Speakers say Pakistan lags behind in development sectors on account of its failure to commercialize scientific applications, achievements
Speakers at a workshop have said that the country is not short of science and technological potential, but it appears lagging behind in the socio-economic development sectors only because it has been failing to commercialize its scientific applications and achievements.
They said that media could also help reduce the gap between the academics and the industry as well by making conscious efforts towards creating awareness about science and related developments.
This they said while addressing the concluding ceremony of a one-day project awareness and training workshop titled “National Digital Archive of Research Published in Pakistani Journals”, which was aimed at providing a single electronic-platform to journals publisher’s community for preservation and dissemination of research published in indigenous research journals.
Addressing the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Sindh Professor (Meritorious) Dr Muhammad Siddique Kalhoro said that the workshop, which had got a unique theme and topics, had concluded with guidelines on how to promote science through print and electronic media.
He said that institutions of media and sciences which were already delivering better could excel further by coming closer to each other. A meaningful interaction and understanding about each other’s work was bound to popularize the science and research activities in the country.
He said that technology-based development could not be accelerated in the country as the required ‘connection’ between the industry and technology was missing. “Technology needs a complete structure for its transfer from laboratory to industry and finally to end users,” he said and added that Pakistani technologists and researchers should be given market access and an environment leading to their cooperation with the public or private sector organizations.
He made a detailed presentation on the number of both male and female students living in hostels, the focus on imparting quality education and conducting empirical research on the campus and mentioned of the facilities being provided to the pupils enrolled at the university.
Dr Kalhoro discussed proposed sectors for technology-based developments in the country. The sectors he identified were energy, textile, agriculture, livestock, metals & minerals, industrial chemicals, engineering, telecommunication and information technology.
Director National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (NCEAC), University of Sindh, Jamshoro Prof. Dr. Syed Tufail Hussain Shah emphasized on media and science relationship and noted that there had been a vacuum between the two sectors.
“Universities which conduct research in addition to teaching may be able to perform needs fully and in line with the national aspirations only when their works are disseminated to the outer world precisely and in time”, he added.
He further said that media persons and scientists should understand each others’ problems and work in a way that science could be presented before the masses appropriately and in an easier language.
DG Pakistan Scientific & Technological Information Centre Prof. Dr. Akram Shaikh introduced PASTIC services and said that the current gap between the developed and developing countries was likely to widen as the former were mastering the tools of science and inventions.
Talking about science and technology from the perspective of Pakistan, he called for increase in qualified faculty, sufficient autonomy to and within universities, adequate funding for R&D and development of infrastructure.
He also talked about the fragment management of science and technology and noted that the ministry of science and technology had very little to do with the main research establishments of the country.
The DG further said that the situation related to scientific works and research papers was not very much encouraging. The maximum papers pertained to health science and the minimum papers were published in physics, while no paper was available in material science for the last some years.
He maintained that planning for proper use of the resources was needed in order to avoid further sufferings caused due to mismanagement in the sector.
Project Manager Mr. Saifullah Azim said that Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (PASTIC) was a premier organization for collection and dissemination of scientific & technological information to cater to the information needs of the scientific community at the national level.
He provided an overview of PASTIC services and highlighted newly developed databases beneficial for researchers, setting the tone for the session and emphasizing the event’s significance.
He also outlined the project’s objectives, achievements, and ongoing plans, providing insight into its significance for the research community in Pakistan.
Earlier, the technical session were held in the workshop, which was organized by Sindh University’s National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (NCEAC) in collaboration with Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (PASTIC) Islamabad in a bid to empower the research journal publishers’ community with modern journal publishing tools and techniques.
Associate Managing Editor, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad Ms Romila Qamar was the resource person of the training workshop. As many as 65 consortium members from Sindh region participated in the project awareness and training activity.
