INSC breaking isolation of scientists in developing countries

Ahsan Jamil

NOBLE LAUREATE Prof Dr Abdul Salam originated splendid idea of bringing scientists from developing and developed countries at a podium to break their isolation and provide them with an opportunity to interact with their peers. This led to the formation of International Nathiagali Summer College (INSC) in 1976. Since then, Summer Science College is organized every year in Nathiagali under the auspices of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). The Summer Science College covers range of scientific and technological subjects.

The 40th INSC on Physics and Contemporary Needs was held from August 03-15, 2015, inaugurated by Mamnoon Hussain, the President of Pakistan, here in National Centre for Physics (NCP), Quaid e Azam Uniersity Islamabad. The scientific activities of INSC aimed at the broad coverage of topics at the frontiers of knowledge in Physics and allied sciences. This years focus activities included Accelerator and Detector Technology, Plasmonics and Metamaterials, 6th International Workshop on Tokamak, and 3D Laser Printing and its Application.

The President of Pakistan while addressing the inaugural session stated that only those nations excel and mark their footprints in the world which demonstrate exceptional performance in the field of science and technology. The President appreciated the performance of scientific institutions of Pakistan and stated that their membership of international agencies of scientific education and research like CERN, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEC), International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and Middle Easts institute SESAME is manifestation of their excellent standing in their field.

“INSC is the foremost and unprecedented kind of college being run in sub-continent that is regularly catering to the need of breaking ice of isolation among the scientists from developing world and directing them to work in coordination and exchange expertise and knowledge through this forum. The college truly lives up to its title of Physics and Contemporary Needs bringing immaculate scientists from developing world into a common forum”, said by Prof Dr Abdul Salam in his speech during 10th INSC to highlight the importance of collaborative efforts.

Over the years about 790 eminent scientists and speakers including 06 Nobel Laureates drawn from leading universities, research centers and industries of advanced countries have lectured as faculty at INSC and shared their knowledge and experience with more than 1026 foreign scientists from over 72 developing countries and 7400 scientists from Pakistani RandD institutes and universities.

“The most important factor in the success of such colleges are the speakers. We have been fortunate enough to attract scientists who are not only leaders in their respective field but are also very good communicators. The truly international character of scientific activity is the multinational participation in these Colleges. A growing number of scientists from Asia, Africa and other continents has participated and enjoyed the benefits of a stimulating atmosphere to learn about the latest developments from the leading scientists in their fields of specialty. Interaction among Pakistani scientists has been effectively promoted”, informed Dr. Syed Javaid Khurshid, Executives Secretary INSC.

The regularity that has been maintained in conducting INSC for past 40 years is without a doubt an ace accomplishment of PAEC. The in focus topics from SandT are covered each year that has set a new customary in scientific fraternity of not only Pakistan but also of subcontinent. The traverse of fruitfulness of such knowledge full and productive events is not confined to the fencings of buildings where they are organized but extend to beyond imagination.

The promotion of scientific dialogues is important aspect that helps nurture the intellectual growth and produce future leaders in SandT domain. INSC provides opportunity to indigenous and trans-boundary scientists to instigate such dialogues which in return helps to re-orient their researches, findings and in many cases taps them to work in coordination to resolve common issues whose solution lies in science and technology.

INSC helps Pakistani students and professors to carry out their doctoral and post-doctoral research work at laboratories of visiting faculty from developed countries. This is another extraordinary achievement towards the Human Resource Development especially for the upcoming technologies. All these efforts are carried out with the aim of providing RandD that would enable the Pakistan to face the upcoming challenges of the new millennium.