Either we consider the sustained growth of an economy according to classical Solow's model or redefine the growth parameters via Schumpeterian 'Creative Destruction' paradigm, innovation becomes essential for economic development. Foundation of such innovations rests on education and 'Scientific Temper' of a society. Faced with numerous economic challenges, Bangladesh always struggled to balance between meeting minimum basic needs for its population and progressing forward with novel development initiatives. Our failure in establishing a successful biotechnology industry, likely lies in the lack of educational and training deficiencies that should have preceded the industrial and economic efforts. Well-planned educational programmes are essential to develop not only a trained professional class, but more importantly to generate a social temper towards acceptance and nourishment of a new technology. This article attempts to outline a few practical steps towards a comprehensive educational programme on nanotechnology for Bangladesh; global examples and practices will serve as cornerstone for such potential programme outline.
As the leader in nanotechnology research and development, the United States has had federally funded efforts via National Science Foundation to develop educational programmes across the nation. The Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) programme initially promoted singular course development on nanotechnology. Theory-based and laboratory courses were the focus. The NUE programme funded nearly 100 institutions in the US in the first 10 years (2003-2012) to promote nano education. The programme's recent focus has shifted towards more comprehensive nano programmes, which will introduce minors in nanotechnology that includes local non-degree awarding institutions, even aspire to involve industrial trainees, and promote local collaborations. This example may not be directly applicable to a developing country like Bangladesh, due to the differences in federal sponsorship, educational structure, and industry-academia interaction. However, part of these initiatives, not in exact order, can be followed to expedite the education programmes in our region.
India rather, can be an example to be emulated. Jawaharlal Nehru's Palampur Declaration or 'A Statement on Scientific Temper' of 1981 has set India's path towards developing a technologically aware culture. Nehru's establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and universities had served as the necessary infrastructure for technological development. The physical infrastructure then found its soul in the philosophical guidance of Palampur Declaration and Scientific Temper of the nation. Nanotechnology development in India seems to have synced in with the technologically aware culture of the nation as reflected from its national educational and training initiatives. The Indian nano education model in the beginning, somewhat followed the US trend of introducing single courses in the IITs and other technical colleges and universities. However, in a short period of time, their efforts turned out to be more extensive. India is one of the first countries to establish a private institution that is primarily focused on nano education, namely: Amity Institute of Nanotechnology, Noida. The vision of this standalone centre is to promote nanotechnology via organised education efforts and scholarly research. The institute offers Bachelors (four years) and Masters (three years) degrees (BTech, MSc, MTech) in nanotechnology, which likely are one of the first degree-programmes in the world. Amity was followed by establishment of numerous centres, institutes, and university programmes, which include: Centre for Nanotechnology & Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB, Thanjavur); academic courses and programmes at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), IIT-Bangalore, University of Madras, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Mumbai, IIT-Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, etc. Research efforts are also underway in all these institutions as well as in National Physical Laboratory, Delhi and National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. It is to be noted that the leadership of nano education and training in India was initiated by a private institute; whereas, the subsequent endeavours were government patronised.
Bangladesh should not wait to start a focused effort in nano education. The cadre of private universities in the country can serve as the infrastructure to start the nano-related education. Initially, fundamental principles of nano science and nanotechnology can be taught via an elective course. For example, the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MNS) of BRAC University in Bangladesh is launching such an elective course for its bachelor's degree programme. Over time, other core courses can slowly be introduced discussing specific topics of nanotechnology; for example, synthesis and characterisation of nano-materials, application of nano-materials, nano-optics, nano-electronics, nano-medicine, etc. Later, technical minors can be developed by combining these courses. However, minors and other comprehensive programme development depend on the market demand for such training. Starting a nano education programme in a private university is advantageous because of its relatively flexible curricula with a higher number of elective courses. The internal academic structure is also more relaxed compared to the hierarchical and rigid public universities. Thus the effective strategy can be to begin nano education programmes at private universities and work our way into the public university structure; as government initiatives will be necessary to proliferate the nano education efforts further.
The readers might still be wondering how education efforts lead to business and research initiatives. Again, putting education in the core of development has been exercised in the western world as well as in our regions. The notion is that education will develop human resources, who either will join an existing workforce in the trained area or will generate demand for job growth in that area. In parallel, the education structure will also likely encourage research initiatives in the respective field. Small businesses once established will likely require skilled workforce, which will in turn increase the demand and need for the educational and training activities. Industries will also need new innovations to remain competitive in the national and world market; which will promote research. The educational institutes will collaborate with industries and also make an effort to establish independent research initiatives to compete in the education market. This will improve and foster education. This self-contained loop will thus result in a true impetus for development in a new area of interest. Nanotechnology is a new field for Bangladesh. Beginning with research or investment in industrial sectors can be risky. A void in the trained workforce can compromise both such activities. However, given the high IQ and existing academic-savvy culture of our country, nano education programmes should be the first step to encourage subsequent business and research efforts.
The strategy outlined in this article is one of the many routes that can be followed in Bangladesh. The author currently is leading a nano education effort in his institution funded by the US National Science Foundation. The experiences therein have guided the strategy discussion in this article. The academics, industry professionals, and policymakers of Bangladesh and those who are pursuing nano-related research and education elsewhere, should be brought together to formulate a comprehensive plan for nanotechnology development in Bangladesh. New ideas and strategies will likely emerge from the unique experiences of the other experts, which can only help in taking the most appropriate measures for our country and establish a truly successful nanotechnology education, research, and entrepreneurial programme.
No comments:
Post a Comment