Office News Letter of Institute of Research Promotion

News

Research In News…

Aug 02 ,2013

In the recently

released Global

Innovation Index

2013, published by

Cornell University,

INSEAD and the

World Intellectual

Property

Organization, the

US reclaimed its spot among the world’s five most

innovative nations after a brief time out in the

cold.Once again, Switzerland came out on top,

followed by Sweden holding onto last year’s second

spot, while the UK climbed to third place from 5th in

2012. Australia was in 19th place, up from last year’s

disappointing 23rd

place.Rounding out the Top 10 are

the Netherlands in 4th place (up from 6

th); the US in 5

th

(up from 10th); Finland in 6

th (down from 4

th); Hong

Kong in 7th (up one place); Singapore in 8

th (down

from 3rd

); Denmark in 9th (down from 7

th) and Ireland

in 10th (down one spot).

According to the report, research and development

spending levels are above 2008 levels in most

countries and “dynamic innovation hubs are

multiplying around the world despite the difficult state

of the global economy”.Discussing the findings, WIPO

Director General Francis Gurry said: “For national

level policy makers seeking to support innovation,

realizing the full potential of innovation in their own

backyards is often a more promising approach than

trying to emulate successful innovation models

elsewhere”. The authors noted that “fostering local

innovation requires strategies that should be deeply

rooted in local comparative advantages, history and

culture. They should be combined with a global

approach to reach out to foreign markets, and attract

overseas talent”. Indicators used to produce the 2013

Index include: the quality of top universities,

availability of microfinance and venture capital deals.

Switzerland and Sweden’s consistent stellar

performances reflect their exceptional performance in

all components making up the Index. The USA’s

improvement came on the back of its strong first-rate

universities and increases in software spending and

jobs in knowledge-intensive industries.

Bruno Lanvin, Index co-editor and Executive Director

of INSEAD’s European Competitiveness Initiative

said: “…innovation is rapidly becoming a rallying

symbol for forces of progress and reform around the

world. Although our findings show that daunting

challenges remain for many new players, we also see

exciting examples of innovation success, including in

some of the poorest countries. This is a source of

optimism about the future of global innovation and

economic recovery”.

Breaking down the report by region, India was the top

performer in Central and Southern Asia in 66th spot

overall; Mauritius ranked the highest for Sub-Saharan

Africa in 53rd

place; Hong Kong topped the class for

Southeast Asia and Oceania (7th globally); Costa Rica

Editorial Board

Chief Editor

Rahmat Ullah

English Editor

Zahid Iftikhar

Official Newsletter of Institute of Research Promotion

Fortnightly IRP Newsletter

August 15,2013

Innovation Index 2013 – where the

winners are

Promoting Research Culture In Pakistan

August 15,2013 Page:01

was ahead in the Caribbean in 39th spot; Israel came up

trumps for Northern Africa and Western Asia in 14th

place overall; with Switzerland and the US rounding

out the top spots respectively for Europe and North

America.

Latin America won the gong for most improved

region.Overall though, this year’s index showed “a

striking pattern of stability among the most innovative

nations. Whether we look at the top 10 or top 20

innovators in the world, GII rankings show that while

individual countries swap their respective rankings

within these groups, not a single country moved in or

out of such groups in 2013”.Good news for those that

have already made the grade, not so promising for

those trying to muscle their way in. This is perhaps an

example of the measurable way in which innovation

breeds innovation – and investment.

Despite ongoing global economic uncertainty, this

year’s index revealed research and development

expenditure continues to grow with the R&D spend of

the top 1000 R&D companies rising by nearly 10% last

year.It is emerging markets, however, that are

increasing their R&D spend faster than high-income

nations, with China, Argentina, Brazil, Poland, India,

Russia, Turkey and South Africa leading the

charge.Innovation is a well-recognised catalyst for

economic and social development with unlimited

potential to transform economies, industries and most

importantly – lives. Rising to the top of the Index is

one contest we should all want to win.

Source:

http://www.andrewhorvath.com.au/2013/08/global-

innovation-index-2013-where-the-winners-are-2/

Wednesday, August 14, 2013 by Julie Urlaub

“It’s not about just one physical manifestation on how

you innovate like a research and development

center. Innovation is everyone’s day job…at the right

time, the right place and the right culture to really

effect transformative change.”

