HTML

Contextual Links

Muslim Nations Urged to Promote Nanotechnology Education

Doctor Atta-ur-Rahman has called on the higher education policy makers of Islamic countries to introduce nanotechnology as a discipline at university level curricula. Atta, who is the Coordinator General of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), said this chairing the inaugural session of a three-day international workshop on “Essential Need of Nano-Education in OIC Countries”, organised by the COMSTECH in collaboration with Preston University here today. Scientists and science policy makers from different Islamic countries including Turkey, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are participating in this workshop.

Atta-ur-Rahman described the wonders of nanotechnology in different fields including industry and medicines and urged on the governments of the Islamic countries to realise the potential of nanotechnology in bringing about industrial revolution in the OIC region.

“Nanotechnology is the future of science and technology which the advanced world has already embraced and it is still not too late for Pakistan and other Islamic countries to wake up and follow the latest breakthroughs in the science and technology domains.” Atta-ur-Rahman said. He said that wonders of nanotechnology are amazing to such an extent that now even a blind man can partially see with nano-sensors. He also disclosed that COMSTECH is planning to set up an Inter-Islamic Network on Nanotechnology for 57 Muslim countries.

Dr Anwar Nasim, COMSTECH Advisor on Science, introduced to the participants the aims and objectives of the COMSTECH Thematic Workshops Program and disclosed that COMSTECH has trained 450 scientists from 24 Islamic countries by arranging 26 such workshops in last two years. He disclosed that COMSTECH has spent US$ 0.5 million Dollars on training of scientists from Egypt, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Tunisia, Palestine, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Yemen.

Dr Nasim said, “COMSTECH is organizing a new series of workshops to target a large number of young researchers from OIC member states. The main purpose of these workshops is to bring together young scientists from OIC member states to help develop future collaborative projects in broader areas of science.”

Anwar Nasim informed the participants that under COMSTECH fresh initiative of thematic workshop series, 25 workshops have been planned out of which 4 workshops have been organized so far benefitting 37 foreign and 68 Pakistani participants who were trained by 23 foreign and 31 local trainers. This is the fifth workshop of the series.

Dr Abdul Basit, Rector Preston University expressed hope during his address that workshop deliberations would help formulate strategies for popularising nanotechnology as university subject. Dr N.M. Butt, Chairman of the Preston Institute of Nano-Science and Technology (PINSAT) called on other universities to set up nanotechnology education departments in view of the importance of this highly advancing field of science and technology. On behalf of Preston University and COMSTECH, Professor Khwaja Yaldram presented vote of thanks to the participants and guests present on the occasion.

Having 57 member countries and headquartered in Islamabad, COMSTECH is an Inter-governmental body under the OIC and is mandated to coordinate science and technology related initiatives in the Islamic countries.

During this workshop, experts in the field of nanotechnology from the OIC countries will be sharing their experience regarding the efforts made in their respective countries in introducing nanotechnology in their university curricula. Experts from China and Australia will also be sharing their experiences through video conferencing. At the end of the workshop, a set of recommendations shall be forwarded for incorporating nano-science and nanotechnology in the university curricula of OIC countries.

Scientists call for research governance reforms

Islamabad: Science researchers, professionals and policy makers from different Islamic countries have demanded addressing governance challenges in the applications of molecular biology and biotechnology.

OIC Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) organised this workshop from 28-30 March in which a large number of science and technology professionals from different research institutions of the Islamic countries participated.

During the concluding session of the COMSTECH workshop, the participants agreed that molecular biology and biotechnology research must have institutional basis to determine the socio-economic parameters and real potential of applications for solving the socio-economic problems. They demanded priority setting mechanism for scientific and social policy research.

COMSTECH Advisor Science Dr Anwar Nasim said, “There should be research ethics committees which should develop ethical frameworks to encourage innovation, while protecting research participants, society and the environment from potential harms.

CO-Director General of the Karachi Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE) Professor Abid Azhar said,” exponentially growing research in human genomics, molecular biology and biotechnology and its commercial involvement in the present century has created a significant number of policy challenges such as patenting, genetic testing and genetic information and these challenges require legal and governance measures before any crisis evolves”

Former Executive Editor of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal Muhammad Afzal was of the view that the transition of governing via risk to governance by uncertainty is also a challenge to contemporary governance in these areas of research.

The new topics of genomics governance have not been taken up seriously in the already operating or emerging institutional structures of policy making in the developing counties. Besides, there exists a gap between policy challenges and institutional responses and even meagre genomic and biotech research in the resource poor countries may lead to growing social opposition.

Zabta Khan Shinwari, Chairman of the Biotechnology Department of Islamabad-based Quaid-e-Azam University laid stress on introducing DNA Barcoding in the degree level curricula in Pakistan and other OIC countries.

Participant from across the OIC region thanked COMSTECH for providing a forum and opportunity to exchange views and discuss latest issues in biotechnology and molecular biology. COMSTECH is a ministerial committee of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) mandated to coordinate science and technology related research and development in its 57 member states.