Open Discussion/ Why No Arabic Universitis Among the Top 500

General discussions Concerning Iraqi Higher Education

Moderator: Al-Wahedi

Post Reply
Al-Wahedi
Site Admin
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2004 2:24 pm
Contact:

Open Discussion/ Why No Arabic Universitis Among the Top 500

Post by Al-Wahedi »

" Why No Arabic Universities Among the Top 500 "


SUMMARY

Universities are the backbone of a nation. They contribute enormously to the economic welfare of a society. They are primarily research centres- they function secondarily as teaching institutions. Prolific research-oriented academics are few in number. They are people who are endowed with special faculties and skills. They, thus, should be overwhelmed with constant care and attention by the concerned authorities. Not all academics make prolific researchers. To create sound research environment, academics need to have free and unlimited access to information, to feel secure both financially and politically, to have freedom of _expression and thought, to have free access to research facilities, funds and technological aids. Governments and the private sector should invest in education since such investment is rewarding. The recommendations made by my colleagues Sami M. Khayat, Raid Alany, Mahir S. Hussein, Jalal El-noaimi and Mahir S. Ali could be summarized in the following points:
- Strengthening ties between the Iraqi Universities and research centres and their corresponding ones abroad
- Allocating more funds for research centres and encouraging investment in education
- Furnishing researchers with incentives for creative work and innovation
- Constant updating and review of the teaching and research methodologies, curriculum and syllabuses incorporating the recent development in research, science and technology.
- Strategic planning that considers the needs of society, the future needs of the country and the areas that require research
- Constant assessment of what has been achieved and what remains to be done- the progress made, the validity of the techniques adopted and the research methods applied, etc.
- Promoting training programmes for instructors and researchers to acquaint them with recent development in their majors
- Matching the number of the students to the classroom size and the available facilities
- Developing the library and furnishing it with the most recent technological aids, on-line e-learning links, references and periodicals.
- Granting universities more autonomy in terms of finance and research
- Providing instructors with comfortable research environment whereby each has his own office and computer
- Encouraging private sectors and individuals to finance and allocate funds for the research activities
- Encouraging active researchers to proceed with their research activities in the research centres when they grow old.
- Better payment for university academics and researchers

To the above points, I would like to add one more:
- We as academics are the product of our society. In order to create a healthy academic environment, we should rid ourselves from many of our social illnesses. Appointment and academic promotions should be based on qualification- putting the right person in the right place. We should give room to the talents to flourish and thrive; otherwise we continue to deceit ourselves as we have done before. God bless all the sincere and honest people who are trying to rebuild our homeland.

Adil Al-Kufiashi
Copenhagen University (academic researcher)
Former staff member of the Faculty of Arts, Dept. of English, Al-Mustansyriah University


Dear Society members:

Further to the comments posted by Iraqi colleagues I would like point
out that there are objective rankings from an independent source, the
“Times Higher education supplement” that is published annually by TLS
Education, one of the UK’s leading educational publishers. (2005 Rankings
attached).

http://www.thes.co.uk/worldrankings/

The prestigious rankings were compiled from the results of a worldwide
survey of 2,375 academics. These were then combined with measures
including the number of times that research papers are cited, staff-to-student ratios, and number of students and staff from overseas. The 2005 analysis included for the first time a measure based on the views of international employers on which universities they prefer to recruit from.

The outcome in terms of where Arab world universities rank, is
unfortunately not different from the Chinese source with actually none appearing in then top 200. On other hand it is worth noting that other Middle East Universities, namely Israeli Universities are up there! This is despite the fact that many Arab Universities were established few decades before.

From my own experience I know that one way of raising the international
profile for a university is through fostering and nurturing
relationship with native academics and researchers abroad. This is something that has been actively pursued by Israeli universities and I know for sure that leading Jewish scientists in the USA and Europe have affiliations with Israeli Universities. In other words Iraqi academics abroad should be formally linked to and affiliated with Iraqi universities. This could be in the form of nominal or honory appointments. I believe we should encourage our own universities to adapt such an approach.

Kind regards,

Dr. Raid Alany
School of Pharmacy
The University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand


Dear Society members:

I have just read a report from TWAS, Third World Academy of Sciences,
where precisely the question raised by you " Why No Arab University Stands Among the Top 500 World Universities" is discussed. The discussion in the TWAS newsletter (Vol. 17, No. 3, Year 2005) is more comprehensive and considers the Arab countries's investment in education and science funding. Here are some numbers:

Population:
The 22 Arab countries are home of 4.5% of the world population, amounting to 295 million.

Literacy:
Illiteracy affects some 68 million people in the region, some 34% as compared to the average 27% in all developing countries.