Taken from the Star Tribune post, At Target,

Innovation Begins From Within, the author explores

the front end of the ideation process and ways to

improve the quality of its eventual outcome. As the

text describes, leading innovators, like Target, spend

much more time on the front end framing and focusing

on the challenge.

“Technology and business strategy are completely

intertwined. In the world we live in, neither one can

live independently. We need each side to have a full

seat at the table to bring the best together.”

Building on this comment, our sustainability consulting

practice experience finds that front-end efforts are

enabled through early stakeholder engagement and

alignment around mutual benefiting sustainability

concepts. Some commonly observed steps to aid in

this pursuit include:

Define the objectives clearly: Understanding

the purpose will enable decision makers.

Design around the objectives: The key to

effective design is working back from the

business decisions that need to be made.

Map out the decision processes by considering:

Will it underpin a redesign of the brand and the

value proposition or of frontline sales and

service? Will it ultimately result in more

tailored and dynamic online and direct

marketing? How are the business and

functional units responsible going to access the

information and use it on a day-to-day basis?

Manage the implementation process: The tools

for managing change need to be deployed

fully.

At Taiga Company, we believe that successful business

sustainability cultures focus on open communication

and learning. We advocate that by allowing for

flexibility and promoting open innovation across the

value chain, an organization can capture the interests of

Official Newsletter of Institute of Research Promotion

What is the Link Between Culture and

Sustainable Innovation?

August 15,2013 Page:02

its current and future employees and other

stakeholders.

The ability to remain open to test new ideas and

innovative strategies has already proven to be a

successful business sustainability strategy.

Organizations that continuously assess and reassess the

needs of their internal and external stakeholders are

often more adaptive to the dynamic landscape of

today’s business. The question ultimately becomes: Is

your company enabling creativity to become tangible

innovation?

Source:http://blog.taigacompany.com/blog/sustainability-

business-life-environment/what-is-the-link-between-culture-

and-sustainable-innovation#sthash.

Upcoming Event...

IDEAS Contest 2013

Young Entrepreneur Business Plan

Competition” by LCCI on August 21,

2013

Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry is

organizing “ Young Entrepreneur Business Plan “ on

21st August, 2013 .The prime objective of the event is

to explore the untapped potential of Business

opportunities and also invite the students from

Business Schools and Universities to come up with

innovative and workable ideas of proposing business

projects to attract the business community for

investment.

Contact: asif56@lcci.org.pk

Mr. M. Asif Ali, Additional Secretary, LCCI on Ph. No.

111-222-499 Ext 330 & 359 Cell. 0302-4606162

Intr. Journal of Innovative Finance – IJIAF

IJIAF provides you the best opportunity to share your

innovative researches with the researchers and

managers in the field of accounting, finance and

financial markets. The journal adopts blind peer

reviewing and best management practices to serve you

in all the submission to publishing process. You can

email your paper for initial editorial feedback to

ijiaf@irp.edu.pk .You can register to submit your

manuscript online and get updates through online

review process.Publish your empirical paper,

review paper, practical case having something

unique to offer to the world of finance.

Contact: mmshahkhan@umt.edu.pk

Visit for more information : . www.cls.irp.edu.pk

Official Newsletter of Institute of Research Promotion

August 15,2013 Page:03

By Team Technology Times

Prof Dr M Akram Shaikh is the Director General of

PASTIC National Centre, Pakistan Science

Foundation. He did his MS in Software Engineering in

2000 from University of Huddersfield (UK), and PhD

in 2008 on HEC scholarship from Tsinghua University

Beijing, China. Dr Akram is also a member of HEC

National Curriculum Committee, PEC Accreditation

Committee and Board of Studies Committees of

various universities. In a detailed interview with

Technology Times he shared his vision about the

digitization of PASTIC

Technology Times: What is your experience about

higher education in China?

PROF DR AKRAM SHAIKH: I went to China on

HEC scholarship, as you know that was the time when

doors of US and European universities were shut on us.

Even in China some of Pakistani students were not

allowed to work in their classified labs. But now the

things have improved and access to educational

institutes worldwide has been allowed. The period I

was mentioning was exactly after the 9/11. In China

there is a huge language barrier. Thanks to HEC; they

sent us to those institutes where beside Chinese,

English was also medium of instructions. Chinese

language is very difficult and understanding the

technical Chinese language is further more difficult.

Did you not raise this issue with HEC?

