Sohaib Ahmad Khan resides in Lahore and is an associate professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He received his doctorate from the University of Central Florida in 2002, and BE in Electronic Engineering from GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in 1997.
About the Author
Relevance of Research in Pakistan: Aligning Research Agendas with National Priorities
December 27, 2009
What benefit does research being done in Pakistani universities bring to the man on the street?
As the new breed of HEC-Funded PhD Scholars joins Pakistani universities, this is a pertinent question to ask. Producing PhDs, whether within Pakistan or abroad, is a significant investment, the cost of which is ultimately borne by the society. Can we assume that, in return, we will see tangible socio-economic benefits from their research, or should the society view the universities as ivory towers with little link to the real problems of Pakistan? After all, with 76% of population living at under $2 per day and 65% of women illiterate, can research spending on network routing protocols or multi-camera tracking algorithms be justified?
Building an ICT R&D Eco-System in Pakistan: A Conversation with Dr Qasim Sheikh (Part 2-of-2)
October 22, 2009
On Funding Projects from the Industry
STEP: Till now, mostly you were funding projects in the academia. Would you be looking at funding projects that are directly initiated by the industry?
QS: We are supposed to fund projects submitted by the industry. Our proposal can be initiated by even an individual. But, being an entity that funds public money, the longevity of the institution to which we are giving money is very important to us. An individual can take the money (from us), work for a little while, and then disappear. What do we do then? Universities don’t disappear. They can provide longevity and credibility to the project. And, it is not (just) longevity for the length of that project but even after that. Read the rest of this entry »
Building an ICT R&D Eco-System in Pakistan: A Conversation with Dr. Qasim Sheikh (Part 1-of-2)
September 26, 2009
On the History of the Fund
STEP Editors: Let’s start with the history of the Fund, if you can tell us a little bit about it. We understand that it was in a dormant state before it was revitalized.
Dr. Qasim Shaikh, CEO, National ICT R&D Fund:
Yes, it was in a dormant state but, as I tell my team, I don’t think that we are the opening batsmen of this team. Actually, the Fund was created when PTCL was the only telecom operator (in the country). I think, and somebody has to correct me, that the key person who pushed (that) some of the PCTL’s earnings should go into research and development in Pakistan, like Bell Labs at ATT, was Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman. Then the Deregulation Act was passed and in the Deregulation Act it was mandatory that every telecom operator will have to contribute 0.5% of their revenue to the Fund. That included internet service providers as well, not just the large service providers. Since there were more contributors to the Fund than just PTCL, it didn’t make sense for it to stay within PTCL. So, it was taken out of PTCL and created as National ICT R&D Fund.
Nature’s Coverage of Higher Education Reform in Pakistan: A Conversation with Athar Osama
September 10, 2009
Dr. Athar Osama is a public policy researcher with specialization in science and innovation policy and a visiting fellow at Pardee Centre for the Study of Long Range Global Future at Boston University. He is the lead author of the article “Pakistan’s Reform Experiment” in this week’s issue of Nature (Sept. 3, 2009), which is raising quite a bit of debate (and controversy) on whether the Higher Education Commission has delivered the aspired results and what can other countries contemplating the reforms learn from this experience. STEP contacted him to seek his views on the article. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakistan’s Higher Education Funding Holds Many Lessons for Developing Nations: Nature
September 3, 2009
“Massive funding for Pakistan’s ailing universities holds many lessons for other developing nations”, states the editorial of this week’s edition of Nature, published today. Nature, which is one of the most respected scientific journal, highlights the successes of Pakistan’s higher education reforms initiated in 2002, citing the free national digital library, high-speed internet access for universities and the foreign scholarship program as examples of successes. The editorial, which accompanies an opinion article by lead author Athar Osama, however calls for more accountability and oversight of these reforms by a body comprising of academics and parliamentarians not affiliated with Higher Education Commission (HEC). While not accusing the HEC of any serious mismanagement, the editorial points out to lack of investment in the social sciences as an example of a ‘blind spot’ that public oversight may have been able to avoid. Read the rest of this entry »
Access to Higher Education Top Priority for HEC: Laghari
August 31, 2009
Dr. Javaid Laghari, the new Chairman of the Higher Education Commission, said today that providing access to higher education for the 24.5 million youth who are not enrolled in universities will be the top priority for the HEC. Dr. Laghari made these comments about an hour ago during an interview on Breakfast at Dawn, hosted by Naveen Naqvi. According to Dr. Laghari, only 0.5 million youth currently have access to higher education, whereas the number of Pakistanis of university-going age is around 25 million. He felt hopeful that the democratic government will fund the development of new universities to help educate a large number of potential students.
Dr Javaid Laghari Appointed Chairman HEC
August 27, 2009
Dr Javaid R Laghari, former senator and president of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Karachi, has been appointed as the chairman of the Higher Education Commission by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani yesterday, Dawn and The Nation report in their today’s editions.
Adoption of New Education Policy Being Delayed?
August 10, 2009
Dawn News reported this week that the adoption of the new National Education Policy is being delayed by the government, for no clear reason. The work on this new policy started in 2005, and the first milestone was the white paper produced by the Ministry of Education in 2007. Based on this white paper, the policy document was finalized by 2009, but has not yet been adopted by the government. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakistan a ‘Rising Star’ in Research: ScienceWatch
July 21, 2009
Pakistan has been rated a ‘Rising Star’ in research multiple times over the last couple of years by ScienceWatch.com, a Thompson Reuters website which tracks trends and performance in research by analyzing its database of scientific papers and citations. The ‘Rising Star’ rankings are published every two months to acknowledge new entrants, by identifying the scientists, institutions, countries, and journals which have shown the largest percentage increase in total citations. In the May issue of the ratings, Pakistan was named a ‘rising star’ in two areas, ‘Materials Science’ and ‘Plant & Animal Science’. Read the rest of this entry »
Astronomy Fairs by Khwarizmi Science Society
May 17, 2009
The Khwarizmi Science Society is organizing a series of Astronomy Fairs to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy, 2009. The society has organized three fairs till now. The first was held at the Punjab University in Lahore. For the subsequent ones, they ventured out to smaller cities, having one at Government High School, Phool Nagar (about 50km from Lahore, formerly known as Bhai Pheru) and the most recent one at District Public School, Okara.
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