Sights set beyond oil on wells of knowledge

Developing countries will fail if they do not to invest in education and research and convert their economies into knowledge-based ones, according to Dr Tidu Maini.

Maini, an Indian scientist who is the technology adviser to the chairperson of the Qatar Foundation, Shaikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al Missned, and also the executive chairman of the Qatar Science and Technology Park, says it is crucial for small nations such as Qatar and the UAE to do so because “in a competitive world, nations with low productivity have no room''.

In addition to building sound educational systems, which are vital for their development, developing countries must focus on research.

“Excellence in delivering education is a prerequisite for development, but it is not enough for achieving the set goals. It is like having blood in the body.

"It is not proof that the body can function properly. A body cannot function without a brain,'' he said.

“Education is only the starting point. It needs to be channelled and directed, coupled with strong strategies and patience, to achieve the set goals.''

Good education is founded on strong research, Maini said. “The objective of good education can't be achieved without support.

"Having a good education system means that you must have good teachers and good teachers are, by definition, people who possess knowledge and have a good background in research.

"Good teachers must have knowledge of the most exciting breakthroughs to entice their students.''

In Qatar, he said, “we have chosen three areas — energy, environment and healthcare — where we are building our research capabilities.

"We have realised that once we work on these three areas, the quality of our life will improve.''

Research in energy, Maini said, is a priority area in this part of the world because fossil fuels are the nations' primary assets.

“Our research will try to provide answers to some crucial questions. For instance, how do Qatar and the other countries in the region manage their resources?

"Do we exhaust the resources quickly, sell off the stock and deposit the revenue in banks? Do we invest abroad? Or do we regulate the extraction of petroleum to make the resource last longer?

“It is a trade-off situation and to make the appropriate decisions, we need to know the extent of our resources and how quickly we can extract it.

"We need to formulate a strategy — one based on knowledge, which the country needs to acquire on its own rather than sourcing it from experts outside.

"Needless to say, we need help from international oil companies, not only because of their vast expertise in the field but also because they are our avenues to sell oil and gas.

"However, it doesn't mean that the country should depend solely on them for forming its long-term strategy,'' Maini said. “In my opinion, oil-rich countries need to preserve their assets.''

Work with the best

Qatar has decided to conduct world-class research in oil and gas and rely on its own scientists and researchers to draw up a national strategy, Maini said.

“This doesn't mean we are not willing to learn from other people. We want to work with the best universities and the best companies in the world that are working in the field of energy.

"We also want to control that knowledge ourselves, so that we can make the right decisions,'' he said.

Observing that oil-rich countries should slow the use of up their petroleum resources until they find alternative forms of energy, the scientist said countries in the Gulf are blessed with sunshine.

“Not many countries have sunshine like this, so why don't we utilise solar energy? And, for solar energy, we have to carry out our own research and invest money in this field,'' Maini said.

“I have persuaded my colleagues and the leadership of this country to invest in solar energy research so as to acquire the knowledge.

"We want the knowledge not only for our use but also to help other poor countries. Most countries in Africa and Asia are too poor to generate and distribute electricity, and solar energy would provide them with a solution for their needs,'' he said.

“You can build a power station in Sudan or anywhere in Africa but it is difficult to get the electricity to villages. The cost of transmission is too high.

"With solar energy, there would be no need for transmission. I know that solar power generation is still very expensive and the reason behind it is that few companies have invested in the technology and that those that have are charging whatever they like for the installations.''

According to Maini, Qatar is committed to research in solar energy.

“We want to be the producers of solar energy in a way that allows us some control over the new industry.

"I am looking forward to the day when we can develop our knowledge and the technology to use solar energy efficiently in this country.''

Referring to the Qatar Science and Technology Park, Maini said the park does not rent out its space.

“We make the companies interested in joining the technology park to qualify their presence in Qatar. We tell them that if they want to come here, we should be satisfied with what they plan to do.

"No space would be granted to the applicants unless we agree with them on their research programmes,'' he said.

“Until now, we have 20 leading companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total. They are serious about helping us learn about our own energy resources and their better protection.

"They are also interested on investing in new technologies to produce energy from unconventional sources. Their work is conducted with us and through our facilities,'' he said.

“Big companies are too busy and they need us to lead them to what we need. We can't just wait for them to solve our problems.

"We have to inform them about our requirements and explain to them our plans. In addition, we have to know about the new technology by ourselves. There has to be a vision and leadership,'' he said.

Furthermore, Maini said the country has to be serious in encouraging the best output from the international companies.

“Qatar and Abu Dhabi are doing their best to get the maximum results for their investments in the research for new sources of energy.

"I feel that the competition between the two countries is healthy and hope to see more and more money and effort being spent on energy research in the region,'' he said.

Qatar has allocated 2.8 per cent of its income from oil for research and development, Maini said.

“Qatar is among the top countries in the world in terms of spending on research and development. It is placed higher than the United Kingdom, France and the US.

"And it is close behind Japan, which is the top country in the world in terms of spending on research.

He said four major institutions have been established in Qatar to conduct world-class research in the fields of Energy, Environment and healthcare.

Impetus for growth

Research work has received a great impetus, with the research committee at the Qatar Foundation approving a number of projects.

The committee looks into the creation of strategic alignment and synergy in research related to science, technology and biomedicine as well as their funding.

At the same time, Maini said, the committee ensures that there is no duplication, monopoly or lack of transparency in the research work.

It also ascertains that information on all research programmes under different entities is properly communicated among them as well as among the relevant higher authorities.

Every great idea starts from a small seed. And the idea of building such an advanced establishment for research and development was generated about 12 years ago with the establishment of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in 1995, Maini said.