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Research projects for the Arabs... and the West!
Sami Al Riyami
reyami@emaratalyoum.comsamialreyami
August 17, 2021
Research and educational projects in the Arab world do not receive the attention that befits them, as they are an essential pillar of human development, and in most parts of this great country, if not in all its countries, research projects are either personal or institutional, and this will not transfer scientific research To a stage and position worthy of the era in which we live. Research projects in America and Europe, for example, are national projects that have value and importance and are defended by every citizen.
Therefore, it is not surprising for the West to become a magnet for scholars and researchers, and it is not surprising that 65% of researchers and scientists in Switzerland are from outside Switzerland, and it is also very shocking to know that 90% of Western Gulf university graduates, during the last five years, They returned to the West again, because they were not given the opportunity for training and experimentation that extends for years before becoming scientists and benefiting from them!
In the Arab world, scientific research, in its various categories and fields, is threatened with stopping, because it is linked to people. In case of any financial crisis.
During 25 years of promises by Arab officials to increase scientific research budgets, they did not exceed 1% of the national product, while the budgets of military spending in some relatively poor Arab countries amounted to 8%, knowing that the trilogy of “science, knowledge and production” is the most important Many tanks and missiles, and what happened to the Arabs during the Corona pandemic crisis is the best evidence of their scientific exposure, as it was found that they do not have a real laboratory with international specifications, and the urgent need for research centers or advanced pharmaceutical factories appeared in all the Arab region, so we did not find anything At the required level that can compete globally!
In the Gulf countries, the situation may be somewhat better, but here in the Gulf countries also, the scientist or researcher does not find the required interest, and does not have job security, while in the West, the researcher is left for a period of 6 to 8 years until he proves himself, not at the level of The country in which he resides, but rather the world, and when he proves his success, he is installed for life, and no one has the power to remove him from his place!
In the Emirates, there are serious attempts to attract scientists and researchers, but we must know that in the field of research, polarization does not matter, as much as how to maintain those you attract, and in order to succeed in this, you must give them a sense of belonging, a sense of loyalty, and a sense of stability!
It is also noticeable that we suffer here in the Emirates, and in all Arab countries as well, from the complete absence of the role of the private sector, whether in support of research or even in support of education, and a complete absence in the adoption of university projects and youth innovations, while the private sector, Even businessmen, in Western countries, contribute generously to all of this. In one of the medical laboratories in Europe, for example, 65% of the budget comes from businessmen and people, who either have been infected, or have a member of their family who has contracted a disease on which the laboratory is conducting research, and some of them spend about 150 million euros a year on this research!
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reyami@emaratalyoum.com