SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH & HIGHER
EDUCATION IN THE ISLAMIC
WORLD
Dr. Sultan T. Abu-Orabi
Secretary General
Association of Arab Universities
1st Arab-Malaysian Global Higher Education Summit
3-6 October 2012
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia - Malaysia
1
The Arab World
22 Countries:
Africa: 10
Asia :12
2
Higher education in the Arab World
• Higher education in Arab countries is
considered recent. In the past decades,
most Arab students used to study mainly
at few Arab universities spread in the
Arab World in addition to universities in
Turkey, Pakistan, Europe, USA and India.
3
• According to the Middle East Brief , no.36 May 2009,
Higher learning is deeply rooted in the history and
societies of the Arab Middle East. After the seventh
century and the islamization of the Arab world, local
religious schools known as madrasa became the
main institutions of higher learning in the Middle
East. They established and disseminated educational
standards that are still applied in present-day
universities, such as the separation of master’s from
doctorate programs, tenure, and protections for
academic freedom.
4
• Madrasas like al-Azhar in Cairo (Egypt,
970AD) and the Qarawiyyun in Fez
(Morroco 859AD), Al Mustansiryah in
Iraq (1227 AD) originated in intellectual
movements such as humanism and
scholasticism, which nurtured the
subsequent flourishing of Western
scholarship after the twelfth century.
5
Cairo University
Established in 1908
6
• During the same period, other institutions of
the Arab world such as hospitals, libraries,
observatories, and private homes known as
“academies” undertook the development of
the nonreligious sciences, inspired by the
ancient Greeks. The most famous of these
academies was the Beit al Hikma (House of
Wisdom) in Baghdad, where numerous fields
within the sciences (astronomy, physics,
mathematics,
medicine,
chemistry,
geography) flourished until the sixteenth
century.
7
• Yet the Ottomans, who ruled the Arab world
throughout this period, strove as early as the
eighteenth century to get their Empire back
into the academic game. In 1720, the Sultan
Ahmed III sent delegations of scholars to
Europe in order to obtain translations of
Western scientific books. This pattern reached
its peak during the reign of Mohamed Ali (r.
1805–49), when dozens of modern
institutions of
higher
learning
were
established
on
the
European model,
mainly in Egypt.
8
• Meanwhile—in fact, since the eighteenth
century—European missionaries, followed by
American Christians, were founding dozens
of schools and institutions of higher learning
in the Middle East, while the French
established institutions of higher learning in
North Africa. Thus, neither the globalization
of higher education nor “Westernization” is a
new trend in the Middle East.
9
Islamic Science University of Malaysia
10
• Until 1953, only 13 public and private
universities were established in the Arab
World. Most existing private universities
were very old and mostly foreign. For
example, in Lebanon there were two
pioneering institutions, namely the
American university in Beirut in 1866 and
Saint Joseph University in 1875.
11
• It is recorded that Al-Azhar University in
Cairo is the oldest formal university
known (970AD) and it is also argued that
Al-Qarawiyyin University in Fez is the first
university in the world ever established
(859 AD).
• Those universities were funded by the
Islamic Waqf (Endowment)
12
Arab Universities founded before 1950
COUNTRY
Name of University
Egypt
1- The Egyptian University (present Cairo University)
2- University of Farouk the First in Alexandria (present
Alexandria University)
3- Al Azhar Univeristy
4- Ain Shams University
5- The American University
Syria
6-The Syrian University (present Damascus University)
Algeria
7-University of Algier
Morocco
8-Al-Qarawiyeen University
Tunisia
9-Al Zaytounah University
Lebanon
10-The American University
11-Saint Joseph University
Sudan
12- Khartoum University
13
Qatar University
Founded in 1973
14
• During the last twenty five years, private universities
increased rapidly and absorbed around 30% of
students enrolled in Higher Education.
• While private non-profit universities in Lebanon date
from the 19th century, Jordan opened its first private
for-profit university in 1990, followed by Egypt, Syria
and the Gulf Region.
• At present, there are more than 190 private
universities in the Arab World. This represents 45%
of the total number of Arab universities .
15
• In some Arab Countries, Private universities
and HE institutions managed at one time to
take over 40% of total enrollment.
• In some Far Eastern countries as Japan and
South Korea, enrollment percentage of Private
HE exceeds 50% while in most Western
European Countries, Private higher education
is still around 30% of the total higher
education.
• In USA, private higher education is around
20% of total enrollment.
16
Quantitative Development of Arab Universities, Students and
Faculty Staff
1 – The number of Arab universities expanded
from 233 Universities in 2003 to about 286
Universities in 2006, of which are 153
governmental and 133 private. The number
of students was about 4,400,000 and the
number faculty staff members was 183.000
of whom were 78% Humanities, 22%
scientific studies. In 2011 the number rose to
399 universities, around 8 million students
and 230,000 faculty members.
