issues for Pakistan.
However, Hussain and his team is a rare instance and should be considered an exception. Some of the other projects at other institutes that were actually completed with ground-breaking innovations, have been relegatd to the backrooms of the relevant departments, collecting dust.
Saad Tiwana, an electrical engineer who graduated from NUST in 2008, was leading the team of students who won a gold medal from Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for outstanding work in their final year project. His team had designed, manufactured and developed controls of the first vertical take-off and landing hybrid Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) of Pakistan. It was in late 2007, when all the brouhaha on US drones was yet to flood the media. Tiwana and his team members tried raising some funds from various sources but to no avail. Eventually, the funds were received but only after they had graduated. Most of them are now employed at multinational companies abroad.
“There are no incentives for students except good grades. There is no concept of grades that are based on the actual industries [or how viable these projects would be in the real world]. Industries can easily outsource small components of their research projects to universities but they never do. Often, students put all efforts into their projects to get good grades. Beyond that, there is nothing in it for them,” said Tiwana.
Efforts have been made to address this diconnect, but those too have been sporadic. One such example is the National Information and Communication (ICT) Research and Development established under the ministry of information. The aim is to build a knowledge-based economy through synergic development of industrial and academic resources. Research funds allocated by different telecom service providers constitute the money disbursed by ICT. Many projects have benefited from this fund.
One of the projects supported by the ICT is the Remote Patient Monitoring System (RMPS), developed by Ali Akbar and his team. Part of the Nexgin RC, a research facility established at FAST National University, their project was successfully completed and is now being run in the adjacent rural areas of Islamabad in collaboration with a few hospitals. As per this system, doctors are able to monitor the progress of their patients without having them to visit the clinic or hospital in person. Due to the implementation of RMPS, pregnant women in rural areas do not have to visit hospitals on a daily basis since their health is regularly monitored from a remote location.
Recently, ICT has been undergoing major management changes. There have been reports of a tussle between government officials and the board of directors due to which funding has been stopped and the status of many projects is in limbo.
But do other industries spend on research and encourage young minds?
Asad Abidi who was the first dean at the LUMS School of Science and Engineering, in an interview with Science, Technology and Education in Pakistan magazine (STEP) said, “Take the example of the indigenous pharmaceutical industry (excluding the herbal and natural medicines). They are doing zero research. Zero. One of the reasons is that there are no pharmaceutical scientists of any standing who can go and develop their own formulations. Another is that the companies cannot see the payoff. This is true for so much else in Pakistan, yet much the reverse in India. Pharmaceuticals and synthetic chemical companies there are doing roaring global business. I am told that tractor companies in Pakistan have tried to engage professors as consultants but it was a complete write-off. If your applied sciences cannot make tangible contributions to the economy, you're just dreaming about the benefits of higher education.”
At the same time industries prefer to hire graduates; the culture of engaging students as internees (in this industry and enabling them to grow with them is not adopted on a wide scale).
In order to facilitate Hussain and others like him, there is a dire need to embrace research centres within educational institutions. As far as financial remuneration is concerned regarding research opportunities, it is not very promising. If the students involved in research know they can influence policymakers, and that their voice and skills can be accommodated in different sectors of the economy, the motivation and incentives will surely follow.
From drones to electric vehicles, from brain-controlled artificial limbs to remotely-monitoring patients, brilliant Pakistani students have been working, trying to make a difference. The glaring disconnect is not only between the universities and the industry but also between the policymakers and the hardworking students who have outshone others in their respective fields.
Husham Ahmed is a public policy consultant, youth activist, and freelance writer. He blogs at hushamahmed.wordpress.com and tweets at twitter.com/hushamahmed
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