You are not very clever are you?
Saudi Arabia is the most urbanized Muslim nation of its size, has one of the highest literacy rates in the entire Muslim world, has one of the most well-educated populations in the entire Muslim world (women outnumber men in the universities for instance), has one of the highest HDI indexes in the world, KSA is a G-20 major economies member state, KSA has one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world (soon to be the by far largest), trillions worth of investments abroad, one of the youngest populations in the world (70% + are under the age of 30), a growing population, one of the most resource rich countries on the planet in terms of natural resources, minerals, enormous unfulfilled potential due to the current economic and social barriers and structure which is going to be fundamentally changed as per the Saudi Vision 2030 etc.
Modern-day KSA was home to some of the oldest civilizations known to mankind and the ancestors of modern-day Saudi Arabians created 3 of the 11 largest empires in history and changed the history of the world profoundly on numerous fronts. Culturally, linguistically, religiously, scientifically (hundreds upon hundreds of Islamic scientists were from modern-day KSA or had origins from modern-day KSA (Arabia)) in terms of architecture and heritage left in the world from Portugal in the west to Western China in the east. LONG before anyone had heard about oil.
Over 50% of KSA is mountainous. In fact the mountainous areas of KSA are bigger than all of Pakistan combined. Secondly KSA is not even the warmest let alone hottest place in the Middle East let alone the entire world.
Oiling the wheels on a road to success
Pakinam Amer
Nature 532,
Published online
27 April 2016
With the benefit of a sustainable plan and the funds to back it, Saudi Arabia is aiming high.
Saudi Arabia's scientific development may be in its infancy, but the oil-rich Kingdom is making strides in terms of research investment and publication — with a clear ambition to one day join those in the highest echelons.
KAUST students embark on a new school year with a commencement ceremony. The relatively new university has quickly made an impact on the Nature Index.
In 2012, Saudi Arabia had a weighted fractional count (WFC) of 52.84 in the index, sitting behind Turkey, Iran, Mexico, Chile and South Africa. In four years it rose 86.8% to reach a WFC of 98.67, leapfrogging all these countries to compete with Chile and Argentina globally. Saudi Arabia ranks at number 31 in the world in terms of WFC — up from 39 in 2012.
The country has risen even higher in specific subject areas. In chemistry, for example, it has surpassed countries with a strong scientific impact like Finland and Ireland, with its WFC rising to 66.54, achieving almost a three-fold increase from its position in 2012.
Institutionally, the country's leading science hub King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) made an impressive leap in its WFC between 2012 and 2015, carving a place for itself to compete with American and European research powerhouses.
In just four years, its WFC has risen to become higher than those of prestigious institutions including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), the University of Georgia, United States, and Dresden University of Technology, Germany, to name a few. The output of all of these institutions dwarfed KAUST's in 2012, but KAUST's impressive trajectory since then has seen its WFC shoot to 72 in 2015, overtaking these heavy-hitters.
The country's science development ambitions have been backed by action. Since 2008, the country has embarked on a multi-tiered strategy that will see the Kingdom overhaul its science infrastructure, build high-spec labs, secure grants for research in priority areas in applied science, and link science to industries that drive the economy.
The strategy, broken into four stages to be implemented by 2030, aims to eventually “see Saudi Arabia become a leader in Asia and give it an economic power based on science,” says Abdulaziz Al-Swailem, vice president of scientific research support at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
The Saudi Human Genome Project will sequence 100,000 human genomes to conduct biomedical research in the Saudi population.
Saudi Arabia's march to the top
Saudi Arabia's efforts to boost its scientific research have been paying off, with its output in the Nature Index (WFC) rising steadily over the years. The two graphs below highlight Saudi Arabia's rise compared to other nations, both overall and for chemistry.
Overall output
In 2012 Saudi Arabia's overall output in the index was below all the countries shown, but continuous efforts have seen the Kingdom's WFC rise to overtake them all in 2015.
