Can the establishment of a university costing 10 billion dollars restore science in the Muslim world?
By Charles K. Choi
On the shores of the Red Sea, near a small fishing village called Tawal, Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia, inaugurated a university that he aspires to make into a world leader in science and technology. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), as it is called, will receive one of the ten most generous financial supports in the world and will allow joint studies for women and men. The biggest challenge now facing this potentially revolutionary institution is attracting faculty and students.
In the past when science flourished in the Muslim world, the Arab heritage left its traces in the West in the use of the Arabic numerals and words like "algebra." From the golden age of Islam with the invasion of the Mongols in the 13th century, this momentum was interrupted by enmity. "Several [UN] reports recognize that the Arab and Muslim world is lagging behind when it comes to science," says Ahmed al-Khwaiter, the university's interim president. Such reports are based, for example, on the amount of money invested in research in relation to the size of the country's economy and the number of research articles published and patents registered in it.
To stimulate world-class research in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah is personally donating 10 billion dollars or more to a foundation that will finance the university's activities - an amount that does not fall short of that of the foundation that supports the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the six largest foundations that support any university today in the USA. The university, designed for graduate degrees, will be completely independent of the government of Saudi Arabia and will grant students and faculty members academic freedom similar to that common in other universities around the world - unprecedented freedom in the Kingdom. "The university will not suffer from disturbances that may harass universities managed by the government," Al-Kwaitar says firmly.
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology will enjoy a legal autonomy similar to that which can be found in other enclaves in Saudi Arabia intended for foreigners working in the oil industry - women will be allowed to drive, for example, and the religious police will not be allowed to enter the campus. Although Al-Quwaiter anticipates that these freedoms will arouse some opposition in the rest of the kingdom, he believes that "if we manage to show that we can contribute to society, I think it will be possible to overcome such objections. If we don't show a benefit, the resistance that will limit the research will end."
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the fledgling institution is attracting top-notch talent to a geographically isolated university that lacks any reputation. The university will therefore offer, as an attraction, laboratories with the best equipment and grants to scientists. "Researchers will not be forced to spend 50% of their time chasing funding," says Al-Quwaiter.
Also, the university will strive to break the isolation that researchers may feel by contacting the rest of the world: scientists will be able to hold meetings at other universities, for example, and will receive funding for their travel to any conference around the world. In addition to this, KAUST will demonstrate an unceasing presence around the world by collaborating with leading institutions, such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the USA, and providing research grants to scientists at other universities for a total amount of up to one billion dollars over ten years.
To attract students, the university will offer full scholarships not only to research students but also to final year undergraduate students overseas to finance the completion of their degree at the institution where they are currently studying in exchange for a commitment to enroll for further studies at KAUST. The idea is that "students will flock to the university on the day it opens," states al-Kwaitar. The institution will distribute these scholarships for at least its first ten years.
Unusually, instead of organizing research around departments specializing in a single field as can be found at most universities, KAUST will rely on interdisciplinary centers dedicated to specific challenges, including energy research, water availability and sustainable development. "Such centers have been very successful around the world in attracting scientists who want to work on big problems that require teams from many different fields," says Al-Kwaitar. The ultimate goal of the university is a student population of which 40% will come from the West of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in the Gulf region, 30% from countries stretching between Egypt and India, and 30% from the rest of the world.
"Due to the high proportion of young people in the population of the Arab and Muslim world, there is an urgent need for postgraduate study programs, especially of the quality that King Abdullah University promises to offer, and the time has certainly come for it," says Ahmed Hanaim, a mechanical engineer from MIT who advises the university. "There is an abundance of local talent here, which if we harness it, we can make a huge mark both locally and globally."
Ultimately, King Abdullah seeks to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-based kingdom to a more knowledge-based society, Al-Kwaitar explains. If he succeeds, it is possible that other countries in the Arab and Muslim world will follow suit. As Frank Press, president emeritus of the US National Academy of Sciences, put it: "An initiative like this can change a nation."
Charles K. Choi is a frequent contributor to Scientific American.