17
Damascus University in Syria
Established in 1923
18
Quantitative Development of Arab Universities, Students and
Faculty Staff
2 – The percentage of the student to the faculty
member is about 21:1 and in some
universities up to 100:1, while in the Gulf
States it reaches up to 17:1 to 41:1. Some
statistics indicates that they are up to 10:1.
However, the global ideal level is 15:1
student to faculty member.
3 – The number of undergraduate students is
90% of the total students number, 10% of
them are graduate students.
19
4- The cost of a university student in the Arab
world is about $ 2700 a year and it might
reach $ 550 in some countries. In the Gulf
countries, the student’s cost is between
7000-15000 dollars.
5 – The Budget allocated to higher education in
the Arab world is up to $ 11 billion.
6- The proportion of expenditure on university
education in the Arab world is about 1.3% of
the total national income.
20
Number of Universities in Arab Countries, Their Type (governmental/private)
and Date of Their Establishment
Higher Education in the Arab World
Country
1.
Egypt
Iraq
2.
Lebanon
3.
Jordan
Palestine
Syria
Bahrain
Kuwait
Oman
4.
Qatar
Saudi
Arabia
UAE
5.
Algeria
Morocco
6.
Tunisia
Libya
Sudan
Yemen
Djibouti
Mauritania
Somalia
TOTAL
21
Before 1950
1973
1993
Gov number
Priv of students
Total
Gov.
Priv 3.2 Million
Total
Gov.
Priv.
Total
The
raised from
in
1996 to
7.2 million
in
4
1
5
7
1
8
12
1
13
2006.
5
5
12
12
1
1
5
8
13
There
are
2230
students
per
100.000
population.
3
3
1
7
8
2
2
1
4
5at present
1
8
The- number
of Universities
exceeded
400,
but 9 the
1
1
3
3
4
4
percentage
of
universities
to
population
is
still
less
than
global
average.
2
2
- per million
1
1
1
1
( 1 university
population).
1
1
There
are
10,000
universities
in
the
world
for
about
6.7
Billions
1
1
1
1
4
4
7
7
population.
1 of which
There
are 125.000
staff
members
in- the Arab
world,
25%1 are
1
1
3
3
13
13
females.
1
1
3
3
13
13
2
2
6
6
The1ratio of -students1 to teachers
are- as follows:
2
2
11
11
Industrial
World:
1:14
1
2
2
16
16
2
2
4
2
6
World
Average:
1:16
1
1
1
1
Arab- World:- 1:30 1
1
1
1
9
3
12
38
8
46
UNESCO114Science26report 140
2010
Statistics on Higher Education in the Arab World for the Year 2011
(Association of Arab Universities)
2003
Country
Tunisia
Iraq
Bahrain
Yemen
UAE
Morocco
Sudan
Lebanon
Oman
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Egypt
Palestine
Jordan
Libya
Somalia
Comoros
Mauritania
Djibouti
Qatar
Algeria
TOTAL
22
2011
Gov.
Priv.
Total
Gov.
Private
Total
No. of Students
No. of
Faculty
Staff
8
14
2
7
2
13
27
1
1
1
8
5
13
2
8
14
1
1
1
1
26
156
14
8
5
1
1
18
1
2
6
9
10
2
77
22
14
2
15
7
14
28
19
2
3
8
5
19
11
18
14
3
1
1
1
26
233
13
25
2
8
2
14
28
1
1
1
23
5
20
2
11
9
3
1
1
1
1
34
206
19
8
8
13
19
4
7
19
7
4
8
10
15
13
18
2
11
6
2
193
32
33
10
21
21
18
35
20
8
5
31
15
35
15
29
11
360000
397784
35848
300000
59333
419885
500000
205000
80000
34560
667000
282484
2800000
196625
336000
264000
4147
25000
15000
15500
1149899
8148065
21210
31990
3100
10000
1861
12085
9700
12700
4100
1705
21320
9500
67000
5900
8898
9000
195
1175
580
1100
19500
252619
14
1
1
1
7
36
399
Yala Islamic University, Thailand
Founded in 2007
23
The First Challenge is :
Quality Assurance
24
As a result of Globalization, competitiveness
and accelerating expansion of private Higher
Education, it is vital to take several actions
such as :
• To establish national quality assurance
frameworks and to develop current
established ones in order to guarantee the
quality of education and control its
outcomes.
• To develop, enhance and review current
internal quality management systems.
25
• To encourage establishing regional quality
assurance networks to help promoting QA
of higher education in the region.
• To build capacities for education quality
assurance systems
• To develop action plans on quality
assurance of higher education institutions.
• To enhance international cooperation in
fields of Higher education quality
assurance.
26
Role of AARU in Quality Assurance
• Due to the importance of the topic of quality
assurance, the Council of AARU agreed in its
meeting in Algeria 2006 to establish a council
for quality assurance and accreditation (QAAC)
for member universities to adopt the policies
of the Association in this regard.
