Murtaza Haider May 28, 2004

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rel="tag" href="/tag/music">music fills the corridors. I unlock the entrance to faculty offices. “Is it you, Murtaza?” a colleague calls out from his office, who is also working on a project.

University campuses across North America and Europe are up-and-running 24-7. It is, however, neither required, nor expected, of either faculty or students to toil through mid-night. Most academics and students maintain a nine-to-five schedule. A mid-night stroll through the hallways at most research universities will show students running simulations in computer laboratories or creating models in design studios in architecture and planning departments. It is thus no surprise that the McGill University’s library system is accessible round-the-clock with key-less, computer cards. This is due to a culture of research and learning that promotes dedication, induces imagination, and breads innovation.

Research and innovation at universities is partly responsible for the economic growth and subsequent prosperity in most developed countries. Theories are turned into prototypes, which are tested, modified, and mass-produced by the industry. University-industry partnerships have become a norm at research universities in North America, which results in industry’s sponsorship of research and innovation. The established links between the industry and the academia at the discovery stage also help reduce the product development time.

The culture of research and learning is a factor in generating funds to support research. Billions are spent each year by government and private agencies to ensure that universities continue to produce research and to graduate bright, enthusiastic, and passionate individuals who care about the societies they inhibit. This implies that to profit from research and innovation one needs collateral.

Developing countries are frequently left with little to spend on education and development once most funds are spent on defence and debt servicing. Consider Pakistan where the federal government spends more than half ($7.16 billion) of the budget on defence and debt servicing. It spends less than 0.37% ($53 million) on education. Consider that the endowment funds of ivy-league schools exceed Pakistan’s fiscal budget. For instance, at the end of 2001, Harvard University’s endowment valued at $18.3 billion. In Canada, the province of Ontario spends, on average, $11 billion on primary and secondary education alone.

Different tiers of government provide most funds to the state run universities in the United States and Canada. Almost all universities in Canada are public institutions, which is not the case in the United States where many private sector universities are scattered over the academic landscape. These institutions also receive government sponsorship. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private university while it receives huge sums from the industrial/military complex.

In these times of fiscal austerity, institutions of higher learning in North America have seen a decline in government funding. This has become more common in the last decade. Universities are discovering new avenues to generate funds from private sources. In June 2003, the Faculty of Law at Harvard University announced a fund-raising campaign to generate $400 million; again, a sum larger than most IMF scheduled outlays to Pakistan.

It is imperative to understand that the culture of research and learning also promotes the tradition of philanthropy. The patronage of academia and arts by individuals and firms has resulted in benevolent partnerships. The Rockefellers pioneered the patronage of arts and academia in the recent past in the United States. Similar examples are prevalent in Canada. The Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Munk Centre for International Studies, and Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto bear the names of their benefactors, who have donated millions to help create these centres of excellence. Likewise, the multi-million dollar Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory at the University of Toronto got generous monetary support from the Ontario’s Road Builders Association. There might not be a university campus in Canada that does not display infrastructure made possible by private funds.

On June 18, 2003, Jeff Skoll received an honorary Doctorate of Laws at the University of Toronto and joined the ranks of Edward Said and Noam Chomsky, who also are recipient of honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto. Unlike Chomsky and Said, Skoll is not an eminent scholar. Instead, he is the co-founder of EBAY, the online auction house, which turned him into an overnight billionaire. Skoll is also a graduate of University of Toronto’s electrical engineering programme and one of University’s most prominent benefactors. Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Skoll turned out to be a true Canadian. He established the Skoll Foundation, which spends millions to help the poor and needy. In his address to the graduating class, Skoll observed that “… many of the problems in the world -- ranging from disease to crime to terrorism to drugs -- were caused by the gap between rich and poor.”

The government plays an important role in promoting philanthropy by offering tax exemptions to individuals and firms, who donate resources to public causes. These incentives have promoted the tradition of philanthropy. For instance, by donating a database for research, a private firm can claim tax exemption for the fair market value of its donation.

Large or small, each donation goes a long way in building capacity at universities. Small donations help set up scholarships and fellowships for students. For example, to honour the memory of late Professor Ron Rice, his friends and family established the Ron Rice Scholarship in Transportation Planning and Engineering at McGill University. Such scholarships help universities attract bright scholars. The Canadian Transport Research Forum, an independent platform to debate and discuss transportation issues in Canada, offers scholarships to graduate students with research focus in transportation. CTRF also awards cash prizes to winners of the annual essay competition.

The in-kind contributions are often donations of data, equipment, and expertise. In some circumstances, in-kind contributions include donations of historical documents or valuable artwork. For instance, automobile manufacturers donate vehicles to university research centres, which are striving to improve the safety and performance of automobiles. Pharmaceutical firms donate chemicals worth millions of dollars, while software firms donate source code to universities. Individuals have donated rare manuscripts to university-based museums. Senior citizens often volunteer at universities by setting up information booths for visitors.

Universities in the developing countries are in dire need of support from the society. Likewise, researchers need the “support of a society and culture that values education.” The governments in developing countries can invest in higher education. This may not be enough. It is true that not all research requires huge sums of money. However, funds are required to create a culture of research and learning to advance the quality of higher education in developing countries. A pro-active approach expects of the society to take ownership of the institutes of higher learning. I have shown examples of how the society has stepped up in North America to bear the burden of innovation and growth.

The same can happen across the developing world. A few hundred households can pool resources to set-up one hundred research chairs at local universities while respective governments can offer incentives by modifying the tax code. Interested parties can contact universities to offer merit scholarships for dedicated research. Corporations can out source research contracts to universities. A lot can happen when people help people.