44 תגובות
I love Ksa and I want to visit it
Much more than ten billion dollars is needed to overcome Muslim fundamentalism. If the Western countries do not support it, the vision may collapse, and it's a shame
As part of the autonomy, will Israeli students also be allowed to enter the KAUST gates?
When the oil runs out or when a serious substitute is found, all the Arabs will return to walking in camel caravans in the Sahara and in the Al Khali quarter in Saudi Arabia
At this rate, one day they will overtake us
From what has already been seen in recent years, the scope of research expenditures and the publication of articles in the Arab world already exceeds the scope of research expenditures and articles in Israel, and what's more, education in Israel is going backwards, and as it seems, education is not about to receive a serious shake-up
People in Israel would invest half the amount that the Israeli universities invest there would also overtake most of the universities in the USA and even the largest ones - but there is simply nowhere to get money for research and what a pity for an injustice that is going to be lamented for generations
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/742/354.html
Unfortunately in Israel, there is no chance for such a thing. Instead, huge sums are invested in security - and they don't understand that investing in education contributes much more to security in the long run
Michael:
You raised important and interesting points.
The material you referred to is long and incisive and I hope to have time to go through it on the weekend.
I would be happy to forward the discussion between us to email (and to anyone who would like to join)
My address: gild@gigaspaces.com
Or alternatively to a suitable forum - maybe open a discussion group at: http://hydepark.hevre.co.il/forum.asp?forum_id=16820
The previous link has some translation errors.
This link should give a better translation:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1232718550543562442&hl=en
And something from the other direction:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2875722755809200344
Something relevant:
http://www.121k.com/media/yaronyadan/rabbi_kirshenbaum_livevideo.htm
Google:
The survey is not demagogic.
This is an established statistic and I meet its results every day among my circle of acquaintances, which is a sample in itself.
You are ignoring the main fact that emerges from the survey - the fact that I brought it for proof, and that is that as education increases, faith decreases. Instead you are caught in a demagogic way for a timeline that is not at all relevant to the discussion.
If you - rightfully - send the Nobel Prize winners out for peace, then please - please don't get dragged into the demagoguery of leaving the Nobel Prize winners for literature inside. Religious people do not have a majority in the accepted group even though they have a majority in the population.
There is and is a fundamental contradiction between religion and science. I pointed it out and you allowed yourself to attack the conclusion without dealing with the argument.
The existence of what scientists believe does not prove that there is no contradiction between the doctrines but only that (certain) people are able to live with internal contradictions.
I repeat and assert the claim that you did not try to deal with at all, and that is that the fear of the religious has a reason that cannot disappear by hugging and that this reason is the essential contradiction between the doctrines.
I also repeat and claim that all the positive developments stem from the pressure exerted on the religious and all the negatives stem from the fact that it is not enough.
I'm interested in how you imagine the mechanism that would bring a person who can become unemployed and enjoy my money to work for his living if I continue to shower him with money.
I'm interested in how you think he will suddenly start risking real death in battle when he has the option of "killing" himself laughing at the soldiers protecting him while he rests in a Torah tent.
I'm interested in what you think will make him stop imposing his ways on me when, in response to the compulsion, I just turn the other cheek to him (Efraim Sidon's book - "A strange and whimsical story about the small island - illogical".
If you manage to "educate" me, it will be the greatest of your failures.
Examples:
Prof. Keva, Prof. Uman, the late Prof. Leibovich and many more (as I imagine there is a majority of those of faith among the Israeli Nobel Prize recipients if the Nobel Peace Prize is not taken into account)
The very fact that there is one contradicts your claim and proves that there is no contradiction between a religious lifestyle and education and that it is a dangerous statistic.
It is a historical fact that believing Jews were never prevented from learning and being educated (from the Rambam to the Rebbe of Lubbitch).
Even the founder of the ultra-Orthodox movement, Hatham Sofer, studied mathematics and astronomy...
It amazes me that you even look for such a novel connection between a person's private belief and his ability/desire to become educated and learn about the world around him.
Of course, belief is independent of a person's ability to be educated.
The link you brought is as scientifically valid as a poster of Yael Bar-Zohar in a bikini.