• The Vision of the QAAC of AARU is to:• “Guarantee a high quality precision for higher
education institutes of AARU members”.
27
• Its mission is to assist Arab Universities to improve
their quality, through spreading of the culture of QA,
preparing QA guides, provide advice and training to
support the process of QA and Accreditation for
institutes and programs. So far, the council has
issued six reference manuals and guides related to
self and external assessment and general
accreditation in addition to performance indicators
and criteria and weights to measure the performance
indicators.
28
• AArU cooperates with national accreditation bodies
to discuss and plan together in order to create an
Arab umbrella to take the responsibility of quality
assurance, while making all efforts with UNESCO and
relevant organizations, to give effect to the
Convention on the Recognition of Studies,
Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and other Academic
Qualifications in Higher Education in the Arab States
to ensure promoting academic mobility and
strengthening international understanding.
29
• The importance of these indicators is the fact that
Arabs lack readiness to strongly compete in the
twenty-first century. The Arab world must start
reform in order to meet the challenges that
globalization has imposed upon it. With all these
problems, our educational institutions should set
new precisions and criteria to guarantee a high
quality educational systems and programs, and to
integrate new technologies to be able to compete
with other institutions all over the world especially
after the influence of globalization
30
Brunei Darussalam University
31
The Second Challenge facing Arab universities is
poor Scientific Research
• Arab’s expenditures on scientific research are
about 0.2-0.4% of the national income GDP,
while it is around 3-5% in developed
countries.
• The number of researchers per million
inhabitants is 450 in the Arab Countries,
whereas in the developed countries the
number is 5000 per million.
32
Researchers per million inhabitants (2007)
Jordan
3030
Tunisia
1588
Egypt
617
Morrocco
647
Qatar
588
Sudan
290
Oman
252
Algeria
170
Kuwait
166
Libya
60
KSA
41
Yemen
23
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Note: for Jordan, Sudan, Libya & Saudi Arabia, the data are a head count; for the remainder of countries, data are full-time
equivalent; for Sudan, the data are estimation; for Tunisia, the data are overestimated; for Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait,
Libya & Saudi Arabia, the data are underestimated for partial; for Oman & Mauritania, the data concern FTE researchers
at
33
government universities; for Yemen, the data exclude FTE researchers at government universities.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics database, July 2010; for Mauritania, Oman, Qatar and Yemen: Saleh (2008) S&T
indicators in the Arab States.
33
Number of Publications per million inhabitants (2008)
Source: Thomson Reuters (Scientific) Inc. Web of Science. Science Citation Index Expanded, complied for UNESCO
by the Observatoire des Sciences et des techniques for population data; World Bank (2010) World Development
Indicators.
34
34
% of World Contribution for Scientific Articles
UNESCO Report 2003
35
Country
%
USA
30.8
Japan
8.2
UK
7.9
Germany
7.2
France
5.7
Israel
1.1
Egypt
0.3
Saudi Arabia
0.1
Lebanon
0.04
Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia
0.03
Jordan, Syria
0.02
Bahrain
0.01
Yemen, Oman, UAE
0.008
Scientific Articles Published in the Arab World in 2005
Institute of Scientific Information (ISI)
36
Country
Number of Research
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
Lebanon
Jordan
3459
1715
1563
959
Syria
Qatar
Iraq
224
138
100
Libya
Palestinian Authority
81
63
Number of Patents registered in some Countries
USA Patents Office 2008
Country
USA
UK
Japan
Israel
India
South Korea
37
2007
79.527
3.292
33.354
1.107
546
6.295
1963-2007
3.460.775
126.663
692.181
15.641
3.445
50.420
Number of Arab Patents registered in USA over 10 years (2009)
ARAB COUNRTIES
38
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Egypt
Lebanon
Morocco
United Arab Emirates
Tunisia
Jordan
Syria
Algeria
Iraq
Oman
Sudan
Qatar
Bahrain
Libya
Mauritania
Yemen
PATENTS
147
118
116
73
71
66
23
22
20
13
10
8
7
6
4
4
3
3
Islamic University in Gaza, Palestine
Founded in 1978
39
Other Challenges Facing Scientific Research
• Low rates of Expenditure on Scientific Research.
• Low outputs of Scientific research (publications and
patents).
• Adopting
the method
of transferring and
memorizing knowledge rather that getting it
through research.
• Scientific research of graduate students is rather
traditional and does not tackle socio-economic
development.
• Non-compliance with the implementation of a
national policy or a clear strategic plan for scientific
research.
40
• Lack of cooperation and coordination among
universities as well as lack of exchange of
information, experiences, publications and
co-research.
• Disconnection between scientific research
and national sustainable development plans.
• Ignoring quality and innovation in promotion
requirements at some universities. However
the requirements are based rather on
spending a specific period of time and
submitting specific number of scientific
research.
41
• Lack of scientific research activities and its
impact on sustainable development.
