One of the most widely debated issues among specialists is the current state of scientific research in Egypt. Opinions are clearly divided into two camps: one argues that Egyptian scientific research has achieved unprecedented progress in recent years, while the other believes that the progress achieved has fallen short of expectations and aspirations.
The most objective assessment, however, lies somewhere between these two perspectives. Egyptian scientific research has indeed witnessed significant development at the international level, particularly in terms of the volume of research published in top-tier international journals, the number of citations received by Egyptian research in other studies, and the considerable improvement in international rankings that has resulted from this progress. On the other hand, the societal impact of this research output continues to face significant challenges, particularly with regard to its limited economic returns and developmental impact.
Over the past decade, Egyptian scientific research has undergone a major transformation in terms of scientific output and international visibility. Egyptian universities and research centers have succeeded in significantly increasing the rates of scientific publication in prestigious international journals indexed in internationally recognized databases, most notably Scopus and Clarivate. Egypt now occupies a more prominent position on the global scientific research map compared with its position a decade ago.
According to the international SCImago ranking, Egypt ranks first in Africa and 25th globally in scientific publication indicators, with an annual research output approaching 40,000 internationally published papers in leading international journals. This represents a significant improvement from Egypt’s 40th position globally in 2016. Such substantial progress did not occur by chance; rather, it directly reflects the considerable efforts undertaken by the Egyptian state, universities, and research centers to strengthen the scientific research ecosystem and encourage international publication through substantial financial incentives, as well as by enhancing research cooperation and partnerships with international academic institutions.
These efforts have also been reflected in the international rankings of Egyptian universities, which have witnessed remarkable progress in recent years. In 2016, only three Egyptian universities were included in the British Times Higher Education ranking, whereas the number has now increased to 36 Egyptian universities, representing a twelvefold increase in less than a decade.
The progress has not been limited to universities’ positions in overall rankings; it has also extended to achieving advanced global positions in a number of specialized academic disciplines. Several Egyptian universities, particularly Cairo University, have succeeded in appearing among the world’s top 50 universities in several fields. In Pharmacy and Toxicology, for example, Cairo University ranked 13th among the world’s leading universities according to the U.S. News global rankings. This reflects the quality of research outputs achieved in a number of scientific disciplines at Egyptian universities.
Despite all these achievements, there is another equally important dimension that must be taken into consideration: the societal impact of this research output. This dimension is no less important than increasing the volume and quality of scientific publications; indeed, it may be even more important. The ultimate objective of scientific research should not be limited to increasing the number of published papers or improving universities’ positions in international rankings. Rather, it should be measured by the ability of research to meet societal needs, address pressing national challenges, and contribute to supporting development plans. Society needs research that provides practical solutions to the challenges facing industry, agriculture, healthcare, energy, water, the environment, and other vital sectors.
Most international ranking indicators are unable to adequately measure this objective and rely primarily on quantitative criteria, such as the number of published papers and the number of citations they receive. This is largely because the social impact of scientific research and its contribution to solving societal problems are difficult to measure accurately. Consequently, a university may achieve an advanced position in international rankings without necessarily making a substantial contribution to economic and social development.
There is broad agreement that genuine scientific research is research that generates new ideas, leads to patents, creates start-ups, and contributes to the development of products and services. These outcomes should distinguish the research performance of universities and research centers, rather than relying solely on quantitative indicators, despite their undeniable importance. In this context, greater efforts are needed to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and establish stronger links between universities, industry, and productive institutions.
Although Egypt has made noticeable progress in the Global Innovation Index issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), moving from 107th place globally in 2016 to 86th place in the most recent reports, the index simultaneously reveals the existence of a gap between the strength of scientific outputs on the one hand and levels of funding and investment in innovation on the other.
Against this background, a fundamental question arises: How can research outputs be transformed into economic value and innovation? And how can the gap between academia, on the one hand, and the needs of society and the productive and service sectors, on the other, be bridged?
The answers to these questions are by no means simple. Addressing them requires sustained and intensive efforts to move from a stage focused primarily on knowledge production to one centered on deploying knowledge to serve societal objectives. This requires adopting policies that are more closely aligned with the country’s development needs. Achieving these objectives also requires relying on a number of mechanisms within a comprehensive national strategic plan for which the necessary funding is secured.
The first of these mechanisms is the development of a clear national research-priority agenda formulated in cooperation with relevant stakeholders and in coordination with universities, research centers, and the private sector. The aim should be to direct research efforts toward the most urgent and impactful national challenges, supported by a set of performance indicators and monitoring mechanisms to measure outcomes and developmental returns. Within this framework, the industrial sector should participate in formulating the national research agenda to ensure that research is aligned with the actual challenges facing industry and production and to facilitate the transformation of scientific research results into practical applications that can be implemented and commercialized.
The second mechanism is the establishment and activation of business incubators, technology incubators, and technology transfer offices within universities. These are among the most important tools for connecting research outputs and laboratory experiments with markets. They can also facilitate the transformation of innovations and research ideas into products, services, and start-ups that contribute to strengthening the national economy.
The third mechanism is to expand support for university-based companies, as enabled by the Science, Technology and Innovation Incentives Law No. 23 of 2018. These companies represent one of the most important modern mechanisms for transforming research outputs into economically viable projects with added value. They can play an important role in commercializing the research outputs of university researchers and scientists who may not be able to reach industry and other sectors of the economy on their own and therefore require an institutional entity capable of facilitating effective communication and helping commercialize their innovative ideas.
The fourth mechanism involves developing the system of academic incentives and promotion criteria. This system needs to strike a balance between research excellence and practical applicability by encouraging faculty members seeking promotion to undertake applied projects that provide realistic solutions to national challenges. It is no longer sufficient for the number of papers published in scientific journals to serve as the sole criterion for evaluating a faculty member seeking promotion. Evaluation criteria should assign greater weight to research that generates a clear economic or social impact, contributes to addressing a national problem, or supports the development of a productive or service sector.
This does not in any way diminish the importance of international publication or academic quality standards. Rather, it means achieving a balance between the requirements of international academic publishing and the needs of society. Countries that have successfully built knowledge-based economies have not limited themselves to producing research; they have also succeeded in transforming research findings into patents, innovations, companies, products, and employment opportunities.
It can therefore be argued that Egyptian scientific research has indeed achieved substantial progress in global quantitative indicators and has established a clear and influential international presence. However, the next phase requires a stronger focus on maximizing the developmental and economic impact of scientific research, strengthening partnerships between universities and the productive and service sectors, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, and increasing investment in research and development.
At the same time, the private sector must play a more active role in supporting scientific research and innovation, given that investment in scientific research represents one of the best long-term strategic investments, with significant implications for productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth.