It comes in the context of the (justified) war against the Christian coercion not to teach the theory of evolution and that is enough to deny the Hakish to the ultra-orthodox community and the ability of its people to learn and be educated.
The Christians deny education because of stupidity and wickedness - the ultra-orthodox deny it because of fear!
And I didn't mention the (intentional?) shortcomings of this pseudo-scientific "survey" such as: a comparison to the entire population (if the population at all has such a trend, it invalidates the conclusion), as in many demagogic surveys there is no distinction and decision between cause and effect (who said that superior knowledge, understanding, and experience are the cause of disbelief and not the other way around), the size of the sample each year, the religious composition of the afflicted (not the answer of a Hindu about life after death as the answer of a Christian) and more.
And the question of the questions: Who guarantees me that the judgment of educated people exceeds that of others when it comes to faith?
There is no connection between faith and science just as there is no connection between my love for my wife and science.
There are people who chose to observe archaic Torah and mitzvot and there are people who chose to follow Blondionism.
And yet - the gates of education are open to everyone
My smallness (in the number and in the building) educates you respectfully, but I repeat and warn you: the attitude of teasing and belittling religious people will only drive them away!
Is that what you want?
To create a backward class that will never progress and develop?
Respect their private faith, show them that the "scientific world" does not hate them and that we have no prejudices about them, that they have nothing to fear.
Don't pull out demagogic polls.
Any nosy fly can pull out a pseudo-scientific "survey" on the IQ of dark-skinned people and you know there are some!
It is worth in your mind what will be the answer of a 14-year-old Ethiopian youth to this survey!
This is exactly the reaction of an ultra-orthodox youth who will wander and come to the link you provided! It will deter him and keep him away!
And by the way, there is a lack of examples of educated Torah observant and mitzvot people, and this is not surprising in light of the contradiction I described.
Below is an interesting link that, although it does not talk about Judaism in particular, I have no doubt that it is also relevant to it:
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html
Google:
The positive trends you spoke of do exist, but in my opinion they are mostly the result of the pressures exerted on the ultra-Orthodox community and not the result of its acceptance.
One of the factors that certainly helped was the brief rise of the Shinui Party.
On the side of the positive trends, there is also a drift in the opposite direction due to the fact that Change was not able to do everything it should have done:
1. Demography continues to work - both by natural reproduction and by institutions of high ignorance - both are funded by taxpayer money,
2. Law-based legislation finds its way into the legal system through political pressures that become more and more available due to the positive feedback of proliferation.
The ultra-Orthodox, if left to their own devices, will act exactly according to their fears, which you described very well.
The reason for the fears is, however, deeper than what is described in your words: there is a fundamental contradiction between faith which is the basis of religion (any religion) and critical thinking which is the basis of rationality and science.
It is not a coincidence that throughout history (and in our day in general) all opposition to science stems from religious sources and motives.
Therefore, in my opinion, only pressure (and preferably one that has a political expression) will help (if at all there is anything that will help. The truth is that I am not optimistic at all).
Nowadays, the ultra-Orthodox are pretty much allowed to act according to their anxieties (Ker Nold, for example, the Nahari Law) and therefore the drift in general is towards the anxieties of the planet.
Michael:
The framework you used is interesting: first you came up with a conclusion and then you came up with support and arguments for it.
I will try to do the opposite, that is, bring claims and data and only draw a conclusion from them.
In historical terms, education is a new phenomenon that the majority of the world's population has not yet come to terms with.
Two generations ago there were almost no educated people, a generation ago a high school diploma was an achievement, and today a bachelor's degree is standard.
The Jewish people for the most part are educated like the rest of the Western nations.
Intermediate conclusion: the penetration of education and its success must be examined in a historical bar, over many years, to identify the trend (growth or retreat) and the extent of its penetration into as many layers of the population as possible.
