Nations wishing to be great must often do bold things. The boldness may sometimes be in the acts of individuals, and at other times, in institutions with the courage to re-imagine the future and risk the safety of known shores. As we end the first formal year of an intense effort to structure the LUMS School of Science and Engineering (SSE), we think it is appropriate to spend part of this newsletter on two interconnected issues: the character of the new school and the reason we consider it a bold initiative.
 

It is crucial that we the stakeholders: faculty, students, administrators and society, internalize the vision and model of the SSE and situate it properly in Pakistan’s educational and social history. In the short-term, our progress is impossible without a solid shared understanding; and in the long term, the school will be unsustainable without a committed shared ownership. We do realize that in these times, the rhetoric of change is so cheapened and societal distrust of institutional capability so strong, that couching the SSE in historic terms can invite significant skepticism. However, there is no other way to put it. We do see the SSE in historic terms, recognize the risks of failure, and understand the responsibility it must fulfill. This essay attempts to expand the circle of understanding to all who have a stake in our success. But even before we start, we must stress that while much of the language in this piece may revolve around the notion of national relevance, the SSE is anything but local. We very much see the school as a necessary link in our attempts to become global citizens, and our graduates and knowledge as direct contributions to the global village.

A Research University in Pakistan
The simple characterization of the LUMS SSE is that it will be a research school for science and engineering; a globally competitive private school dedicated to excellence in research and education, the first of its kind in Pakistan. It will also demonstrate a fundamentally different model of undergraduate science and engineering education in the country. To explain ourselves, we begin with some basic questions.

What is a research school or a research university?  The easiest definition is that a research university spends a significant proportion of its financial and other resources on research in addition to teaching. For instance, “Engines of economic growth”, a 2003 report on eight Boston-area research universities defines a research university as spending more than $10 million on research annually. The Carnegie classification (c.f. http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/) provides a finer definition but we need not go deep. Qualitatively, research universities are recognized by certain easily identifiable features. Research universities: (i) produce quality new knowledge in various forms such as journal publications, books, research reports, studies, etc., (ii) educate students, undergraduate and graduate, in formal coursework as well as cutting edge research methods and techniques, and (iii) create commercial and societal value by solving industrial and societal problems, creating commercially viable patents, and forming new companies. A usually lesser-mentioned feature is the teaching philosophy in the best research universities in the world. Very often at such places, the value of education is understood less to be the courses specific to the students’ fields, but rather the ability to think and analyze in a structured manner. It matters less what you specifically learn at school about your subject, and more that you learn how to solve problems.

Why try to create a research university in Pakistan? To understand the possible impact of a research university in the national context we consider our focus in three broad areas: educational and social, economic, and institutional.

 

1)    Educational and social benefits: Our educational focus will be on a solid understanding of the physical sciences, problem solving, research, and entrepreneurship, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Broad social awareness will be built using a strong Humanities and Social Science component at the undergraduate level. Benefits to SSE students are the most direct. Whether undergraduate or graduate, couched in a subject of their choice, they will learn the art of solving unseen problems, and using research to understand and develop solutions. They will learn intellectual entrepreneurship, i.e. how to be reasoned risk-takers, whether their interests are industrial or social. The societal benefits of this education are to produce a cadre of technologically trained, broadly educated thought-leaders, problem solvers and entrepreneurs, the backbone of any technological progress that needs to happen in the country. It is also an educational model that has the potential to fundamentally transform the existing science and educational model in Pakistan. Our current model of engineering education is a historical legacy of disciplinary walls, rote science teaching, little focus on problem solving, and almost no research exposure for students. That is, admit students into particular disciplines, only teach them science that is necessary to do coursework in a particular discipline, not focus on teaching problem solving and not expose them to research. While alternate models are well known in the rest of the world, this nation needs to see one succeeding in its own social context and within its own constraints for it to be adopted widely in its universities.