• Fragility of university education systems in
general due to its novelty where most
universities have been established in the last
quarter of the 20th century and at the
beginning of the 21st century.
• Low quality of education due to the inflation
of student number and limited number of
available staff members.
42
• Unemployment of research results in
economic projects due to
weak links
between research institutes and production
sectors.
• Lack of specialized centers for scientific
research.
• An over –inflated ego in researchers and lack
of interaction with team work.
• Lack of universities’ autonomy, governance
and institutional performance.
• Weak quality of HE outputs.
43
Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Founded in 2002
44
Role of AARU in Supporting Scientific Research
Funding Scientific Research:
• Any worthwhile research must necessarily be based on the
following pillars: vision, strategy, logistics, human resources
that include well qualified researchers and meaningful
research priorities directed towards problem-solving rather
than just publishing.
• The Arab world today faces a host of hurdles when it comes to
scientific research including a lack of clear focus in research
priorities and strategies, insufficient time and funding to meet
research goals, low awareness of the importance and impact
of good scientific research, inadequate networking
opportunities and databases, limited international
collaborative efforts, and of course, the brain-drain.
45
• One of the solutions to meet the challenges is to increase the
budget for scientific research, select meaningful priority areas
for research, lay down workable strategic goals and action
plans, establish adequate databases and networking
capabilities, and robustly encourage private sector input and
participation.
• In a step to support financing scientific research at Arab
Universities, a decision was adopted in March 2012 during the
last meeting of AArU in Morocco to launch The Scientific
Research Fund at the headquarters of AArU. We are working
to seek the support of various bodies to make this Fund
effective.
46
Islamic University Bangladesh
Founded in 1986
47
The Third Challenge is Brain Drain
losses at Arab Universities
• 31% of the total brain drain from developing
countries are from the Arab countries, 50%
of them are doctors and 32% are engineers.
• 15% of Arab talents went to Europe and
America.
48
• 34% of physicians working in the UK are Arabs and
Muslims.
• 75% of the total scientific talent migration in
Canada, USA and Britain are Arabs and Muslims.
• 54% of Arab students who study abroad do not
return to their home countries.
49
Main Reasons of Brain Drain in Arab Countries
• Political instability.
• Social Injustice.
• Absence of appropriate environment to conduct
research.
• Lack of research facilities and low quality research
standards.
• Lack of freedoms.
• Lack of work motivations and incentives.
• Low salaries.
50
The Dead Sea
51
The Status of scientific
Research & Higher Education
in Islamic World
• Source: Prof. Wagdy A. Sawahel
• General coordinator,
• IDB science development Network
52
Map of the Islamic World
53
The Status of Scientific Research &
Higher Education in Islamic World
Islamic World composed:
 22% of the world population
 having 70% of energy resources
 40 % of natural resources
 The contribution of OIC countries towards world income is only
8%.
 39 % of the Islamic countries population live below the poverty
level
 22 of the 50 least developed countries in the world are OIC
Member States.
54
The Status of Scientific Research &
Higher Education in Islamic World
 The Research and Development manpower of Muslim
countries is only 1.18% of the total science and technology
manpower, noting that OIC makes 22% of the world
population.
 Only two scientists from Islamic states have won Nobel
Prizes , Abdus Salam, a Pakistani (Physics, 1979) and
Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian (Chemistry, 1999). Both carried
out their research outside Islamic countries.
 Islamic countries have approximately 450 researchers per
million population compared to 2200-4500 per million in the
developed countries.
55
The Status of Scientific Research &
Higher Education in Islamic World
 Whereas Japan, the United States, Germany, and other Western
countries spend 2 % - 4% of their gross domestic product (GDP)
annually on research; no Muslim country spends more than 0.5
% of its GDP on research.
 The OIC countries have about 1700 universities in total
compared to 1,000 in Japan, including 120 in Tokyo alone, 170
universities in Thailand.
56
R&D expenditures as % of GDP
Regions, 2002
Selected Countries, 2003
World
Developed countries
2.3
Developing countries
Less dev. countries
Israel
1.7
Sweden
2.7
Americas
3.2
1.7
USA
2.6
Germany
2.6
UK
Asia
1.5
China
Oceania
1.4
Brazil (2000)
Africa
3.5
Japan
0.1
0.3
4.0
Finland
1.0
Europe
4.9
1.9
1.3
1.0
India (2000-2001)
0.8
Turkey (2002)
0.7
0.5
All Arab States
0.2
Tunisia (2001-2002)
Arab States Africa
0.2
Egypt (2001-2002)
0.2
Arab States Asia
0.1
Syria (2001-2002)
0.2
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimations, December 2004, European Trend Chart 2005
57
International Islamic University Islamabad
Founded in 1980
58
The Status of Scientific Research &
Higher Education in Islamic World
The number of researchers
 450 researchers for one million Arab
populations
100 researchers per million African Muslims
570 researchers per million Asian Muslims.
