Call to make scientific research a priority

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan DUBAI - Arabstoday   Studying the economic and social situation in the country, diversifying sources of national income and encouraging investment in different economic fields are among five main objectives set for national scientific research in the UAE.
Setting the priorities of research in the country, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said that supporting the UAE\'s capabilities to compete globally and building the nation on the bases of innovation and creativity has to be top priorities for UAE researchers.
Scientific research in the UAE was the subject of a day-long seminar discussed by academics and experts from a number of leading institutions at the Scientific Research and National Development conference, held last week at the Cultural and Scientific Association.
Sultan Saqr Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Cultural and Scientific Association, said advanced countries spend generously on scientific research.
An example is Sweden, which spends about 3.7 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on this.
In his presentation, Dr Abdullah Al Najjar, head of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation, said based on estimated figures, only 1 per cent of the budget of public universities in the UAE goes towards research, which is an estimated 0.0152 per cent of GDP or 0.05 per cent of the UAE\'s general budget.
The UAE is at 66th place world-wide and sixth place among Arab countries in scientific research, according to the World Economic Forum.
From / Gulf News