 

2)    Economic benefits: Our economic focus will be on producing new knowledge through research and entrepreneurship. Research which is relevant to local industrial needs and social problems, but also globally recognizable. There is often a fine balance that needs to be struck between local needs vs. global recognition; but we explicitly realize this healthy tension - for research is almost always walking a tightrope between short and long-term benefits, and we will create the appropriate balance. Entrepreneurship, more of an art than a science, and more about experience rather than coursework, is a very important part of our vision to realize the economic benefits of university research. We will focus on training students and faculty in entrepreneurship, providing them support on how to get funding, build an organization, understand the market and spot opportunities, and turn their research into tangible applicable form. Be it in the form of products, consulting, advocacy or forming new companies. Research universities harness the power of innovation from the knowledge they create, and sophisticated models for this exist in mature systems, but we will have to create our own infrastructure to support these activities.

 

3)    Institutional benefits: Our institutional impact will be by demonstrating a model of research, education and service that succeeds in the Pakistani context, one that can be replicated by other universities seeking to become research universities. We also hope to support other institutions, whether universities or otherwise, by creating a space where their faculty can learn about education and research along with us, even as we learn ourselves how to do it within our particular constraints. Additionally, we hope to create a societal credibility for the benefits of research in science and education, which will make it easier for later research universities to obtain funds and support for their endeavors.

Creating History
Why is this initiative bold? It would be far easier to attempt to create the best science and engineering teaching university in Pakistan, as compared to a world-class research university. Certainly it would be a surer bet, i.e. we know how to get there - LUMS already ranks among the best in Pakistan in what it offers. It would also have tremendous value on its own and far lower risks of failure. But we have set our sights higher.

Our ideal outcome is an inspiring story; a story written 20 years from now, not just of some university’s evolution, but the story of institutional entrepreneurship, educational transformation and social impact. A story not merely of replicating models of learning from elsewhere, but of original thought and inspired adaptation with a deep understanding of local constraints; not of simply creating an academic entity and hoping for evolutionary impact, but also of focusing the energies of that entity for change. We dream of a future where societal discourse turns from “can one even create and sustain a science and engineering research school in Pakistan” to “how do we replicate this model and harness it for national growth and global citizenship?” The historical implications are patent: individually, for the people doing the work; institutionally, for LUMS; and nationally, for our higher education system.

But is this ambition too high, and can we get there? We think we can. Or less brazenly, we think we have the ingredients for success due to the following reasons. First, in LUMS, we do have an institution that has the basic infrastructure and people in place to support the SSE’s vision. Second, we have managed to build an SSE Project Team and a Virtual Program Development Team (the VPDT) of dedicated, accomplished academics and professionals, who have been extremely productive in the last year, and we believe they have the potential to support and guide us to our destination. Third, we have strong support from the LUMS Board and Management Committee, its administration, and its faculty. Finally, the manner in which the LUMS SSE has been received by various segments of society over the last year allows us to believe that our societal support base is strong, and the need for an institution like the SSE is broadly and acutely felt. Our challenges remain numerous; it will by no means be an easy striving; but our commitment and resolve remains steadfast, and our support base grows by the day.

LUMS SSE in a System Context
The LUMS SSE is an attempt to create a peak in the higher education landscape of Pakistan. Systems of higher education are like natural terrains, with towering peaks, mid-range hills, vast plateaus and shallow valleys. The first three are all important, as each plays a different role.  The vast plateaus provide quality teaching to the bulk of the nation, but the peaks produce the majorities of thought leaders, cutting edge knowledge and become the standard bearers of the system. The peaks of the US higher education system are the MITs, Caltechs, and Stanfords, whereas the rest of the terrain is formed by the 3,700-odd degree-granting colleges and universities. With the LUMS SSE, we hope to create a peak in our system that is visible from the global educational landscape, one which makes us proud as a nation, and one which opens the door for other institutions in the country to reach for similar heights. Recognizing other ongoing efforts, for instance efforts by government agencies aimed at system-wide reform and supporting research in public universities, we believe the most promising chance for creating a peak in the near future is through the focused, intense work of a single institution with the capacity to collect and nurture groups of individuals who can build monuments of excellence.