59
The Status of Scientific Research &
Higher Education in Islamic World
• Of the 28 lowest producers of scientific articles, half are muslim
countries (according to the US National Science Foundation in
2006).
• In 2003, the world average production of articles per million
inhabitants was 137; the average of Muslim countries was only 13
with the highest publication rates being in Turkey and Iran.
• According to the (World Bank Development Indicators of 2006), of
the top 15 countries which have submitted international
applications under the patent cooperation treaty, not one of them
are Muslim country.
• The Muslim rate of enrollment in higher education is fully 45 %
lower than that for the Third World countries.
60
The Status of Scientific Research &
Higher Education in Islamic World
United Nation Development Programe (UNDP) has grouped
countries of the world in terms of technology into:




leaders
Potential leaders
Dynamic adopters
Marginalized countries.
1. Only Malaysia and Turkey are classified among
potential leaders.
2. The rest of the OIC countries fall under the category
of marginalized countries.
61
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
Founded in 1983
62
Academic Ranking of World Universities
One of the criticisms of the Unv. ranking is its
bias towards:
• The natural sciences, and science journals,
such as the articles published by Science or
Nature.
• Or the number of Nobel prize winners (which
are predominantly awarded to the Natural
sciences.
The total number of universities and institutions of
higher education and research in the Muslim world is
only just above 1700 (The Federation of Universities
of the Islamic World has membership of 217
universities).
63
According to 2007 academic ranking of the world universities, only 2
universities from Islamic world were listed in the top 500 universities:
World rank
Institutions
Country
403-510
univ. Istanbul
Turkey
Cairo Univ.
Egypt
www.istanbul.edu.tr
403-510
www.cu.edu.eg
64
King Fahd University for Petroleum & Minerals
Founded in 1963
65
QS World University Rankings
The Times Higher Education Supplement "THES"( a
British publication), publishes annually the THES-QS
world university rankings, a list of 400 ranked
universities from around the world.
QS ranking faces criticism due to the more subjective
nature of its assessment criteria, which are largely
based on a "peer review" system of 1000 academics
in various fields.
66
According to 2008 QS World university rankings, below are the Muslim
universities mentioned in the list of top 500 universities.
Rank
institutions
country
230
University Malaya (UM)
Malaysia
250
University Kebangsaan Malaysia
Malaysia
287
University of Indonesia
Indonesia
313
University Sains Malaysia
Malaysia
315
Bandung institute of technology
Indonesia
316
University of Gadjah Mada
Indonesia
320
University of Putra Malaysia
Malaysia
338
King Fahd University of petroleum & minerals
Saudi Arabia
356
University Teknologi Malaysia
Malaysia
374
Bilkent University
Turkey
376
Istanbul Technical university
Turkey
376=
National university of science and technology
Pakistan
401-500
Cairo University
Egypt
401-500
Istanbul university
Turkey
401-500
KOC University
Turkey
401-500
University of Lahore
Pakistan
401-500
Sabanic University
Turkey
401-500
University of Tehran
Iran
401-500
United Arab emirates university
United Arab Emirates
67
Islamic Azad University - Tehran
Established in 1987
68
Webometrics of world universities
offers information about more than 4,000 universities according to their
web-presence (a computerized assessment of the size and
sophistication of the website).
According to 2009 Webometrics of world universities, below
are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of top 500
universities.
Rank
institutions
country
292
King Saud university
Saudi Arabia
302
King Fahd University of
petroleum & minerals
Saudi Arabia
69
According to 2009 Web-based popularity ranking for universities in
the world, below are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of
top 200 universities.
70
Rank
Institutions
Country
23
Institut Teknologi Bandung
Indonesia
30
Cairo University
Egypt
33
Bilkent Üniversitesi
Turkey
34
Gazi Üniversitesi
Turkey
36
Istanbul Teknik Üniversitesi
Turkey
37
Bogaziçi Üniversitesi
Turkey
46
Ankara niversitesi
Turkey
51
Ain Shams University
Egypt
54
Bahçesehir Üniversitesi
Turkey
132
Anadolu Üniversitesi
Turkey
146
Universitas Gadjah Mada
Indonesia
COMSTECH Ranking
OIC standing committee on S & T cooperation has classified Muslim states and their
universities according to publications frequency between 1995-2005.
Top 10 most scientifically productive countries in the Muslim world
Table 1: Top 10 Most Scientifically Productive Countries in the Muslim World*
Country
10-yr Publications
1.
Turkey
82,407
Medicine
2.
Egypt
27,723
Mathematics
3.
Iran
19,114
Chemistry
4.
Saudi Arabia
17,472
Medicine
5.
Malaysia
10,674
Crystallography
6.
Morocco
10,113
Chemistry
7.
Nigeria
9,105
Food Science & Technology
8.
Pakistan
7,832
Plant Sciences
9.
