Conscious nation: ‘Future of science lies in practicality’

Dr Khan says governments should invest in research without their own interests

ISLAMABAD: Scientists, scholars, teachers and students agreed that the future of science lies in its practicality. They were participating in an interactive discussion titled “Past, Present and Future of Science: Making Pakistan Science Conscious” at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences on Wednesday.

Nuclear physicist, metallurgical engineer and founder of uranium enrichment programme for Pakistan’s atomic bomb project, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan said that it was ironic that he was speaking about future of science when he actually studied it 50 years ago. “As a nation, we need to look at what we are studying and what we have done instead of the kind of progress the world is doing. We use motorcycles made in China and speak about stem cell research, which is rather ironic. It is great to gain knowledge about what is happening in the world but we should use that as inspiration to improve things here,” he said.



He narrated his personal experiences of learning from Europe and further said that until we improve the basic situation, we would not be able to progress. He advised students to take out time and listen to both local and international news once every day. “It makes one think about the greater picture and increases exposure and knowledge,” Dr Khan said.

He said that all governments should invest in scientific research without their own interests.  “Every government invests only in their own interests, which is the reason why Pakistan hasn’t progressed much in the past few years,” he said.

Sadia Batool, a PhD scholar, said that we need to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. “Instead of seeking pride in the number of PhDs we produce, we must ensure that the PhD scholar a university produces is actually qualified enough to be at that level and can, at least, answer queries of graduate and undergraduate level students and is capable of carrying out research,” she said.

Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari, the moderator of the event, said that today’s students are swaying away from sciences. We need to inspire the new generation of students to study science in order to progress as a nation in the future, he said. “Teachers need to teach in a way that they inculcate a deep interest of science in their students,” he said.

Nadia Batool, a PhD scholar, said that organisations that provide funding for research are increasingly investing their budgets in applied sciences particularly because Pakistan is a developing nation. “The simple rule is that one cannot progress until he knows about the basics. A part of the budget should be allocated to basic research to ensure that the foundations of research in Pakistan are strong,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th,  2016.