Ultimately, however, the story the SSE writes will be the inspiration. System-wide impact of a successful research university model will be through reasoned understanding and eventual acceptance by other institutions. This happens less by argument and more by seeing a working model. For the rest of the system to envision the nature and role of a research university in Pakistan, the LUMS SSE has to be successful. To be successful in an environment with minimal infrastructure for supporting research, it cannot only limit itself to existing models of institutions such as MITs, IITs or others. It will have to take upon itself to be both an institution as well as to create the external infrastructure to support its research and education initiatives. Other countries have more evolved support structures around research. We will need to create new partnerships with existing support institutions, transform the existing external mindset about the benefits of research, advocate public policy change, link to the international academic network, and build a science and engineering research community in the country. In short, we will have to build a significant part of the external support structure in addition to the internal institutional edifice. But none of this is wasted effort; it will be another contribution from us to the system.

Having said all of the above, it might also be prudent to talk about the time-scale of the impact we are seeking. Institutions such as the SSE take decades to mature. While we are aiming to begin undergraduate classes by 2007, most graduate programs will take a few more years to establish and strengthen. For the kind of research we envision, graduate programs are essential. This means that the promise of the SSE will only be visible in the next 10-15 years, in spite of there being many intermediate milestones. And the full potential of the school might only be reached in 20+ years. That however, is a small instant in the life of institutions, and a fleeting moment in the history of nations.

Project Team, LUMS School of Science and Engineering
Vice-Chancellor, LUMS
Management Committee, LUMS

 

The First LUMS  Science and Engineering Workshop
The first two-day workshop of the LUMS School of Science and Engineering (SSE) was held at the LUMS campus on Jan 2^nd and 3^rd, 2005. The workshop had the following primary objectives:

a.       Develop a shared vision and approach for the School of Science and Engineering.
b.       Brainstorm on the critical implementation challenges and identify specific action items for the
          next 6-12 months.
c.       Build key support networks of individuals from corporations, government and academia.

About 70 people attended one or both days of the workshop, designed as a working dinner followed by a full day of presentations and focused discussion groups. Participants included corporate leaders, professionals, government representatives, academics from outside LUMS, LUMS faculty, staff and management committee, and members of the LUMS SSE Virtual Program Development Team (VPDT).

The workshop was successful in developing a common vision for the SSE and generated substantial enthusiasm for the project.  The workshop also provided potential faculty members visiting from abroad, an opportunity to gain a first-hand understanding of LUMS through their interaction with LUMS faculty and management. The focus group discussions, on three critical implementation challenges (faculty hiring and retention, resource mobilization and funding, and research and industrial collaborations), yielded a common understanding of the goals to be achieved, and the strategies to pursue them.  A copy of the Workshop Report can be downloaded from http://sse.lums.edu.pk/documents.htm

