Higher Education in the Arab World: Research and Development (eng)

Countries aspiring to participate fully in the global knowledge economy require high-quality education and research that leads to innovation, entrepreneurship and development. In spite of the large number of institutions higher education institutions, the Arab World failed to capitalise in research and development. This book will examine the current position of university research and development in the Arab region, note the main themes, their international impact, and propose new directions. Crucially, it will examine the underlying reasons for the underperformance, including specific government research policies, university-appointment and governance processes to stimulate research, funding assessment and allocation processes, resource limitations, and public attitudes. By substantially upgrading the research component of Arab universities along with the quality of education generally, the Arab world will have the vehicle to transition into peaceful, stable, and members of leadingglobal economies. There are opportunities for inter-university cooperation and the establishment of regional university-linked research institutes with specialist facilities.

Professor Elias Baydoun was educated at the University of Jordan, Amman (BS 1971), the American University of Beirut (AUB; MS 1977), and the University of Cambridge where he obtained his MPhil in 1978 and PhD in 1980.  He is currently Professor of Biology at AUB, Secretary General of the Arab Academy of Sciences and Adjunct Professor at the University of Petra in Jordan. Previous positions included: Chairman of Biology (1978-93) and Associate Professor at AUB; Associate Professor, Assistant President (1983-86), Director of Planning and Development (1985-1986), and Director of Personnel (1985-1986) at Yarmouk University, Jordan. His awards include: Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils Award, Abdul Hamid Shoman Prize for Young Arab Scientists for Biology, AUB Research Award in Natural Sciences (twice), Distinguished Scholar Award of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Developing World Study Award of the Royal Society UK and TWAS-ARO Regional Prize for Public Understanding and Popularization of Science. He is Fellow of several learned societies including the Institute of Biology, London, TWAS, Islamic World Academy of Sciences and the Arab Academy of Sciences. He organized and chaired 21 international conferences on topics related to the development of the Arab Middle East Region. His research interests include membrane and carbohydrate biology, biotransformation, nanotechnology,and medicinal plants. Professor Baydoun supervised and served on the committees of 60 PhD and MS students. He has published over 100 articles in international refereed journals and over 120 abstracts and papers in the proceedings of international conferences, as well as authoring several biology textbooks for secondary schools and community colleges. He is the first inventor of a patent on treatment of protozoal diseases (US Patent 9,173,888). He translated into Arabic a university textbook in biochemistry and was the General Coordinator of the four volumes of the Arabic Encyclopaedia on Knowledge for Sustainable Development published by UNESCO. He is the editor of four books published by Springer; one on  “Water, Energy and Food Sustainability in the Middle East – The Sustainability Triangle” and three on Higher Education in the Arab World. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports, a journal from Nature Publishing Group anf other journals. He served as consultant for several local, regional, and international organizations including UNESCO and UNEP.

Professor John Hillman, Director and Chief Executive of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) during 1986-2005, oversaw the incorporation of the Scottish Agricultural Statistics Service (later retitled Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland – BioSS), staff transfers from the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, links with the University of Dundee, establishment of Mylnefield Research Services Ltd, new buildings, expansion of staff numbers, and major revision of the research portfolio. Prior to his appointment at SCRI, he was Professor and Head of the Department of Botany, University of Glasgow. In the period 1995-1997, he was Chairman of the UK Technology Foresight Sector Panel on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment and then the Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry Sector Panel. During 2000-2005, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the BioIndustry Association and chairman of its Industrial Biotechnology Group. Other positions held include President of the Agriculture and Food Section of the British Association; member of Court of the University of Abertay Dundee; visiting professorships in the Universities of Dundee, Edinburgh, and Strathclyde; editor and referee for several scientific journals; various committees of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and member of the Scottish Funding Council Research and Knowledge Transfer Committee.  He is scientific advisor to various organisations including the Arab Academy of Sciences.