From the Universe to Universities

By Amjad Wali 

Earth is the only planet with life in this very large universe. When we compare Earth or our solar system to the whole universe, we are like a tiny grain of sand.

We are very small in size, though this universe is full of hidden mysteries. Humans are the only intelligent beings on Earth who think about these mysteries and try to understand them. In other words, other living beings on Earth are unable to think about or comprehend these mysteries. For the past five thousand years, humans have discovered and created many important inventions. 

Among all these discoveries, one important fact is that we have not found life in or outside our solar system. By 2025, astronomers have discovered more than 6,000 planets outside our solar system, but no life has been found on any of them. The search for planets is still continuing. In our galaxy, there are billions of stars, and many of these stars have planets moving around them, just like the planets move around our Sun. There are still billions of planets to explore. Some scientists believe that life may exist on another planet in our galaxy or even in another galaxy. However, these galaxies are millions of light-years away. So far, we have not found even tiny life on any planet in our solar system or in our galaxy. Life exists only on Earth, and humans are the only intelligent beings. This makes humans very important in this huge universe, and Earth, though very small, has great value because it is the home of intelligent life.

Humans gained most of their knowledge in the last ten thousand years after they started living together in societies. Before modern science, there were many philosophies and idea. Science later tested these ideas and proved some of them true, while others were found to be wrong after research.

One thing I want to mention is that just five or six thousand years ago, humans often did not know what was happening even 100 kilometers away from where they lived. Now, humans can know about events happening millions of light-years away in space. This amazing knowledge has come through science and research. It means that gaining knowledge is very important and we can get knowledge if we invest on research. 

In the book History of the Earth, the author John Scales Avery says that there are two types of evolution. One is biological evolution, and the other is cultural evolution. Cultural evolution includes knowledge, skills, science and technology, language, ideas, and social systems. Biological evolution happens through genes and takes millions of years. Cultural evolution is very fast because it is passed from one human to another.

Developed countries invested in knowledge and skills many years ago. They focused on science, technology, language, and building strong societies. Today, they are enjoying the results of these investments.

For example, Artificial intelligence (AI) is very important for development, People started working on AI in 1940s and 1950s after computers were invented. After 50 or 60 years, AI is now used everywhere.

Universities play a very important role in research and development. If we look at the top ten universities in Asia, we find only a few countries i.e China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. In fact, these are mainly three countries because Hong Kong is part of China. When we look at the top 20 universities in Asia, we see the same countries, with the addition of Japan. Even in the top 50 universities in Asia, we mostly see the same countries, with the addition of Kazakhstan from Central Asia. Al-Farabi University of Kazakhstan is included in the top 50 list at 39th place. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India are not in the top 50, even though about two billion people live in these countries. This shows how we are going to compete in future. So the question is how we can bring our universities at par with top 50 Asian universities? 

I understand that research and development require a large budget and strong funding. However, are we planning to follow the path taken by Al-Farabi University in Kazakhstan or Peking University in China, or are we only focused on awarding degrees to students? At the very least, we should select one university from each province of Pakistan and create a plan to bring these universities into the top 50 within the next ten years. We can start by providing special funding to one university in each province.

In the case of Gilgit-Baltistan, Al-Farabi University in Kazakhstan can serve as a good model. The government, Karakoram International University (KIU), or Baltistan University can request support from Al-Farabi University to help upgrade KIU and Baltistan University. This process will take time, but with proper planning and continuous effort, real progress can be achieved. Over the next ten to fifteen years, these universities may be able to enter the top 50 universities in Asia. Such an achievement would greatly contribute to the social, economic, and technological development of the region.