The government has promised that it will allocate one per cent of the country's Gross National Product to scientific research by 2016. However, when looking at the spending behaviour of other governments on research and development (R&D), it is obvious that Egypt has not yet reached the standard of leading nations. Europe makes up 24.1 per cent of the world's spending on R&D, and Asia accounts for 36.7 per cent, with both Americas coming in at 36 per cent. The rest of the world, specifically Australia and Africa, only account for 3.2 per cent of the world's R&D spending. Israel spends almost four per cent, Finland 3.55 per cent, and the United States 2.79 per cent of GDP on R&D, according to the World Bank in 2012. However, for Egypt the trouble does not only lie in the country's mediocre spending on scientific research but also where the money actually goes. According to the Central Agency for Organisation and Administration, about 80 per cent of the budget for scientific research goes to the wages and salaries of people working in the field, which leaves a minimal amount to spend on actual labs and equipment. The importance of scientific research does not solely contribute to the advancement of Egypt in different sectors, but also to the solving of major national problems, such as energy, water and pollution. Ashraf Salman, the current minister for investment, recently said that scientific research remained a priority for the government and that he expected a leap in the field in five to ten years' time. One ray of light lies in how many young Egyptian start-ups are managing to find their way to success, especially in scientific development. Over the past year, Al-Ahram Weekly has featured several of these, showing how the automotive industry is flourishing on university campuses, with students from the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University designing and building a racing car for international competition, for example. Mubser, an Egyptian company that invented a belt for visually impaired people making it easier for them to move around via wireless and sensor technology, is another good example. Their founder even made it to Forbes magazine's “30 under 30” list of the top entrepreneurs to watch worldwide. In terms of linking education and technology, Nafham, a free online K-12 educational video platform linked to the public curriculum, recently developed an interactive whiteboard that does not actually need a board. Instead, the projector automatically turns any surface it is directed at into an interactive touch screen or an invisible whiteboard. Tarek Sayed, a 19-year-old Egyptian, has established a method to turn organic waste into biogas, addressing Egypt's constant energy problems. He has done this by improving the genetic characteristics of different types of cells via nanotechnology. Two 22-year-old students, Mahmoud Al-Maklizi and Mustafa Hindawi, at the American University in Cairo have created a device that enhances the power of microscopes by up to four times. The constitution guarantees the freedom of scientific research and is committed to protecting the innovations of researchers and inventors. However, researchers and young inventors need more than just a guarantee. As Al-Maklizi notes, “the government should pay more attention to the country's young scientists before it is too late.” “The state guarantees the freedom of scientific research and gives its support to its stake-holding organisations, in order to achieve national sovereignty and the building of a knowledge-based economy,” the constitution says.