In my opinion there are three questions that need clarification:
1. Is there any return of education on the ultra-orthodox community?
2. What is the future trend of the ultra-orthodox attitude towards education?
3. What is the best way to influence moves that will bring the ultra-Orthodox community closer to education?
And the answers (from which it is easy to draw the conclusion):
1. The ultra-Orthodox community from the Enlightenment (historically, the flag bearers of the Enlightenment were active warriors in religion) it did not precede the Enlightenment but was created as a counter reaction to it. The ultra-Orthodox are a mutation of Judaism that was created as a cowardly response to historical and cultural changes (fear-anxiety / cowards-Orthodox. Not as an insult but as a natural and human response to changes).
2. Aside from negative characteristics such as natural proliferation and religious extremism of the Jews of Spain, there are more positive characteristics (increased going to work, partial integration in the IDF), the most prominent of which is extensive education for girls and the study of advanced subjects. There is also a diversity of learning subjects, mainly for the young age (calculations and English basic level).
3. In my opinion, a Horma war will not help here. We must strive to allay the fears of the ultra-orthodox. There are no shortage of examples of Torah observant and educated mitzvot (including Nobel laureates) - I'm not a religious or sociological expert, but we need to check what parameters are required in order for the ultra-Orthodox to stop being afraid and integrate more into our society.
Maybe if we insult them less and respect them a little more it will be better for everyone.
Google:
The claim that ignorance is lower in the ultra-Orthodox education system is one of the things that is farthest from reality that can be described.
People do know how to hack, but apart from that they don't know anything of value.
If you call memorizing the Harry Potter books education, then there is no basis for debate, but if you agree with me that education should be relevant to a productive life, you must also agree with me that the ultra-Orthodox education system does not provide any education
To Michael:
The problem is more difficult than you describe. In the ultra-Orthodox education system, they work actively (and not just passively) to teach disrespect / obedience to the state and its laws.
And yet, in this education system ignorance (and especially illiteracy) is lower than in most of the world!
As for your last question - the title is a symptom of nationalist-racist thinking (even if unconscious) that penetrates even really good places such as Scientific American in Hebrew - this phenomenon must be rooted out and therefore I don't think it is a "waste of time".
melody:
Teachers' wages are indeed low (full disclosure - my wife is a teacher).
At the same time, there is no point in giving more money until the system becomes more efficient (I likened it to a child holding a popsicle in his hand and asking for another popsicle).
And as for the higher education budget in Israel - the "ideological reasons" that may spur a government to finance research may easily become a double-edged sword that will determine the nature of the research. A government that will give money to research for nationalist reasons will also require research of a certain nature (probably the Benes-Ziona institute will be preferred over the Rehovot and DLB institutes), therefore instead of being pioneers in civilian development, we will probably continue to lead/falter in military development.
The economic model according to which most universities in Israel are run is archaic!
The economic difficulties are mainly in places where the management is outdated and failed (TA), in places where the management is advanced and relies on innovative models (OP) there is a boom.
The percentage of government participation in the higher education budget pie is constantly decreasing and is on the way to becoming insignificant.
I believe that the evolution of the market will take its course, the universities will disconnect from the Israeli government's pennies, and will cooperate in international projects with universities abroad that benefit from budgets from international bodies.
Michael will start to believe in Christ only when Christ has already arrived and I prefer not to be here when that happens...
In any case, I wish Michael a long life in addition to sound health and clarity of mind.
Google:
My words about the ultra-Orthodox training system are not exaggerations - they are a faithful description of reality. This is the system that is based on the education budgets and refuses to transfer the core program. Beyond the fact that it causes ignorance and the inability of the victims to become productive citizens, it also demonstrates to them how their teachers rebel against the authority of the state and prepares them to be a new generation of parasites who despise the law.
You can continue to argue about the wording of the title and I will continue to think that you are just arguing with something that no one tried to say. Do you want to tell me that you have never come across phrases like "higher education" or "academic education"? Do you want to argue that using the word "education" when talking about higher education refers to elementary school? seriously?! Isn't it a waste of time?
to google:
We already know that the fish stinks from the head.
The budget is not used and/or not used properly for reasons that are not relevant at all and not from excess money (because from excess stupidity and bureaucracy).
Still a teacher's salary in Israel is low compared to the rest of the world (relative to the rest of the population of course). It is still better to be a lecturer at an almost remote university abroad than a lecturer in Israel (even compared to senior faculty).