LUMS would like to thank the attendees for giving their valuable time and suggestions to the SSE initiative. Attendees included: Aamir Shirazi (Atlas Honda), Ahmed Husain (CMU), Almas Hyder (SPEL), Altaf Saleem (LUMS), Amer Kamran Khawaja (Descon), Anwar Khurshid (LUMS), Arif Zaman (LUMS), Arifa Noor (LUMS), Asad Naqvi (University of Amsterdam), Ashraf Iqbal (LUMS), Asim Lone (LUMS), Atif Alvi (Cambridge University), Avais Kamal (Optiawave Technologies), Bilal Zuberi (Geo2Technologies), Burhan M. Khan (Zypher Textiles), Danish Lakhani (Lakson Group), Ejaz Ahmed (Institute of Business Management), Ehsan Ul Haq (LUMS), Fareed A Malik (Pakistan Science Foundation), Farooq Anwer (LUMS), Faisal Sultan (Shaukat Khanum Hospital), Fridoon Jawad Ahmed (Drexel University), Habeeb Fida Ali (LUMS SSE Team), Hassan Syed (STM Networks), Imran Mahmood (Descon), Imran Niazi (Coca-Cola), Intisar Siddiqi (Himont), Irfan Essa (Georgia Tech), Irfan Virk (CambridgeDocs), Jahangir Ikram (LUMS), Javaid Iqbal (Mayfair), Khurram Afridi (LUMS SSE Team), Madeeha Daud (LGS), Mubashrah Raza (LUMS), Muhammad Ali Khan (LUMS), Musadik Malik (Arthur D. Little), Nadeem Khan (LUMS), Naseem Amin (Genzyme), Nooruddin Ferasta (Rupali Polyester Ltd.), Pervez Hoodbhoy (Quaid-e-Azam University), Qasim Mehdi (PAEC), Razzaq Dawood (LUMS), Rizwan Shoukat (BearingPoint), Salal Humair (Optiant), Salik Malik (Techlogix), Salman Akhtar (Techlogix), Salman Zakaria (Descon), Sarah Leghari (LUMS SSE Team), Sarfaraz Khursheed (University of Texas Austin), Shafay Shamael (LUMS), Shahid Abdullah (Sapphire), Shahid Husain (LUMS), Shahid Masood (LUMS), Shaukat Hameed Khan (PAEC), Sheikh Iqbal (LUMS), Sohaib Khan (LUMS), Sohail Naqvi (HEC), Suleman Daud  (Haleeb Foods), Syed Babar Ali (LUMS), Syed Mubasher Ali (LUMS), Syed Zahoor Hassan (LUMS), Tariq Jadoon (LUMS), Waqar Malik (ICI), Waqar Qureshi (LUMS), Wenhsiu Hassan (Techlogix), Zakeesh I. Khan (LUMS SSE Team), Zeeshan Syed (MIT), Zulfiqar Ali (G-Tech).

Infrastructure planning
The architectural schematics for the School of Science and Engineering (SSE) complex have been drawn up by architect Mr. Habib Fida Ali, and have been formally approved by the LUMS Management Committee.  The plans are based on a facilities program developed by Dr. Khurram Afridi, in collaboration with the Virtual Program Development Team (VPDT) and the Boston based campus and facility planning firm of Dober, Lidsky, Craig and Associates.  The facility program envisions the SSE expanding to 10 departments in the next 15 years, with a total student body of 2000 (including 1200 undergraduate and 800 graduate students) and 200 faculty members. The School of Science and Engineering complex consisting of four buildings and a covered area of about 500,000 square feet will be developed in three phases.  In the first phase a 200,000 square feet 6-storey (including a basement) building will be built.  This building will house teaching and research labs, faculty and graduate student offices, conference rooms and small classrooms.  The building has a simple grid structure and has been designed  to provide the internal layout flexibility needed by an evolving SSE.  The internal layout of the building is now being done by Dr. Khurram Afridi and architects Mr. Faisal Haroon and Mr. Habib Fida Ali in consultation with a professional lab designer.  Working drawings are expected to be completed in April and construction of the building is slated for June 2005.

Faculty and Funding
The focus group on ‘Faculty hiring and retention’ during the Jan 3 workshop has led to our two-layered understanding of faculty hiring: (i) the “core” team, which will establish much of the basic structure of the programs, set the standards, and act as gatekeepers for the remaining faculty, and (ii) the subsequent faculty. For both cases, the group had felt that to achieve its stated mission, SSE must not compromise on faculty quality. Furthermore, it is important that the faculty be intellectual/research entrepreneurs with a breadth of knowledge so that they are able to leverage the available opportunities and create new ones; and also have a very strong sense of mission.
 

On the core team, some early progress has been made, with Dr. Asad Naqvi (PhD MIT, Physics) and Dr. Salal Humair (PhD MIT, Operations Research) agreeing to be part of the team. We will be trying to expand the core team as well as start systematic faculty recruitment efforts in the coming months.

We have so far succeeded in raising around 20% of our initial fundraising target of US $25 million. Fundraising efforts are ongoing, with Syed Babar Ali and Dr. Khurram Afridi planning a concerted campaign for the summer in the US.