‘Fund varsities for excellence’
INDIA MUST involve the university system in research and development rather than concentrate on specialised institutes for excellence in science education and research, a national conference heard. Experts attending the centenary celebrations of the Indian Science Congress this month said India’s policy of promoting research institutes at the cost of the universities has deterred promotion of excellence among fresh graduates. “Research and excellence comes from fresh young minds, so we should prioritise support to promote excellence in the universities,” Seyed Hasnain, former vice-chancellor of the Hyderabad University said. India, after independence in 1947, set up many research institutes and concentrated its best scientists there, said Suranjan Das, vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. “This has kept research separated from education and deprived students the benefit of interacting with the country’s top researchers.” According to Subhash Chandra Lakhotia, emeritus professor of Benaras Hindu University, priority given to research institutions has led to lack of recognition of excellence among universities. “It has led to neglect of the teaching institutions, poor fund allocation and infrastructure in universities. As a result, universities in India do not have laboratories with standards that can cater not only to research but also to basic teaching — an absolute necessity for furthering science education and research,” Lakhotia added. Deepak Pental, former vice-chancellor of the Delhi University, said research institutes that are separated from the university systems cannot be run properly because they specialise in one or two areas and create fragmented knowledge. “What we need are comprehensive universities. In the developed countries research is conducted in universities, which is why we have such a lot of interdisciplinary work there,” Pental said. “They do not lay as much stress on research institutes, at the cost of universities, like we do.” Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, former director-general of the Council Scientific and Industrial Research, a chain of 39 centrally-funded laboratories, said that there was a need for scientific excellence to be spread across the country and not “concentrated in a few islands.” Hasnain suggested that in selecting centres of excellence for funding, central, state and private universities be treated equally. Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon, one of India’s top policy makers and former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, rued, in a lecture to the congress, that the concept of excellence was being lost in financial and administrative hurdles with the result there was “too little promotion of excellence.” (SciDev)
Local software can spur development: UN
LOCAL SOFTWARE production and development can spur economic growth in Africa and other developing economies, says a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The ‘Information Economy Report 2012’ shows that information and communication technology (ICT) software and services are dominated by the developed world but developing economies are catching up. It says that piracy, poor ICT infrastructure and inadequate protection of intellectual property rights are some of the major challenges hindering ICT software development and service expansion in developing regions such as Africa. However, for Africa and the Middle East the biggest challenge to the software industry is limited access to venture capital. The report urges governments in developing countries — significant buyers of software — to help the software sector by putting in place policy measures to facilitate the development of affordable ICT infrastructure and introducing legal frameworks to protect intellectual property rights. Enhanced access to ICTs in developing countries is widening opportunities in areas including health, education, governance and business creation and expansion, according to the report. “Software production can contribute to the structural transformation of economies — that is, wean them away from dependence on low-technology goods and on a limited number of products for export,” the report states. Kenya and South Africa top the continent in supplying software and services for domestic consumption, with areas of focus being smartphones and tablets, as well as mobile applications driven by mobile broadband Internet services. “Software development is strategic for Africa’s development as it offers a lot of opportunities,” said Aida Opoku-Mensah, director of the ICT and Science & Technology Division of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), at the launch. “Adapting software to local contexts helps firms to manage resources better, obtain information more efficiently and [set up] cost-effective business operations,” she said. Software development in African nations also creates market opportunities for developers and boosts learning, innovation and job creation in those countries, she explained. Opoku-Mensah said that there is an encouraging trend in Africa of local ICT software development and use of services, particularly in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. Ethiopia has taken the lead in Africa in adapting software developed elsewhere into local languages, for instance it turned English software into Amharic and Tigrinya with UNECA’s assistance, according to Opoku-Mensah. UNECA is working with partners and governments to adapt other software from industrialised countries into local languages, she said. Daniel Adinew, an Ethiopian software engineer who developed a computer operating system called EthioNux, says that locally developed software helps to minimise dependency on foreign firms, which may place restrictions on the use of their products. He adds that increasing software development can also stimulate the manufacturing of computer hardware. (SciDev)