Jordan
6,384
Chemical Sciences
10.
Kuwait
5,930
Medicine
71
Top Discipline
Source: COMSTECH
As measured by publications frequency between 1995-2005
72
73
Arab Knowledge Report 2009
74
Turkey
& Malaysia for comparison
Arab Knowledge Report 2009
75
List of Internet Usage statistics in the Arabic Countries
76
Population
(2009 Est.)
Usage, in
Dec/2000
Internet Usage,
Latest Data
(2009)
% Population
(Penetration)
User Growth
(2000-2009)
1
Egypt
78,866,635
450,000
12,568,900
15.9%
2693.1%
2
Morocco
31,285,174
100,000
10,300,000
32.9%
10200.0%
3
Saudi Arabia
28,686,633
200,000
7,700,000
26.8%
3750.0%
4
Sudan
41,087,825
30,000
4,200,000
10.2%
13900.0%
5
Algeria
34,178,188
50,000
4,100,000
12.0%
8100.0%
6
Syria
21,762,978
30,000
3,565,000
16.4%
11783.3%
7
UAE
4,798,491
735,000
2,922,000
60.9%
297.6%
8
Tunisia
10,486,339
100,000
2,800,000
26.7%
2700.0%
9
Jordan
6,269,285
127,300
1,500,500
23.9%
1078.7%
10
Kuwait
2,692,526
150,000
1,000,000
37.1%
566.7%
List of Internet Usage statistics in the Arabic Countries
11
Lebanon
4,017,095
300,000
945,000
215.0%
1.6%
12
Oman
3,418,085
90,000
465,000
416.7%
0.8%
13
Qatar
833,285
30,000
436,000
1353.3%
0.8%
14
Bahrain
728,709
40,000
402,900
907.3%
0.7%
15
Yemen
22,858,238
15,000
370,000
2366.7%
0.6%
16
Palestine(W. BK.)
2,461,267
35,000
355,500
915.7%
0.6%
17
Libya
6,324,357
10,000
323,000
3130.0%
0.5%
18
Iraq
28,945,569
12,500
300,000
2300.0%
0.5%
19
Eritrea
5,647,168
5,000
200,000
3900.0%
0.3%
20
Somalia
9,832,017
200
102,000
50900.0%
0.2%
21
Mauritania
3,129,486
5,000
60,000
1100.0%
0.1%
22
Gaza Strip
1,551,859
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
349,861,209
2,515,000
54,615,800
5836.9%
Total
77
Istanbul University
Founded in 1453
78
Problems & Challenges in Res. & Higher Edu. In Muslim
World?
• Distribution.
The number of research scientists and engineers remains below that of rich
countries. Science and engineering students are drawn from urban middleincome backgrounds; few of the much larger number of poor students can
pursue research careers.
• Language.
About 80% of the world's scientific literature is in English, Published literature
in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and other languages is inadequate for teaching
students as well as researchers. Scientific work, therefore, requires a
competence in reading, writing, English.
• Education.
Most Universities focus on teaching rather than research. Few
strong doctoral programs or research centers of academic
excellence exist. Overcrowded universities have been unable to
environment & resources for research.
79
Problems & Challenges in Res. & Higher Edu. In Muslim
World?
• Research.
Muslim world have no shortage of scientists, but it does
have a scarcity of career researchers, lack of ability to
train young researchers.
• University-industry collaboration
There is a gap between academia & private sector.
• Resources.
A lack of financial resources and incentives has been a
major barrier to research. Even where funds are
available, research-management capabilities are in short
supply.
80
Problems & Challenges in Res. & Higher Edu. In Muslim
World?
• Regional cooperation.
Some oil-rich countries are short of researchers, while
other countries (Egypt and Pakistan) export them.
Also, most Muslim countries have similar & shared
interests. of applied-research needs and priorities,
such as solar energy, desertification, and desalination,
should produce
• Government support.
Applied-research units in government, should provide
fund & support for infrastructure & research
development.
• Brain-Drain of qualified scientists & researchers
81
Achievement in Some Muslim countries
• Malaysia…. a regional education hub
√ The UN has announced an international centre for South‐South
cooperation in science, technology and innovation based in
Malaysia.
√ Promotes research collaboration, technology transfer and the
development of industries in fields such as IT, biotechnology and
nanotechnology.
√ Malaysia is developing an education city that to be partially
operational by 2013. Located in Nusajaya, Iskandar Malaysia, the
129-hectare EduCity could eventually have eight universities, each
with one specialised faculty.
√ According to the Institute of International Education, Malaysia has
2% of the world's international student population. It is currently
the world's 11th most preferred study destination with almost
82
70,000
international students from more than 150 countries -
University of Madras-India
Founded in 1857
83
Achievement in Some Muslim countries
Iran
Iran stands 11, 13, 15, 19, 22 and 32 in
the world rankings of the scientific
fields of math, mechanic, polymer,
chemistry, chemical engineering and
physics, respectively.