Chemistry
More marked than its overall rise, Saudi Arabia has made great strides in chemistry. After accelerated growth, which saw the Kingdom's chemistry WFC triple since 2012, it has outshone many larger players in the field in 2015.
The Kingdom's science investments focus on applied research that feeds directly into the country's industrial interests, particularly the oil and energy sector. But even in its strong subjects, chemistry and the physical sciences, Saudi Arabia's WFC remains modest compared to big players in Asia like China, Japan and South Korea.
To truly swim comfortably with these bigger fish, Saudi Arabia may benefit from looking at successful emerging economies in Asia.
One inspiration could be
India. In addition to multi-disciplinary scientific and technical advancements that have improved its output in the index from 736.5 to 901.4 in the past four years, the subcontinental giant has joined the exclusive club of countries that have launched successful space missions.
Like Saudi Arabia, India's leading research institutes focus on chemistry, and their total output currently outstrips their Saudi Arabian counterparts by almost a factor of seven (the latter surpassing 472 in 2015, while the former is 66.5).
India's prowess in chemistry is something that Saudi Arabia can aspire to, considering that working conditions for researchers in the Kingdom are more conducive.
India's science ecosystem is far from perfect. Research funding cannot keep up with inflation and a general slowdown in the country's economy. In addition, commentators from the research community say the funding processes are lengthy, bureaucratic, and provide little feedback when applications for grants are turned down. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's healthy stream of oil revenue provides assured funding for the country's state-of-the-art research facilities.
While India has slightly increased spending and dedicated US$1.19 billion for the next fiscal year (2016–2017) for science, it has around 700 universities and 200,000 full-time researchers drawing on the same funding pot. By contrast, Saudi Arabia has pledged an education and training budget of US$50.9 billion for next year, which includes higher education and scientific research. With a total population of just 30 million, it has a much lower number of full-time researchers competing for the available resources.
Another impressive trajectory that Saudi Arabia might look to emulate is that of Singapore, which has a smaller population as well and has managed to climb high in the index. Like the Kingdom,
Singapore also has a focus on chemistry research, and it has put together a similar top-down national science strategy for research institutes across the country. Both countries have strong collaborations with top universities around the world and are welcoming of foreign researchers in their efforts to drive innovation.
Mansour Alghamdi, director of the general directorate of scientific awareness and publishing at KACST, is optimistic that Saudi Arabia can bridge the large gap that currently exists in the volume of scientific output between it and such countries as India and Singapore.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a clear plan to do so and it has the resources,” he says.
Future growth
An internationally rising star
This graph shows KAUST's rise compared to a selection of other institutions*.
*Institutions shown are those that were furthest above KAUST in 2012, have experienced overall growth in WFC by 2015 and have been overtaken by KAUST in 2015. For clarity, only 2012 and 2015 data points are shown.
In 2012, Saudi's ranking in research output, with a WFC of 52.8, meant it was comparable with countries like South Africa, Turkey and Iran, all hovering around the 60–70 mark. Its WFC stood way below countries like Mexico, Hungary, Chile, Greece and Argentina.
Saudi Arabian researchers benefit from cutting-edge labs and generous funding that has boosted the country's R&D.
Four years later, the country's research outlook is very different and it is surpassing countries like Argentina, Mexico and
Hungary in the index, and levelling the playing field with Chile. Chemistry research led the country's rapid rise to surpass these countries, but its life sciences and physical sciences WFCs of 8.5 and 31.5 still lag behind.
However, the Kingdom's AC has been steadily growing in these two fields over the past four years, hinting at the ever-increasing significance of international collaborations. It seems that Saudi Arabian researchers are casting their nets ever wider and are participating in publishing more articles, to the detriment of the WFC accredited for these articles.
Though international collaboration has proved fruitful, Saudi Arabia must keep a focus on nurturing home-grown talent, says Nasser Al-Aqeeli, dean of research at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), based in Dhahran's 'techno valley' in the eastern region of the Kingdom. In the next five years, he says, the country will focus on a programme for national capacity building.
