Musing on the enticements offered to researchers considering relocation by leading universities in the oil-rich Gulf, Pierre Zalloua asks: “How can we compete?” As dean of graduate studies and research at the Lebanese American University (LAU), Dr. Zalloua knows finding the answer to that question will be challenging in a country plagued by political instability and not blessed with oil reserves.
Lebanon has higher education institutions which, like LAU, have proud histories, Dr. Zalloua told Times Higher Education. But in the race for global research excellence, and to attract leading academics, they’ve fallen behind. “Research today is so technologically driven, requiring huge sources of funding and requiring a mindset that we seem not to be grasping or have not grasped in time,” he says. In the absence of significant public investment, Lebanon’s universities know they will have to focus on their strengths and carve a niche for themselves. In the case of LAU, these strengths include genetic and infectious diseases, engineering and telecommunications, as well as gender studies, explains Zalloua.
Research priorities elsewhere in Lebanon may be different: for example, at Beirut Arab University, they include pharmaceuticals and renewable energies. But Hania Nakkash, the Arab university’s dean of postgraduate studies and research, says Lebanese higher education institutions will also have to work together to build a culture of innovation. “We are looking at collaboration with other universities, in terms of research and in terms of finding grants together,” says Nakkash. “There are signs of positivity.”
If the research culture improves, and if the economy grows as a result, university leaders hope more of their graduates can be persuaded to stay in Lebanon and build a better future for the country.
(Excerpted and adapted from )