SANA'A July 16. 2024 (Saba) - The Supreme Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation is currently preparing its executive plan for the year 1446 AH and studies for the projects it includes.
The Vice President of the Authority, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Houri, explained in an interview with the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) that the plan includes many projects, most notably the implementation of the annual scientific week, and projects related to the education system, the agricultural sector, energy, technology and automation.
He stated that the third phase of the research map project, which will be implemented during the year 1446 AH, will include assessing the extent of the target audience’s response to the research priorities included in the map’s outputs.
Regarding the National Competition for: Al-Roahd of Creative and Innovative Projects, Dr. Al-Houri confirmed that a number of projects that won first places in the competition during previous seasons have now become small and medium-sized companies emerging in the market that provide their services to the community and contribute to the localization of industries and achieving self-sufficiency.
Below is the text of the dialogue:
- What are the most prominent activities and projects that the Authority intends to implement?
We are currently preparing the executive plan for the year 1446 AH. The Authority’s team has come a long way in this aspect, and it is expected to complete its preparation and studies for the projects it will include in the coming days.The plan will be submitted to the relevant sectors for final approval and approval within the executive matrix of the state’s general plan for the year 1446 AH.
We have many research projects for which initial and initial studies are being prepared to implement the first phase during the year 1446 AH. Among the most prominent future projects are the Science Week project and the National Olympiad for Science and Technology, which will be implemented in partnership with the three ministries of education.
The plan also contains projects related to the agricultural sector and its affiliated institutions, projects related to energy, and others related to aspects of technology and automation.
- What was accomplished in the Scientific Week project?
The Scientific Week project is one of the important projects of which the Authority implemented the first phase in the year 1445 AH, and the second phase of which will be implemented within this year’s plan.The initial concept for this week was prepared based on the outcomes of a number of workshops that were held in the first phase with the participation of relevant authorities, most notably the three ministries of education and their affiliated institutions (universities - colleges - institutes - schools), in addition to the involvement of service and economic authorities in this national event great.
-What is the purpose of this project?
It is an annual scientific demonstration (a group of events) that takes place during an entire week with the aim of linking education to development priorities and the needs of society, as well as directing scientific research and knowledge production towards development needs in various fields, bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical reality, and supporting scientific publishing in priority areas.It also discusses the difficulties and challenges facing the educational system in general, and develops proposals for solutions to them, the Authority seeks to make it an event that is implemented every year.
The activities will focus on the topics of developing education, patents, creativity and innovation, intellectual property, and the associated rights and procedures, localizing industries, keeping pace with scientific and technological acceleration, and directing research toward the requirements and needs of economic and social development in the country.
- Has the launch date of this project been set and what will it include?
Of course, it was agreed to launch the Scientific Week at the beginning of the second month of the Hijri year 1446, and it will begin at the same time in various institutions, as it will witness a continuous movement in various scientific activities in a way that contributes to moving stagnant waters and creating great momentum in the fields of education.There will be scientific exhibitions, seminars, lectures, and hosting of guests from outside the country to shed light on topics related to the fields of science, technology and innovation, and the role of the media will be large and influential.
- What was achieved regarding the research map?
As for the research map, the Commission has made great efforts to reach what it has reached and produce it in the form we see today. There are presidential directives to implement it and adhere to what is stated in it as a map of the research being carried out in the Republic of Yemen in the sectors in which it was contained.During its implementation of the project, the Authority was keen to have an electronic platform and application that allows any researcher who sees that there are topics that have been overlooked in the map to propose them via correspondence.
We have a technical support team that receives these correspondences and suggestions around the clock and submits them to the responsible party concerned with the project, studies these proposals, and any research priorities that are not mentioned in the map and occupy a priority and meet the standards are included and listed within the research map to be absorbed in the next edition and added directly to the website.
- Can it be said that the research map included all the titles and priorities?
What we have done is a human effort and does not reach the degree of perfection, but we can say that the map of priorities that has been drawn up serves as a base upon which to rely and proceed, and any research priorities that are not mentioned in it are suggested by researchers and interested parties wherever they are, whether inside or outside the country.It will be studied and what can be absorbed from it, in accordance with the standards and conditions that have been established and prepared within the map, and its research priorities will be prepared accordingly.
The Commission’s team receives all proposals on this topic, and we do not claim perfection in the research map or that we have reached the completion of a map that accommodates all the titles and priorities in all sectors covered by the research map of the Republic of Yemen.
-What is the extent of the target audience’s response to the outputs of the research map?
We are in the context of evaluating the extent of the target audience’s response to the map’s outputs during the third phase in the year 1446 AH, where we will work to complete the map on the basis that we have a specific target for this project, and among the targets is knowing and evaluating what has been implemented and comprehending the research priorities and evaluating them based on the research being implemented, in research institutions within the country.In fact, all institutions and concerned parties are committed to what is stated in the research map, and we hope that during the third phase, the research and projects that have been implemented will be evaluated and included among the priorities of the research map, whether research or graduation projects for bachelor’s students or in institutions affiliated with higher education or for students of affiliated institutes and community colleges, for technical education and vocational training institutions, as well as research carried out in master’s and doctoral studies, promotion research, and research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
All of these will be included in the indicators that will evaluate the extent of commitment to the research map and determine the number of research and projects that have been implemented based on priorities and in any field, as well as the institutions that implemented them.
The evaluation process will continue in the hope that there will be a collective trend in the various educational institutions towards what was stated. In the research map, as many countries in the world are working on, this map will also be ready for the process of continuous updating and development.
We aim that all research, which is currently being carried out or which will be carried out in the coming periods, is linked to development priorities and addresses a real problem, and we have tried to link educational and research institutions on the one hand and service, production and industrial institutions on the other hand with the aim of unifying efforts and cooperation between these parties for what It is in the service and interest of the country.
- Can we say that by 2030 all research priorities will have been implemented?
The priorities mentioned in the map are many, and one priority may branch out into several research headings. Therefore, we cannot say that by the end of the year 2030 we will have absorbed all the priorities, because it is certain that there are priorities from which new headings will branch, for example regarding the field of information technology, there is artificial intelligence research and control, as well as energy research.These are all modern trends for all countries of the world, and new research titles may branch out from the priorities of these or other fields that may continue beyond the year 2030, as this is a modern trend that all countries of the world are interested in.
- Did the Authority achieve its goal of holding the annual competition for pioneers of creative projects?
Certainly, in the projects that are submitted to the Authority, we see a qualitative development from year to year. We do not say that all the projects that participated in the competition over the past six years have come into existence, but there is a group of projects, especially those that obtained first places in the competition. Different seasons, some of them have now become startup companies present in the markets and providing their services to the community.We have been working on this topic since the third season because our vision is that the projects do not stop with the end of the competition, but rather work on them continues. It can be said that as a result of the cumulative experience and the spread of awareness among society regarding creative and innovative projects, especially among the educated and those associated with the applied and industrial aspects, there is a very large trend toward expanding these projects.
We also see development from year to year in this aspect, which can be considered one of the indicators by which we evaluate the impact that the competition has added and what it provided, and its positive repercussions on society in general and the target group in particular.
M.M
resource : SABA
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