Second Diaspora International Conference 

Making Science and Technology Work for Sudan

23-25 April 2011
London - United Kingdom

As knowledge production sites, academic and research inistitutions' engagement in national economic growth and the broader development agenda is nothing new. Ever since the beginning of modern science, knowledge has been sought from the University and today, more than ever before in human history, the wealth – or poverty – of nations depends on the quality of its higher education. According to UNESCO, universities are not just for teaching purposes, but also contribute through research in science and technology and in the social and human sciences, to the advance of knowledge, to the creation of new knowledge, to cultural development and fulfillment, to the solving of the problems with which the society is faced, to sustainable development (SD). Likewsie, professional bodies have a vital role to play in promoting their respective disciplines and maintaining their links to the society's needs through research and development.

There are clearly opportunities for academic, research and professional institutions and societies in Sudan to contribute more effectively towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and SD. At all levels and on all scales of endeavour, the role of universities, research and industrial institutions is crucial to resolve the economic, social and environmental problems that make current development paths unsustainable. Sudanese academics and professionals can make a leading contribution to tackling major problems such as: fighting disease; overpopulation and urbanisation; the digital/information divide and the impacts of information technology systems on world financial markets; coping with climate change; confronting the water crisis; defending the soil; preserving forests, fisheries and biodiversity; trade in biotechnological products and building a new ethic of global stewardship. 

However national universities are not considered as integral elements of national research system and the policies which guide collaboration between universities and research institutions are lacking. The reasons for such poor linkages include: missing national research policy; differing research objectives; differing research activities; missing information on ongoing and proposed research; differing organisational structure, especially with regard to planning, coordinating, and monitoring and evaluation; differing qualifications of staff members (degree-level or specialisation); differing reward systems; their belonging to different ministries with different budgets, rules, regulations, and demands; traditional linkages with different institutions (with different objectives); missing formal linkages; missing incentives for staff members to link (assumption that costs are higher than benefits) as well as competition for available research resources between the institutions.

Governments everywhere expect the universities and research institutions to fulfil their role as major agents in the realisation of the MDGs and achieving SD. Therefore Sudanese universities and research institutions are under increasing governmental pressure to make direct, visible, and relevant contributions to SD strategies.

Whilst there has been a tremendous growth in size, the expansion of higher education in Sudan has caused average quality of education to decline as resources are stretched increasingly thin. Essentially, the expansion has been less differentiated and, therefore, ill-planned to confront emergent development needs. Rather, what is evident is a stupendous replication of traditional disciplinary-based techniques of knowledge production. These have, nevertheless, increased the richness of knowledge about the universe we live in but without apparently translating or transforming the catchment societal environments in terms of measurable productive capacities. There are also grave concerns that higher education in Sudan is becoming increasingly obsolete which, in part, is why development programmes are stultified even from the outset. Therefore, Sudanese universities must confront the ‘new realities’ evident in the environments in which they operate.

The conference aims to discuss a range of questions relating to strengthening the linkages between industry, universities and research institutions as well as reconnecting these institutions to the SD discourse by exploring the role of professionals, universities and research institutions in achieving the MDGs and SD in Sudan. In doing so, a number of issues relating to the role and relevance of professional bodies, universities and research institutions to the contemporary discourse of Sudan's development will be examined such as:

• What is the role of Sudan’s academics and professionals in supporting and enhancing the process of economic and social development in the country?
• What are the major obstacles for science and technology to work for Sudan?
• Are there governmental components to these? If so what?
• Are there societal components to these? If so what?
• How can these obstacles best be overcome?

It is hoped that the outcomes of the conference will help develop a framework for the analysis of the role of Sudanese academic and research institutions in achieving MDGs and help policy-makers to constructs an "ideal role" for universities and research institutions in Sudan and outlines how performance can be evaluated in pursuit of the goals of SD.