Bamako: 14/11/2016
8th ICMHESR adopts documents to boost higher education system in the Islamic world
The Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research (ICMHESR) concluded its Eighth session in Bamako, Republic of Mali, with the adoption of several documents centered on the promotion of higher education, scientific research, innovation and technology in the Islamic world.
The Conference thus adopted a report on the Project of “Islamic World Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation”, which lays out the broad guidelines for the implementation of STI policies in the Islamic World. The Conference also supported the mechanism of establishing this body for monitoring and analyzing progress and prospects for science, technology and innovation in the Islamic world, which will enlighten decision and policy makers on the global and national scientific and technological trends and provide them with statistical data for evidence-based policy making and planning.
The Conference recommended that the Member States should cooperate in providing the necessary conditions for the implementation of this Observatory and agree on its organizational structure, its mode of operation and its financial aspects. In this connection, ISESCO Director General was invited to see to the implementation of the Observatory, with focus on the main functionalities, and to submit a report on the subject to the forthcoming session of the Conference.
The Conference also adopted the “Project on an Integrated Platform for Promoting Quality-Accreditation and Exchanges-Cooperation in the Universities of ISESCO Member States”, aimed at creating synergy, coherence, convergence and rationality in the deployment of programmes, thus increasing the visibility and internationalization of universities in the Islamic countries. To this end, more concerted efforts were recommended for the implementation of the project, along with the active involvement stakeholders in such a way as to avoid redundancy and overlapping.
In addition, the Conference invited Member States to join the project and develop supplemental activities with a view to ensuring compatibility and improving higher education quality, and the Director General to have the Integrated Platform implemented with focus on the main functionalities and to submit a report on the subject to the forthcoming session of the Conference.
The Conference adopted the Report on the Establishment of OIC Collaborative Efforts in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Education (OIC-CECE), which was submitted upon the recommendation of the Eighth Meeting of the Consultative Council for the Implementation of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Islamic World, and recommended that the Member States boost students’ entrepreneurship skills, through developing entrepreneurship curriculum and identifying the best practices in this field from among research entities in universities.
The Conference also invited Member States to collaborate and participate in the establishment of OIC Collaborative Efforts in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Education (OIC-CECE), and the Director General to submit a progress report on OIC-CECE to the forthcoming session of the Conference, in coordination with the Government of Malaysia.
In addition, the Conference adopted the Progress Report on Establishment of the Islamic Network of Women Scientists (INWS), along with its Statutes, and invited Member States to support the Network in a bid to make it a real forum for scientific interaction. The Conference also appreciated ISESCO’s keenness to encourage women scientific competencies and highlight their role in the promotion of science, technology and innovation, re-commissioned the Organization to manage the Network and host its secretariat, and invited the Director General to submit a progress report on the INWS to the 9th session of the Conference.
The Conference also adopted the Report of the Director General on ISESCO’s Efforts in the Field of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology between the Seventh and Eighth Sessions of the Conference, and the Report of the Eighth Meeting of the Consultative Council for the Implementation of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Islamic World, held in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, on 11-12 October 2016.
Moreover, the Conference urged Member States to integrate science, technology and innovation policies in their national planning processes with a view to improving science governance and good practices, mobilizing scientific and technological resources, and raising awareness about the necessity to increase investment in science, technology and innovation and recommended the Member States to give more priority to the development of skilled human resources in the fields of science, technology and innovation; the ultimate being to order to address the issues of climate change, food security, natural resource management and sustainable socio-economic development.
Furthermore, the Conference commended ISESCO’s efforts devoted to the implementation of the programmes geared towards strengthening Member States’ capacities in science, technology and innovation under the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Islamic World, thanked Member States as well as Arab, Islamic and international organizations for their cooperation with ISESCO in implementing relevant activities and programmes, and invited ISESCO Director General to present a report on ISESCO’s efforts in higher education, scientific research, technology and innovation to the forthcoming session of the Conference.
The Conference adopted the the Report of the Secretary General of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World on the Federation’s Activities between the Seventh and Eighth Sessions of the Conference, and commended the efforts exerted by the Secretary General to ensure active participation of the Federation in the Islamic and international conferences that are related to its fields of competence. The Conference also appreciated the efforts exerted by the General Secretariat of the Federation towards expanding its activities’ scope and invigorating its role in the Islamic world, encouraged other universities to join the Federation and effectively contribute to the fulfilment of its objectives, and invited similar bodies, universities and higher education institutions to cooperate with the Federation and harmonize their programmes and projects in order to avoid duplication of efforts.
The Conference also changed the appellation of the “Consultative Council for the Implementation of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Islamic World” as the “Consultative Council for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation”, adopted its Rules of Procedure, elected its members, and entrusted ISESCO and the Consultative Council’s General Secretariat to determine the date and venue for the Ninth Session of the Council.
The Conference adopted the Draft Rules of Procedure of the Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research, thanked the Director General and his assistants for having prepared this draft, and invited him to have it applied, starting from the 9th session of the Conference.
After taking note of their presentations and reports in relation to higher education, scientific research, technology and innovation, the Conference invited the Member States to continue and further strengthen their programmes geared towards promotion of R&D, establishing university-industry linkages, improving the quality of higher education institutions, supporting scholarships programmes, cooperating in joint R&D projects, incentivizing public-private partnerships, and enhancing measures for R&D funding.
It also called for strengthening cooperation among specialized Arab, Islamic and international organizations, taking advantage of their experience and expertise in capacity-building programmes related to higher education, scientific research, technology and innovation; and encouraging them to coordinate their efforts with a view to achieving integration and avoiding duplication and redundancy in the implementation of relevant programmes and projects in the Member States.
The Conference approved the request of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to host the 9th session of the Conference, in Islamabad, in November 2019.