Choked highway to innovation

Our researchers are often unaware of technology transfer, process to move research through various stages of licensing

Innovation has become a buzzword in Pakistan, especially among the politicians who inaugurate new conferences with gusto — the word is used to imply a great present and an even brighter future. Innovation is something this business-friendly government believes in we are told time and again. All of that may be true, but it may be worthwhile to take stock of where we are on the global innovation index and if we are not where we think we should be, what can we do to fix that.

Last year, the US Patent Office issued a total of 12 patents to applications from Pakistan. By comparison, India had 2,474 issued patents in the same period. Over the last 37 years (since January 1, 1977), a paltry 78 patents have been issued to inventions from Pakistan, which puts it well behind its nearest neighbour on the east (11,406). Pakistan’s total patents issued since 1977 are in the same range, but less than patents issued to Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bermuda or Lithuania. The EU patent list does not bode well for Pakistan either. On the overall list, Pakistan does not fare well in any given year or any category of patents. Now to be fair, patents alone cannot be taken as the only measure of innovative capacity, but nonetheless, it is one of the useful and often cited metrics to gauge the state of affairs.

While the overall numbers are not encouraging, there is a bigger problem that is of even more concern here. Almost none of the patent applications or issued patents are coming from university research or university technology transfer. This is in sharp contrast with other nations higher up on the list where university research continues to have a strong presence in this arena. Another alarming issue is the disconnect between our innovation and national needs. For example, with high-level challenges in public health and medicine, our medical patent landscape is largely barren. It appears that medical schools and medical research institutions are unfortunately not in the business of technology creation.

Part of the challenge in protecting our innovations comes from our institutional culture or rather lack thereof. Like any other nation, there are plenty in society who have an entrepreneurial mindset and have the ability to innovate. The pathway for researchers to translate their technology into impactful solutions within the country and abroad, however, is quite uncertain. Researchers who may otherwise be able to come up with new technologies find little traction at their institutions. Most of our educational institutions do not have a functional office of technology transfers. Our researchers are often unaware of the value of technology transfer and the process to move the research through various stages of licensing. This is particularly acute in medical research. This lack of mentorship does not help innovative students either in thinking about the long-term impact of their inventions and ventures. The only exception is seen in business schools where there are numerous business plan competitions. However, the pipeline to translate research often does not start in the flashy BBA and MBA classrooms, but in unpretentious labs with hardworking men and women who make valuable discoveries.

As the government crafts new plans for national development and innovation, be it a 2025 plan or a road map with any other catchy title, it is critical that higher education institutions are provided with resources, incentives, mentorship and bandwidth to excite researchers to translate their ideas and inventions into impactful solutions. It is high time we learnt that innovation does not mean a magic wand that can be waved at will to ward off the evils of poverty and underdevelopment. Instead, it represents a long-range process; a process that in our country desperately needs to be strengthened and supported at institutions of higher learning.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2014.

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