The fact that there is a budget surplus means nothing but a lack of planning and a typical "Israeli" attitude that says you should always ask for more than you need (in the army it always works).
In addition, if the title sounds racist or militant in your eyes, then that's fine, we will reason: since we are still living in a certain confrontation/conflict with the Arab world (factual only) if the title in question will encourage decision makers to increase the education budget for ideological reasons (or any other reasons) so Well (although this is unlikely). After all, we have no interest or competition with Kamchatka except with our neighbors and that is also typical.
Unfortunately, it seems that we currently do not have the ability to disconnect the higher education budget from the government budget, so it seems that the utopia you spoke of will arrive at least when Michael starts waiting for the Messiah.
Michael:
The headline talked about "cuts in education in Israel" and not about cuts in the budget for higher education.
And note the big and justified difference that goes beyond mere semantics - when talking about academia, the term "education" ("budget for higher education") is used.
When talking about primary and secondary schools, the term "education" is used ("the education budget").
(And Prof. Galil also used the term higher education and never the word education...)
I am sorry to see the verbal abuse in the ultra-orthodox education system.
As a man who loves science I would expect you to examine the facts with scientific tools and if you have a criticism it can be done in a more respectful way (not necessarily one that respects them but one that respects you).
And yet the problem was never a budget problem - as I said, for years now the Ministry of Education ends each year with large amounts of unused budget!
Google:
When we talk about the education budget in the context of universities, we talk about higher education - exactly what Zvi Galil was talking about.
By the way, in elementary and secondary education there is, apparently, an increase, only because of inflation of the word education, which makes it possible to call the ultra-Orthodox training by this name as well.
I did not claim that the article discussed universities, and if you look closely at my words, you will find that I made a distinction on the subject. Quote "The issue of universities is completely different from the issue of elementary and secondary education"...
The link between the education budget and the universities was forced by the title of the article.
And since my reference was to the head of the title, that is, to the education budget, and you asked for a source for what I said - don't complain about what you got 🙂
If the article you read matches your opinion, I can only be happy about it.
In conclusion - my whole intention was to point out an unfortunate title that sins with demagoguery and creates a link between the education budget in Israel and the establishment of a university abroad - a link that smells political not to mention racist (for the establishment of a high-budget university in Kamchatka we would not have received such a title and DLB) .
Google,
Thank you, I will look at the material according to your recommendation.
Nice weekend,
Roy.
Google:
Good.
Now I read the article and saw that it doesn't discuss universities at all and its content actually matches my opinion to a large extent.
Therefore, I must say that it is still not clear to me what your words are based on (unless you did not intend to refer to the article at all)
Oh Michael Michael
The issue of universities is completely different from the issue of primary and secondary education which is critical in my eyes - but that is a topic for another discussion.
On an ideological level, I am in favor of full budgetary independence for university research independent of the country - but this is also a subject for another discussion.
By the way, I would be happy to have a discussion on these issues and develop them, but talkbacks are not the most convenient platform...
But an exemption for nothing is impossible and therefore means that in the field of international research there is no right to exist for a university or a research institute that exists on government budgets of countries of the size of Israel.
The solution is from international budgets such as from the European Union (and the situation of the universities in Israel is not bad at all in this budget pie)
It is clear that deans (like the honorable Prof. Hermona) will always want more money (from the government, from the students, from donors and from any other entity) this is one of their duties.
The government and economic policy makers have a different role and that's a good thing.
In general, both from reading this article and from the links you posted, I get an uncomfortable feeling that is hard for me to explain in words.
The ideal for me is that universities and research institutes will not be labeled according to a national key but will be the property of all mankind and all people will be partners in research and research costs.
This is not a vision of the end of days - this is the basis of the vision!
There is already information sharing (Internet).
The next step should be a sharing of science (in the internationalization of educational institutions).
I believe it will be the engine that will march humanity to a better future.
