GCC countries are increasingly moving towards becoming knowledge-based economies. Despite some recent progress, the volume of research publications remains relatively low compared to countries outside of the GCC and still a long way behind more established knowledge economies, said PwC in its latest report.
Sally Jeffery, Global Education Network Leader at PwC said: “Knowledge-based economies start from a stable foundation of research, and a well-functioning research ecosystem is really challenging to build.
You need patience, a significant funding investment, and a lot of effort and determination. The many different players involved need to work in unison so that new ideas have every chance of getting out of the lab and into real-life applications.
This requires significant collaboration with international institutions, as well as between regional governments and private industry.” Recent survey results and discussions with aspiring research universities have helped PwC identify four key challenges within the GCC research ecosystem.
To succeed in this endeavor, governments in the GCC will need to develop a clear national research agenda, establish supportive legal frameworks, distribute research funding effectively, incentivise academic/industry collaboration and empower institutions and individuals. Meanwhile, universities also need to further invest in their research facilities, she said.
The PwC report found that in the GCC, some countries including Qatar, are producing the majority of research. When looked at in terms of size of population, Qatar is performing well regionally, with a ratio of 1.6 publications to every thousand inhabitants.
GCC governments are taking actions at a strategic level to increase the number of post-doctoral researchers and PhD students, but they have a long way to go Sally added: “A country’s ability to value, absorb, and apply new knowledge depends greatly on the investment it makes in research and development, and how it builds local capabilities to innovate and gain a competitive advantage from that knowledge. If all of these key components can work together more effectively, then the GCC will enjoy a much greater chance of success in building a thriving academic research ecosystem and a more sustainable knowledge-based economy,” Sally added.
GCC countries are increasingly moving towards becoming knowledge-based economies. Despite some recent progress, the volume of research publications remains relatively low compared to countries outside of the GCC and still a long way behind more established knowledge economies, said PwC in its latest report.
Sally Jeffery, Global Education Network Leader at PwC said: “Knowledge-based economies start from a stable foundation of research, and a well-functioning research ecosystem is really challenging to build. You need patience, a significant funding investment, and a lot of effort and determination. The many different players involved need to work in unison so that new ideas have every chance of getting out of the lab and into real-life applications. This requires significant collaboration with international institutions, as well as between regional governments and private industry.”
Recent survey results and discussions with aspiring research universities have helped PwC identify four key challenges within the GCC research ecosystem. To succeed in this endeavor, governments in the GCC will need to develop a clear national research agenda, establish supportive legal frameworks, distribute research funding effectively, incentivise academic/industry collaboration and empower institutions and individuals. Meanwhile, universities also need to further invest in their research facilities, she said.
The PwC report found that in the GCC, some countries including Qatar, are producing the majority of research. When looked at in terms of size of population, Qatar is performing well regionally, with a ratio of 1.6 publications to every thousand inhabitants.
Source from: The Peninsula