HEC officials gave us a good response whenever we

informed them about any issue. But the teaching in

China was really good. I had observed one thing there

that they have one medium of teaching (Chinese)

irrespective of the subject and field. They are also very

quick in translating science and technology books

published in US and Europe. And all this is done under

copyrights. Let me also add here that Chinese have 100

percent commitment with their job. When I was

studying in China there was no restriction on us and we

could work 24 hours in the labs and even on weekends

you can work. This culture needs to be promoted in

Pakistan where it is difficult to work in a lab after the

working hours and in case of weekends it is more

difficult.

Tell us about PASTIC.

PASTIC stands for Pakistan Scientific and

Technological Information Centre which is the premier

organization in the field of S&T information

management and dissemination that serves as a

gateway for access to and delivery of S&T information

catering to the needs of research and development

workers in all areas of science & technology. The users

of PASTIC includes researchers, entrepreneurs,

academicians, scientists, engineers, industrialists,

policy makers and planners. Its mandate is to collect

process and disseminate scientific and technological

information among S&T and R&D community of the

country. It has evolved from erstwhile Pakistan

National Scientific and Technical Documentation

Centre (PANSDOC) which was established in 1957

under Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial

Research (PCSIR) to provide the scientific community

with such support services as the procurement of

documents, compilation of bibliographies, abstracting

and indexing services and technical translation. Later

on in 1974 PANSDOC was transferred from PCSIR to

Pakistan Science Foundation and was renamed as

Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information

Centre (PASTIC). After transfer to Pakistan Science

Foundation, its scope and facilities were expanded.

Establishment of PANSDOC/PASTIC at that time was

a big initiative as there were difficulties in getting

access to the information. Senior people informed us

that in the old days it was very difficult to get Ph.D as

access to information was difficult and setting up of

PASTIC helped many of them. Once when I went to

University of Bahawalpur and met its Vice Chancellor,

he highly appreciated the PASTIC roll in serving the

research community.

Have you modernized your services?

Yes, we have modernized our services. We are using

information and communication technologies for

dissemination of our services. We are using electronic

means for rendering our services such as Document

Supply Service, Bibliographic Information Service,

and Literature Search/Literature Surveys. We have

developed indigenous databases which have

Official Newsletter of Institute of Research Promotion

Exclusive Interview : Prof Dr Akram Shaikh: Man behind

the task to digitize information resources at

PASTIC

August 15,2013 Page:04

strengthened our information infrastructure and

resources. Besides we have compiled and published

reference information publications in the form of

databases by using information technology. These

publications serve as reference information tools which

are available and accessible to our users through

internet and being used directly by scientific and R&D

community for fulfilling their information needs. We

regularly subscribe many online international databases

so that we could provide up-to-date information to our

clients. We are doing all of our work in a scientific

way. We want to make changes for a complete

turnaround but this kind of revamping requires

capacity building. We are planning to initiate new

projects for revamping and capacity building of

PASTIC. We are employing latest tools to meet the

requirement of our clients.

Did PASTIC only base in Islamabad?

No, we are also based at provincial headquarters and

other cities. PASTIC Head Office is based at

Islamabad and housed in its own building at Quaid-i-

Azam University campus, Islamabad whereas its

regional centre are working at Karachi, Lahore,

Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and Muzaffarabad. We

also want to have our sub centre at Gilgit Baltistan but

due to lack of funds we have not yet managed to set it

up. But it will be opened soon. We are also in process

of establishing our information Kiosks/Cells in the

selected universities throughout the country where

there is no any PASTIC sub centre nearby.

Do you only disseminate information available

internationally or also promote local knowledge?

We collect, procure and disseminate scientific and

technical information generated, published and

available anywhere in the world. We have established

liaison with local, regional and international S&T

information agencies/networks for exchange and

procurement of information. We also liaise and interact

with regional and international counterpart

organizations and S&T information dissemination

Centres. We also collect and disseminate the

information generated and published locally. We have

developed linkages with local libraries for sharing of

their information resources. We have also developed

indigenous information databases for this purpose. We

have also signed Memorandum of Understanding with

LEJ National Science Information Centre, University

of Karachi and other institutions for information

exchange and resource sharing in order to facilitate the

scientific community. We are also expending this kind

of resource sharing with other universities and R&D

organizations.

How do you set your priorities?