A good first step was the Saudi government's decision to create a large scholarship programme in 2005, arguably the largest in the world, which has seen more than 200,000 young Saudi Arabians studying abroad. This makes Saudi Arabian students in the United States the fourth largest bloc of expatriate students, following those of China, India and South Korea. The government hopes these students will come back and drive a scientific culture in the country.
Saudi Arabia is also looking to increase its applied research focus, which is an integral part of the current phase of its national science strategy, while securing good funding for basic research as well. Al-Aqeeli says that Saudi's journey involves what he termed a “self-correcting mechanism” where the country is having a slow start in high-impact research, but a more sustainable one. An eventual future move towards basic research might help Saudi Arabia's research capacity to mature.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v532/n7600_supp_ni/full/532S13a.html
Another thing as per all economic surveys and predictions KSA will be in the top 15 of the world's biggest economies by 2050!
Enjoy:
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/the-economy/assets/world-in-2050-february-2015.pdf
So kindly continue to display your ignorance for all to see dumb ignorant.
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As far as the topics goes, excellent and expected news.
Don't bother with some dumb ignorant Indian clown who has never met a single Saudi Arabian in his miserable life let alone travelled to KSA or any Middle Eastern country. Whatever "knowledge" that he receives, it is from his equals on forums such as those. He should worry about the 1 billion times bigger problems in his own country. For once feed the highest number of malnourished people on the planet and the almost equally as high number of illiterates. Goes for many countries in that region of the world btw but they have a big mouth for God's knows what reasons.
Let's make that all foreigners in particular although I will give benefit of the doubt to fellow Arabs. Rest of the ungrateful lot should be deported and banned for life. Let them earn their breed elsewhere.
Nobody wants to work as a plumber or toilet cleaner for the simple reason that 95% of all Saudi Arabian youth (70% + of the population) are well educated and in many instances highly educated home and abroad. That's why the unemployment rate among the youth is too high and why new innovative jobs need to be created. Not more plumbers (although they are needed) or toilet cleaners. Such jobs robots will be able to do in a few decades if not sooner. Nor are those jobs desirable. You won't see a single mother or father encourage their sons or daughters to become a plumber. This is not the future either. KSA will always be able to afford to outsource such jobs to foreigners.
Today due to the current realities you have Saudi Arabians with
Master’s degrees in nanotechnology selling shawarma on the street like this woman below:
http://saudigazette.com.sa/opinion/local-viewpoint/saudi-female-shawarma-seller/
Obviously that shall no longer be tolerated and she should be given jobs before foreigners whether fellow Arabs or non-Arabs. It does not matter. This is a natural demand that all citizens of every single country should demand.
Such people were needed before due to the enormous development boom of KSA and drastic population growth. KSA lacked people hence mostly cheap labour from abroad was welcomed and encouraged to accelerate the past development booms. Just like how the US was built. Today this is no longer needed. If KSA had had a population of 200 million or 1.3 billion we could employ our own as there would be enough of plumbers, toilet cleaners etc.
Eventually this will impact all other sectors. In a few years (1.5 decade at most) no sector will be lacking local people. Instead, like in all other developed countries, only (mostly) the most qualified foreigners will be encouraged to migrate depending on their set of skills and whether they will be a benefit for the country or not. After all its all about numbers, the development taking its natural cause and nothing else.
I am not a xenophobe and foreigners should be welcome in KSA (as they will be in the future as well) but there will no longer be a mass-influx and those arriving will be more specialized and hopefully the laws by 2030 will have changed to such a degree that we can have a similar model to the Australian one for instance where some of those people (obviously they will have to want this) can become naturalized. In this way KSA can continue to be the "US of the Muslim world" just in a smaller scale and in a more specialized/selective way like everywhere else nowadays.
Hordes of impoverished and illiterate eau de cologne smelling Indians will and other similar degenerates.