And of course what appeared on this website today:
https://www.hayadan.org.il/research-collapse-in-israel-150508/
In the same matter, you should see the words of the president of Tel Aviv University here:
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3543674,00.html
Google
I admit I haven't read the link yet but there is a close relationship between quantity and quality of resources.
For example, the constant erosion of teachers' salaries has resulted in the fact that today there are teachers in the system that are the salary they deserve.
The wage increase cannot solve the problem immediately, of course, but over time it will have an effect. Of course, if you find ways to change the teachers faster, it will be better, but without money, nothing will help.
Besides, if the so-called "budgets for education" also includes the budgets for Torah education, then everything is clear.
This is not a thesis, and the work has not yet been submitted.
Also, I would not recommend this specific work because it mainly focuses on the narrow aspect of the quality of the Talat (curriculums) for XNUMXst-XNUMXnd grade students
If you are indeed interested in an academic research work on the subject, I would recommend starting with the work of Dr. Dan Ben-David from Tel Aviv University.
http://www.tau.ac.il/~danib/israel/ELA-Dovrat.pdf
You will also be able to get an impression of the data on the CBS website, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education regarding the education budgets, their distribution and their use.
In conclusion, the problem is not the quantity of resources (money, classes) the problem is the quality of the resources (human capital, the quality of the taloh, and the level of management and control).
Why go as far as Saudi Arabia?
Gaza scientists have developed flying tubes that kill, injure and destroy in the south of the country
7 years already!!!
And the military-political technological system has no answer to shame and disgrace
Google,
Your research sounds very interesting. Can you tell me where I can find the thesis and look at it?
Thanks,
Roy.
To Michael
Whether your question is cynical or not - the answer is yes.
I checked the budget and how it was used as part of a master's degree research.
By the way, everyone (the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, the teachers, and international research institutes) is unanimous that the education budget in Israel is among the highest in the world, if not the highest, and yet the way it is utilized or if you will, the product produced from it is low!
post Scriptum. I didn't mention the fact that the Ministry of Education traditionally has a significant amount of unused budget... as my wife says "finish the popsicle, you'll get more"
In our case, not only does the education system not finish the popsicle, it lets it drip on the floor.
Google:
You must have checked the way the budget was used by the institutions before you wrote what you wrote, right?
Regarding the title-
Why deceive?
There are no cuts in the education budget. The budget of the Ministry of Education was not reduced but expanded!
Is it enough? This is another question.
In my opinion, there is no justification for further expanding the budget before the educational institutions see an efficiency that justifies the continued infusion of funds.
And regarding the new university of the Saudis - good luck and inshallah they will multiply like it.
Man's redemption also goes through his education and the more educated people are, the better off everyone will be.
I would have expected a title more favorable to the Saudis without the misleading and unnecessary comparison to Israel.
And with us, the Minister of "Education" is busy continuing the work of her predecessors - systematic destruction of education starting from schools and ending with higher education. It is easier to control a herd of morons without education, culture and knowledge.
Thanks for the attention. The comment has been deleted
A technical question
Can't delete messages so they don't appear here?
Like the one above (response number 8)
Such a message contributes nothing to anything
And she mentions what hot talkbackists write on the news sites.
(and there is a filter, think about what is not published...)
I personally do not for personal, ideological reasons, etc., etc. But for exactly the same reasons but in their contrasting form and of course also for other reasons - I know many Israeli academics and students who were going to teach and study there. Even if it is not thousands of thousands... there are still some who were willing to spend a few years there.
Beyond that, I'm sure there are Jews living abroad (non-Israelis) who were
Ready to move to study and teach there.
But as I wrote at the beginning, I personally - no.
Danny, would you go to study there?
If they really want to make the university a world leader, they should allow and encourage the entry of Jewish lecturers and students in general and Israelis in particular.
Michael,
Note that,
You are dealing with negative numbers here...
Aliron:
I wonder how much investment in education will come from you - you racist.
Even 100 billion dollars will not be able to get out of the Arab/Muslim minds not even one Edward Teller, Freud, Oppenheimer, or some Einstein, they are just going to recruit scientists who will waste their money
This issue should be brought up for public discussion.
To initiate articles in the media.
Let something start moving in our ruins...