Guest Author: Rauful Alam
Writer and Researcher
Email: [email protected]
According to the Global Innovation Index, Singapore is the most innovative country in Asia. For several years now, Singapore has consistently maintained the top spot.
In the 2024 index, Switzerland ranked first globally, with Sweden in second place. Singapore secured the fourth position worldwide and first in Asia. Bangladesh, with 19 points, ranked 106th among 133 countries. Except for a few African countries, almost all are ahead of Bangladesh in the index. Even Sri Lanka (89) and Senegal (92) score higher than Bangladesh. India stands at 38, and China at 11. By the number of researchers and innovators per million people, many European countries surpass China. For example, Sweden has about 9,000 researchers and scientists per million people.
To understand why Singapore leads in innovation within Asia, we need some information about its higher education system. The top university in Singapore is the National University of Singapore (NUS). It is only about 15 years older than the University of Dhaka. Yet, NUS consistently ranks among the top 20–30 universities globally. It is one of the best institutions in Asia. Every year, this university awards more than 500 PhD degrees. Nearly 2,500 PhD students are constantly engaged in research, most of whom are around 25–26 years old. After completing their undergraduate studies, most start their PhDs at 22 or 23. This is the general norm in many other countries as well.
In December 2015, I attended a conference called PACIFICHEM in Hawaii, USA. This conference is very well-known among chemists and takes place in Hawaii every five years. I had just completed my PhD from Stockholm University at the time. There was a significant presence of professors and young researchers from Singapore at the conference, all working in various branches of chemistry. Outside the conference, they organized several informal gatherings where I also had the opportunity to join.
The PhD students from Singapore spoke about how rigorous and competitive their research lives are. The professors shared stories about securing funding, saying that without truly excellent research proposals, obtaining funding is extremely difficult. From those conversations, I gained a remarkable understanding of Singapore’s higher education and research environment.
Modeled after the United States, Singapore has the National Research Foundation, operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. This foundation has a very strong Scientific Advisory Board, which helps Singapore advance in scientific research, discovery, and innovation in step with the rest of the world. It also assists in shaping national policy. Singapore spends around 2 percent of its GDP on research alone, separate from the national education budget.
To become a faculty member at any university in Singapore, a PhD and post-doctoral research experience are mandatory. Not only that, but one must also have high-quality research publications. Even age is a consideration; to be an assistant professor, one has to be young, typically under 35. After appointment, if a faculty member does not produce excellent publications within a specified period (5–7 years), their funding and promotion become uncertain. There is no set retirement age for faculty members. There is no scope for wasting time or engaging in unnecessary politics. Their sole aim is world-class research and publishing articles of global standard. Teaching and research occupy their entire working day.
Yet, sadly, our century-old university still cannot secure a spot among the top 500 global institutions. Even with the moniker ‘Oxford of the East’, our university remains unrecognizable to the world. Singapore is smaller in area than Dhaka district in Bangladesh. Yet a single university there has almost 2,500 PhD students. In contrast, our country’s oldest university doesn’t even have 50 PhD students aged 25. So how can we expect to excel in innovation?
Are Bangladesh’s youth not talented? Are they incapable of competing globally in discovery, innovation, and research? —Of course they are capable. But they need training. They need mentors. We must provide them with the necessary environment—and the university is that platform. But are they truly getting that training there? The primary requirement for advancing in discovery and innovation as a nation is to strengthen academic research.
Nowadays, no good university in the world recruits assistant professors without a PhD or postdoc experience. But this rule has yet to take firm hold in our country. Even if implemented, it will not be widely effective overnight. However, if the focus shifts and a practice of recruiting top researchers through intense competition emerges, the situation could improve greatly in ten years. If a teacher spends 7–8 more years on higher studies and research after university appointment, it brings little sustainable benefit to society in the long run. These practices need to be gradually phased out.
If the culture of academic research in the country does not improve, there is no hope of advancing in discovery and innovation. To strengthen that culture, institutions must establish high-quality PhD programs. We need to ensure that young people can pursue PhDs and postdocs in their own country. For that, we need a large number of excellent mentors.
If a strong culture of academic research is established, its impact will extend to science research institutions as well. Currently, these institutions recruit undergraduate students, but there are no strict policies regarding promotions. They lack international collaboration, and many operate without a proper Scientific Advisory Board. Having a Scientific Advisory Board composed of mainstream domestic and international researchers is critical. The influence of improved academic research will also be felt in the private sector. Major industries in the country will develop better Research & Development (R&D) departments.
Universities must produce a high volume of quality publications every year. Science research institutions and industries should also generate patents. Publications and patents are key metrics in the Global Innovation Index. There are virtually no international patents originating from Bangladesh. International patents are those filed through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), known as PCT Applications. This allows an invention’s patent to be filed for all member countries through a single application, with requirements for separate filings in each member country after a certain period.
Collaboration is another crucial practice for innovation. It helps in understanding what others around the globe are thinking, doing, and how they address challenges. Getting young people involved in research from an early age is another important step. In developed countries, students get involved in various projects during their undergraduate studies, strengthening their foundation and expanding their world of thinking and creativity. Universities in Bangladesh must engage student researchers in quality research projects during their bachelor’s studies.
If we lag in discovery and innovation, sustainable societal development will be hampered, and the country will even miss out on export income. Reliance on imported goods remains high. Therefore, it is crucial to have state-level policies to drive progress in discovery and innovation. Several steps are vital. We must prioritize strengthening academic research. Developing nations cannot prevent brain drain. Young people going abroad and getting trained is not bad, but the reverse process should also be implemented.
Instead of sending university faculty abroad for training, priority should be given to recruiting already trained individuals. For this, their salaries and benefits must be increased. The tradition of mass promotions to professorship based on age must end. Recruitment and promotion policies for science research institutions must be modernized. These institutions must be managed with high-quality Scientific Advisory Boards. The government should require industries to spend a specific budget on research. Private industries should also be pushed to invest in training young people. A strong link between academic and private-sector research must be fostered.
At the national level, attractive awards should be developed to motivate researchers. There must be good incentives for patents and quality publications. Above all, a major portion of GDP must be allocated for research, and it must be ensured that this budget is spent in the right sectors. In this age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, without progress in discovery and innovation, the nation’s advancement in many areas will slow down.
Source:
This article was adapted from an essay published in BigganChinta Magazine.
Author: Dr. Rauful Alam, Researcher, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
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