84
Achievement in Some Muslim countries
Saudi Arabia ranked 7th in higher education •
The Economist Magazine has placed Saudi Arabia on seventh place ahead of
France, Russia, Italy, Spain, Malaysia and many other countries in the field of
higher education and scientific research. This is due to:
√ The amount of fund spent on students in the field of higher education,
√ The percentage of allocations for higher education in the general budget,
√ The total number of external students, and the number of business
administration institutes.
√ The launch in September 2009 of a graduate university in Saudi Arabia, The King
Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which have ~ US $ 10
billion endowment – the sixth largest in the world.
85
Achievement in Some Muslim countries
The Dubai International Academic City
√ Includes universities and research & development
centres from developing countries, such as India, Iran
and Pakistan, as well as industrialized countries, such as
Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
√ US$10 billion Foundation to narrow 'Arab knowledge
gap'
√ The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation
support establishing scientific research centres in Arab
universities, offer research grants to Arab researchers
86
Achievement in Some Muslim countries
√ 'US$1 billion Higher education city' in Bahrain 2010)
to boost for Middle East science
√ Aims to encourage educational innovation to fill
the skills gaps in labour markets.
√ To include laboratories, an international centre for
research, a specialist academy as well as branches
of foreign universities
√ The first Internet-based 'e-University' for Asia and
the Middle East.
87
Achievement in Some Muslim countries
• Qatar. leading university-industry partnership
√ Qatar has officially opened its US$800 million science
park, to attract start-up enterprises in the fields of
energy, environment, health sciences, and
information and communication technology.
√ The park has an innovation and technology transfer
centre, It encourages the transfer of technology,
knowledge and skills to companies, and start-up
enterprises.
88
PETRA – JORDAN
89
The Association of Arab
Universities
• The Association of Arab Universities is the result of an
initiative adopted by the Arab League. The idea first came out
during a seminar that was held in Benghazi, Libya in 1964 to
study the problems of higher and university education in the
Arab world and to set frameworks of cooperation among Arab
universities. Fortunately, the seminar ended up in establishing
the Association of Arab Universities. Following the approval of
the AARU's By-law by the Arab League, a temporary
Secretariat General was formed. In 1969, the First General
Conference was convened in Alexandria and a resolution was
adopted to designate a permanent Secretariat General. At
that time, the number of Arab Universities was 23.
90
Role of AARU in Enhancing Internationalization
Internationalization:
• in order to facilitate cooperation between Arab universities
and relevant regional and international universities, and to
keep pace with the various developments in learning
techniques and patterns, AArU will organize several activities:
(1) AArU will organize in cooperation with the
Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM) a
periodical Arab-Malaysian Summit for Arab
and Malaysian universities’ presidents
in
addition to countries of South Eastern Asia to be
held from 2-6 October 2012 in Malaysia,
provided that it will be hosted the following
year by one of the Arab universities.
91
(2) AArU
(3)
92
will organize in cooperation with the
Turkish Universities a similar periodical
Summit for Arab and Turkish universities’
presidents during 2012.
In view of the importance of enhancing
cooperation
between
scientists,
technologists and researchers working in
various
educational
and
research
institutions , organizations and centers
related to teaching and scientific research
abroad, and its counterparts in the Arab
world,
AArU will organize in cooperation with King Saudi
University in Saudi Arabia a conference for Arab
scientist abroad aiming at activating their role
through conducting joint scientific research focusing
on applied research; Participating in the supervision
of postgraduate programs at Arab Universities;
Evaluating scientific research published in Arab
journals and
research papers submitted to
academic promotion; Participating in conferences
and seminars held either abroad or at their
homelands and exchanging outcomes of these
activities.
93
(4)
94
The Association of Arab universities also
seeks to enhance cooperation with
European universities through The
Association of Arab and European
Universities. Ultimate goal is to develop
human
resources
and
promote
understanding between cultures and
exchanges between the civil societies
involved, A meeting for members of both
sides will be organized during next year in
Lebanon, Beirut.
• At the End, Arab countries need to face all
these challenges. Sooner or later they will be
forced to commence reform plans to ensure
equity, quality and efficiency to both public
and private institutions within a regulatory
framework that introduces incentive
mechanisms and grant some degree of
autonomy.
95
United Arab Emirates University
Founded in 1976
96
Institutions affiliated to AArU
1- The Arab Council for Training of Arab
Universities Students (hosted by
University of Jordan).
2- The Arab Council for Higher Studies and
Scientific Research (hosted by Cairo
University).
3- The Arab Council for Students Activities
(hosted by South Valley university,
Egypt).
97
4- The Council of Quality Assurance and
Accreditation (at the premises of AArU).
5- The Center for Reserving University Theses
(hosted by University of Jordan).
6- The Arab Periodicals Center (hosted by
Yarmouk University, Jordan).
