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Mauritius lagging behind on research matters
03/09/2008 |
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The Pro-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius, Professor Sudursun Jugessur, has said that Mauritius was lagging far behind in terms of research, development and innovation.
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By
PANAPRESS |
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Speaking at the inauguration of the Research Week Tuesday the University of Mauritius at Le Réduit, 25 kilometres south of the capital, he said that at times Mauritian researchers tended to believe that they were doing high-level research.
"They publish their works and let the international readers know about them. But nowadays universities throughout the world are changing. They have to prove to the funding agencies that they are able to deliver the goods and services to make the country move up," Professor Jugessur said.
According to him, the University of Mauritius has done fairly well in providing, over the years, the necessary human resources to meet the needs of the different sectors of the island¹s economy.
But, now, in this age of competition, he added, "we should be able to provide the island with the results of our research that can be exploited for our economic and social development."
Professor Jugessur said Mauritian researchers sometimes ignored the role of social sciences.
"Mauritius has an inter-ethnic community where there is relative social harmony, where the world wants to learn more from the way we are coping in this context.
A lot of research can be effected and brought out for the consumption of not only Mauritius but also of the whole world," the Professor emphasised.
But, he added, "we lack willingness to put our heads together and this is where the problem lies in Mauritius."
"We are still closed into our narrow domestic walls. People should work together in joint collaboration and come up with results for the benefits of the entire community," Jugessur stated.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Dharam Gokhool has pointed out that research had a lways been the cinderella when it comes to the national budget as Mauritius spends only 0.3 per cent of its GDP in research, development and innovation.
Gokhool indicated that Singapore spends 3.5 per cent and Japan 5 per cent of their respective GDP in this field, adding that in many countries, the private sector was a major contributor to research funding as they are the eventual beneficiaries of the research works.
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