DRIVING EXCELLENCE IN MUSLIM WORLD
THE news that Universiti Malaya has achieved 87th place in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings is a cause for celebration for Malaysians. With Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia at 184th, Malaysia now boasts two topranked universities in the Muslim world.
Despite these achievements, the fact remains that the academic performance of universities in Muslim countries lags behind the rest of the world.
At this time of contemplation for all Muslims and the dawn of a new era for Malaysians, it is appropriate to ask “why?” Here are some reflections.
From the fossil reserves of the Middle East to the biodiversity of Asia, Muslims can claim more than their share of the planet’s bounty. Malaysia alone hosts five per cent of the world’s plant species, and some of the richest sources of terrestrial and marine biodiversity on the planet. Muslim countries span a “fertile crescent” from Senegal (further west than Ireland), Kazakhstan (further north than Denmark) and Indonesia (further east than Japan and further south than Brazil). discoveries.
Really? Almost half of the global poor live in the Muslim world. Sixty per cent of Muslims are aged below 30 and most of them live in rural poverty. Unemployment is often high, especially for women and youth. At the same time, many Muslim countries depend on food imports since they cannot feed their own people. If we built a “Trumpian Wall” around the Muslim world, many of us would starve. work in multidisciplinary, multinational teams. They must welcome contributions from colleagues who neither look nor think like them, but bring new perspectives to a common challenge. This means that we must share, and not compete for, resources, welcome new ideas and encourage debate. We must ask whether our research is relevant to the challenges facing our communities and learn lessons from elsewhere. Publications will not empower communities, shared experiences may. mitigation and adaptation.
Islamic Green funds and Green Sukuk can contribute to research on climate change. While the principles of Islamic finance can support climate change research, it is researchers who must work with communities to deliver climate resilience.
In this new era, we must rethink how we can support and reward academic research. Innovation, not only publications, should be our yardstick. Instead of being its nemesis, bureaucracy should facilitate innovations, encourage collaborations, reward achievements, remove restrictions and cherish diversity. Rather than simply counting their publications, academic hierarchies must allow young researchers to challenge the status quo and find innovative solutions to the challenges that we face.
Chief executive officer, Crops for the Future and chair, Association of International Research and Development Centres for Agriculture