7- Fund of Supporting Palestinian
Universities, (hosted by University of
Jordan).
8- The Societies of Counterpart Faculties at
Arab Universities.
98
Societies of Counterpart Faculties at Arab
Universities
Twenty one Societies have been established so far,
namely:
1- Society of Faculties of Physical Education, which is
hosted by the Faculty of Physical Education at the
University of Jordan.
2- Society of Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, which is
hosted by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the
University of Science and Technology, Jordan.
3- Society of Faculties of Medicine, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jordan.
99
4- Society of Faculties of Pharmacy, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of
Damascus, Syria.
5- Society of Faculties of Arts, which is hosted by the
Faculty of Arts at Yarmuk University,Jordan.
6- Society of Faculties of Tourism and Hotel
Management, which is hosted by the Faculty of
Tourism and Hotel Management at the Suez Canal
University, Egypt.
7-Society of Faculties of Engineering, which is hosted
by the Faculty of Engineering at Baghdad University,
Iraq.
100
8- Society of Faculties of Dentistry, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Dentistry at Saint Joseph University,
Lebanon.
9- Society of Faculties of Education, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Education at Damascus University,
Syria.
10-Society of Faculties of Fine Arts, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Fine Arts at An-Najah National
University, Palestine.
11-Society of Faculties of Business Administration and
Commerce, which is hosted by the Faculty of
Business Administration and Commerce at SaintEsprit University, Lebanon.
101
12-Society of Faculties of Agriculture, which is hosted
by the Faculty of Agriculture at Khartoum
University, Sudan.
13-Society of Faculties of Science, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Science at Bahrain University,
Bahrain.
14-Society of Faculties of Nursing, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Nursing at Al-Zaytoonah Jordanian
Private University, Jordan.
15-Society of Faculties of Shari'a, which is hosted by
the Faculty of Shari'a at Algeria University, Algeria.
16-Society of Faculties of Computers and Informatics,
which is hosted by the Faculty of Computers and
Informatics at Suez Canal University, Egypt.
102
17-Society of Faculties of Law, which is hosted
by the Faculty of Law at Cairo University,
Egypt.
18-Society of Faculties of Physiotherapy, which
is hosted by the Faculty of Physiotherapy at
Saint-Joseph University, Lebanon.
19-Society of Faculties of Mass Media, which is
hosted by the Faculty of Mass
Communication at Cairo University, Egypt.
103
20-Society of Faculties of Languages,
which is hosted by the Faculty of Arts
and Humanities at Albaath University,
Syria.
21-Society of Faculties of Social Work,
which is hosted by Faculty of Education
and Social Work at the Modern
University of Business and Science
(MUBS), Lebanon.
104
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD
Professor Sultan T. Abu-Orabi
Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, Jordan
E-mail: secgen@aaru.edu.jo or abuorabi@excite.com
Abstract
Any worthwhile research must necessarily be based on the following
pillars: vision, strategy, logistics, human resources that include well
qualified researchers and meaningful research priorities directed towards
problem-solving rather than just publishing.
The Arab world today faces a host of hurdles when it comes to scientific
research including a lack of clear focus in research priorities and
strategies, insufficient time and funding to meet research goals, low
awareness of the importance and impact of good scientific research,
inadequate networking opportunities and databases, limited international
collaborative efforts, and of course, the brain-drain.
105
According to statistical data in the Arab Knowledge Report of 2009, the total
investment of the entire Arab world in research and development is a meager
0.2-0.3% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) compared to 2.0 to 4.9% in the
UK, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Japan, and the USA, individually. Also, as
opposed to other parts of the world where private sector plays a significant
role, most Arab countries depend on government funding for scientific
research.
The 2003 UNESCO report indicated that the Arab world contributes only
between 0.01-0.3% to global scientific publishing compared to Israel – 1.1%,
Japan – 8.2%, and the USA – 30.8%. Such figures are self-explanatory and
serve to reinforce the view that severely low levels of investment in research
are directly responsible for the deplorable lack of innovation in Arab
countries.
106
Another negative aspect is the emigration of intellectuals that accounts for
about one-third of the total brain-drain from Arab countries to primarily the
West. Studies have shown that 50% of newly qualified scientists are lost each
year, with almost three-quarters of them moving to the UK, USA, or Canada.
Also, almost 45% of Arab students studying abroad do not return to their
home countries after graduation, thus making the West a beneficiary, by
default, of highly qualified Arab scientists each year.
It must be noted however, that the drain brain, is not happening in a vacuum
but rather as a result of several underlying causes, just two of which are low
salaries by international standards and a dismal lack of research
opportunities.
It seems that the only clear solutions would be to increase the budget for
scientific research, select meaningful priority areas for research, lay down
workable strategic goals and action plans, establish adequate databases and
networking capabilities, and robustly encourage private sector input and
participation.
107
The Association of Arab Universities
108
Thank You for Your Time
109