Support:
In 2002 the Arab region spent US$ 6 per capita on R&D as compared to US$ 953 in the USA, US$ 465 in the EU, US$ 42 in Latin America and US$ 40 in China!

Personnel:
The Arab region employs 124 research scientists and engineers per million people compared to the average 313 for all developing countries. The above mentioned number in the Arab countries represents a meager 0.5% of its counterpart in Russia! Half of the 20.000 scientists and engineers in the Arab countries are located in Egypt.

Education:
The average expenditure on a student in the Arab countries is just US$ 2,400, compared to US$ 14.200 in Spain. Interestingly, the number of enrolled students in the Arab countries is 25% of the population, much higher than many developing countries.

To sum up, the governments in the Arab region must urgently change
course to allow a better pay for university professors, more money for R&D and more incentives for creative work ( patents).

I hope I have contributed to the debate.

Regards,

Mahir S. Hussein
Brazil



Dear Society members:

Undoubtedly there is a huge gap between developed countries and developing countries ,”if we don’t say backward countries “, from all life aspects in general ,and Universities in particular .Universities , scientific institutions ,and research centres ,are the cornerstones of the country life .Universities seek a high quality education and services to their students and environment .Today’s universities must have advanced skills in learning methods , to promote the innovation cases for individuals ,instructors ,and their reseach centres .Universities must have credibility perspective to be successful in achieving their mission toward the society .
The challenges that our universities confront upon being ,among the top 500 universities ,demand a clear strategic management , and strategic planning ,which is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an university is ,what it does , and why it does ,with a fucos on the future .
So , the strategic planning process is a dynamic one . It must acknowledge and respond to many external and internal issues , some of which are concerned with the nature direction and process of research and education , and others concerned with their potential impacts in updating it’s strategic planning .
The universities must take cognizance of these issues , while understanding that they are in flux and must be continually assessed .
The government was now more relevant than ever and it’s implementation was seen as constituting the vital tool for enhancing the role of universities in the socio-economic development programms in the country , which are the foremost tool for solving countries problems , and should invest in R & D , with the same level of other countries.Government should also design and support effective innovation and creation system using existing I.T. toward creating new technologies .Worth mentioning ,that the best five countries spending in R & D from their GNP are : Sweden 3,7% , Japan 3,013% , USA 2,63% , China & Taiwan 1,97% , and S.africa 0,69 %.Arab countries spend approximately 0,2 % of their GNP collectively , while Israel spend double as arab’s spend . Due to what have been mentioned , and in order to reach the high level of cridebility to one of top 500 universities among the world .The universities Administrations ,and government as well ,must take in their consideration the following points :
1- Review the Curriculums , taking into consideration the world’s developed aspects including information technology .
2- Support and enhance training of new and middle-level instructors in traditional and nontraditional pedagogy .
3- Matching available classroom sizes and facilities to course demand , incorporating more instructional technology ,and expanded library seatings and services ,are critical to support quality teaching .
4- Formulating and implementing a clear strategy for research activities .
5- Supporting research centres and researchers at different levels by providing them with all possible services toward better participation and innovation .
6- Working towards more autonmy for universities .
7- Setting up a convenient atmosphere for instructors and researchers .
8- Encouraging instructora and researchers by well pay .
Hoping that we can reach one day .
With kind regards.

Prof.,Jalal El-noaimi (Ph.D)
Faculty of Administration & Economy – Dean
A.O.Academy . Denmark



Dear Society members,

Ranking the top 500 universities in the world started by a group of researchers at a university in china a few years ago. Universities in the middle east stand no chance of being ranked, at least not in the near future (say 100 years!) for a number of reasons, including the fact that two of the parameters used to rank universities are: the number of nobel prize winners the university has graduated and the number of nobel prize winners the university has on its faculty! also all ranked universities offer phd programs.
Let us examine why american universities always rank high (8 out of the top 10 positions, over 50% of the top 100, etc. of these 500 universities; by the way the 500 were selected out of 2000 universities considered).

Based on my experience which includes studying in the uk from A levels to the phd then working in the states for 20 years, including being dept. head for 9 years, plus the last 6 years in the gulf region, there are many reasons, here are some:
1. US government sets the stage for long term research plans, strongly supports universities by funding their research thro grants (visit nsf, nih, dod, etc web sites for more info). In general developed countries spend about 3% of the their gpa on research while the arabs spend less than 1%.
2. US private industry strongly supports universities by funding and working closely with university faculty.
3. Graduates (Rich and not so rich) and ordinary individuals appreciate the contributions universities make to them, their children, and their society and hence they donate big money to universities in the form of funds for new buildings, scholarships or simply for pure research.
4. The US university system encourages and seriously supports faculty research by providing research offices with full time staff, reduce faculty teaching load, giving seed money for projects, etc.
5. Faculty members can work on long term research projects because their employment contracts are longer than couple of years, much more secure than one finds in the middle east.
6. University faculty are paid well and hence they don't have to worry too much about the cost of living.
None of the above reasons is present in middle east universities (except for the last one which can be found in some of the universities in the gulf region). So what can be done? I've a few suggestions, though not easily implemented, but doable if attitudes are changed among leaders of the arab world, industry people, rich individuals and university leaders.

