By Dr. Florian Schloderer and Professor Stephen Mezias
INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team
There is broad agreement that research plays a crucial role for progress, innovation, development and wealth of countries. These days, the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the UAE, face twin challenges with respect to economic development. First, they must diversify their economies away from dependence on natural resources to become fuller participants in the global knowledge economy. Second, they must generate employment and income opportunities, in particular for the large number of younger persons who currently experience disproportionately high levels of unemployment. Basic research conducted at universities can play a crucial role by providing the “intellectual fuel” to help manage these challenges. At the same time, it is clear that expenditures on research and development as a percentage of GPD and scientific publications have lagged in the region.
One part of the need to enhance research and development capacity can be understood in terms of socioeconomic research. For example, the membership breakdown of the leading global research association for business scholars, the Academy of Management, is revealing. While about 20 out of a million American residents are academic members of this association, this number drops to 4 out of a million in Germany and to slightly more than 1 in the GCC. In the UAE, this number has increased in recent years to the level of Germany.
Clearly, the seeds of research in Abu Dhabi and the UAE have been sowed and germinated. To grow further, the research community needs to be embedded in a thriving ecosystem. The INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team has started a process aiming at the development of a thriving research ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Today, we can share seven insights from our experiences how to further grow this research ecosystem:
INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team
There is broad agreement that research plays a crucial role for progress, innovation, development and wealth of countries. These days, the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the UAE, face twin challenges with respect to economic development. First, they must diversify their economies away from dependence on natural resources to become fuller participants in the global knowledge economy. Second, they must generate employment and income opportunities, in particular for the large number of younger persons who currently experience disproportionately high levels of unemployment. Basic research conducted at universities can play a crucial role by providing the “intellectual fuel” to help manage these challenges. At the same time, it is clear that expenditures on research and development as a percentage of GPD and scientific publications have lagged in the region.
One part of the need to enhance research and development capacity can be understood in terms of socioeconomic research. For example, the membership breakdown of the leading global research association for business scholars, the Academy of Management, is revealing. While about 20 out of a million American residents are academic members of this association, this number drops to 4 out of a million in Germany and to slightly more than 1 in the GCC. In the UAE, this number has increased in recent years to the level of Germany.
While contemplating these abstract numbers can help to illuminate the problem, there are also many practical steps that can improve the situation. Indeed, INSEAD Abu Dhabi remains at the forefront of promoting a thriving research community in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. This was evident on the 19th of April as we convened the Second Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Conference with 19 presentations from academic institutions across the UAE such as Zayed University, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi University, University of Wollongong Dubai, American University of Sharjah and INSEAD. The research presentations addressed topics that are highly relevant for the economic transformation of the country such as entrepreneurship, community development, education systems, human capital development, economics and finance, and management and operations. So the good news is: There are many more interesting research projects with high relevance to the development of the country than we – and many others – would expect.
Clearly, the seeds of research in Abu Dhabi and the UAE have been sowed and germinated. To grow further, the research community needs to be embedded in a thriving ecosystem. The INSEAD Abu Dhabi Socio-Economic Research Team has started a process aiming at the development of a thriving research ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Today, we can share seven insights from our experiences how to further grow this research ecosystem:
- Promoting close interaction and collaboration of researchers across institutional boundaries
- Building legitimacy of research among citizens and key stakeholders
- Proposing research agendas well aligned with development needs
- Embedding researchers in the local community and engaging citizens
- Knowledge exchange with the global research community to boost quality of research output
- Promoting legitimacy of research from the UAE in the global research community
- Changing mindset: research is a risky investment with high returns and needs significant funding
The authors of this blog, Dr. Florian Schloderer and Professor Stephen J. Mezias, are proud to be part of this process to grow a thriving research ecosystem which produces the “intellectual fuel” for the development of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
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