We have a process to do that. We organize an annual

conference in June or July at closing of financial year

in which we review our activities carried out during the

past year and set targets and plans for the coming

financial year and the main ones are prioritized. The

tasks pertaining to development and strengthening of

information resources and modernizing our services

are prioritized as fulfilling the information needs of our

clients are the first priority. Besides we holds meeting

of our sectional heads on fortnightly basis in which we

constantly review our year targets and routine

activities. During these meetings new proposals are

also looked into. We set our priorities through this

process of continuous reviewing of our activities and

progress.

What are the services your organization provide to

scientific community

Our major service is document supply service under

which we provide copies of research articles,

conference papers, patents, report and other scientific

documents to scientists and research & development

workers on their demand. Besides we also provide the

abstracts of research papers on different topics. Facility

of literature research/survey is also provided to

students and research worker. We also provide the

consultancy service to researcher and R&D workers in

getting their invention patented. Guidance is provided

to them for filling and filing the patent applications.

Awareness seminars on intellectual property rights

issues are also organized for creating awareness on

IPRs among scientists and R&D Workers. Reference

and referral services are also available at PASTIC

library. We also provide printing services to science &

technology and R&D organizations of the country.

Do you provide your services at subsidized rate?

Yes, some of our services are provided a subsidized

rate, while some are free of cost. Document supply

Official Newsletter of Institute of Research Promotion

August 15,2013 Page:05

service is provided at highly subsidized rate as

compare to actual cost of procurement of

documents/reprint of article. Whereas Bibliographic

Information service/literature search is provided free of

cost. We have a printing section namely Reprographic

Unit rendering printing services to S&T organizations

and education institutions. We intend to run this unit

on commercial basis so that some funds may be

generated. We are in process of commercialization

printing services through public private partnership

programme.

Is there any foreign funding available to PASTIC?

At present no any foreign funding is available to us.

However, we are in process of establishing liaison with

international information network/agencies and

counterpart organization for initiating collaborative

projects and information exchange programmes. We

are focal point of some regional and international

organizations such as SAARC Documentation Centre

(SDC), WHO/CEHANET, IFAP/UNESCO. We are

planning to submit some project for foreign funding.

Who are your clients?

All the R&D organizations, faculty & students of

higher education institutions, professionals of

information technology, agriculture, environment and

health sector, government departments, business &

industrial community, Investors, entrepreneurs &

libraries are the major clients of PASTIC services.

How do you help Universities?

We provide scientific & technological information

support services to all scientist, research workers,

students of the universalities in the form of research

papers, scientific documents which need to complete

their research project and studies. We conduct

literatures search and surveys for students and

researchers of the universities for review of literature

available in their respective disciplines. We compile

and publish reference information publication to be

used by scientists, R&D workers and students as

reference information tools for accessing and locating

the relevant information. We provide patent

information services to R&D workers of universities

and provide them guidance for filling and filing the

applications for grant of patents. We have initiated a

university industry partnership programme for

interaction between universities and industries and

providing them forum to find ways and means for

commercialization of research carried out by

universities.

Does it mean that you are acting as a bridge to help

the industry?

Yes, information plays a potential role in research as

well as in developmental activities particularly

industrial development; therefore it is also used by

industrial sector for growth of industry, value addition

in products, business development, and enhancing

exports. Therefore, PASTIC is in process of

developing linkages with industrial sector through

Chambers of Commerce and Industry for bridging the

gap between industry and research institutions and

promotion of research and development culture in the

country. These linkages are necessary for bringing

together academia and industry for close relation

between research objectives and industry priorities and

promoting indigenous technologies. This initiative of

PASTIC will go a long way in developing industrial

research culture and empowering the industrial sector

with innovations leading to the promotion of

competitiveness, productivity and socio economic

development.

What kind of other services are provided by

PASTIC to local universities?

We organize our information service stalls from time

to time at different universities with a view to provide

S&T information services at the door step of

universities. Besides we are in process of establishing

our information Kiosks/Cells at 16 different

universities of Pakistan. This programme will be

materialized after the approval and execution of one of

our development project which have been already

submitted to Government for approval. We help

universities by providing training to their library and

information professionals in modern information

handling techniques for automation of their libraries

and information source sharing. We also arrange

foreign training for their library staff.

Courtesy by Technology Times

Compiled & Edited By: CLS, Institute of Research Promotion(www.irp.edu.pk)

Official Newsletter of Institute of Research Promotion

August 15,2013 Page:06