Mahir S. Ali
United Arab Emirates
Last edited by Al-Wahedi on Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:33 pm, edited 5 times in total.
samikhayat
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 5:43 am
Location: Negros Oriental State University - Philippines
Contact:

Post by samikhayat »

Dear members,

I did not have a chance to study or teach in the West but I have a chance to study and teach in the East. In addition, when I was in Iraq I finished my BSc and MSc in Baghdad University and I went to work in research at Scientific Research Center instead of teaching in the Iraqi institutions.

In the East I had chance to get postgraduate degree in Japan ( Tokyo Institute of Technology … ranked 93 : 500) and I had 10 years of experience in teaching Information Technology in Philippines. Within those years in the Philippine, I experienced how they accredit the universities.

On the other hand, if we look carefully to the list of the top 500 universities in the world, we can find a good number of universities from Asia; Japan (34), South Korea (8 ), China (6), China-HK (5), China-TW(5), Singapore (2), India (3), Israel (7) and Turkey (2). (Japan and South Korea were nothing left above the ground after the 2WW and Korea war, respectively.) Also, I found in that list Argentina has 1, Hungary 2, Mexico 1 and Poland 3.

I think Iraq or any Arab country has chance to put some of the country’s Higher Education Institution in that list, if that country establish a good standard and give academic freedom.

In my experience in the Philippine, I observe three times of accreditation in different levels in the University which I am teaching in.

In my opinion, I think the Iraqi Higher Education Ministry should establish an accreditation agency to put standard for the Higher Education in Iraq. Second, the Private/State Higher Education Institutions can ask this agency to evaluate them voluntarily (accreditation will be by course offered or discipline). Therefore, this Agency can work as external eye to see that institution from other angle to show the strength and weakness of that institution in a certain level.
I am listing the Areas, which the accreditation courses:

Areas covered for accreditation

Area I : Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives (VMGO)
A. Statement of Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives
B. Dissemination and Acceptability
C. Congruency and Implementation
D. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area II : Faculty
A. Academic Qualifications and Professional Experience
B. Recruitment, Selection and Orientation
C. Adequacy and Loading
D. Rank and Tenure
E. Faculty Development
F. Professional Performance and Scholarly Works
G. Salaries, Fringe Benefits and Incentives
H. Professionalism
E. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area III: Curriculum and Instruction
A. Curriculum and Program of Studies
B. Instructional Processes/Methodologies and Learning Enhancement Opportunities
C. Assessment of Academic Performance
D. Classroom Management
E. Graduation Requirements
F. Administrative Support for Effective Instruction
G. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area IV: Support to Students
A. Administration and Organization
B. Admission and Retention
C. Guidance Program
D. Other Student Services
E. Scholarships/Grants
F. Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Programs and Activities
H. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area V: Research
A. Priorities and Relevance
B. Funding and other Resources
C. Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Utilization of Research Results/Outputs
D. Publication and Dissemination
E. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area VI: Extension and Community Involvement
A. Priorities and Relevance
B. Planning, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation
C. Funding and other Resources
D. Community Involvement and Participation
E. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area VII: Library
A. Administration
B. Personnel
C. Collection Development, Organization and Preservation
D. Services and Utilization
E. Physical Set-up and Facilities
F. Financial Support
G. Linkages
F. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area VIII: Physical Plant and Facilities
A. Site
B. Campus
C. Buildings
D. Classrooms
E. Offices, Staff and Function Rooms
F. Assembly and Athletic Facilities
G. Medical and Dental Clinic
H. Student Center
I. Food Services/Canteen
J. Accreditation Center
K. Housing
L. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area IX: Laboratories
A. Laboratories, Shops/Facilities
B. Equipment and Supplies
C. Maintenance
D. Special Provisions
E. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Area X: Administration
A. Organization
B. Academic Administration
C. Student and Personnel Administration
D. Financial Management
E. Supply Management
F. Records Management
G. Institutional Planning and Development
H. Performance of Personnel
F. Documents and Additional Information/Exhibits

Engr. Sami M. Khayat , M.Sc.
Negros Oriental State University
Dumaguete City, 6200
Philippines.
http://www.norsu.edu.ph
Post Reply