What do you see ?

Taj Mahal 1997 What do you think or imagine when you see Taj Mahal ?

Dear Rehan Bhai, I hope you will be keeping well. You have inspired a lot of Pakistanis through your work and interviews. I have been following you and watching your videos from the last 7-8 years. I am a university professor working currently at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia. During my undergraduate in Pakistan, I always had a curiosity about how scientific knowledge and research can bring economic prosperity. And even if scientific research at the university is linked to economic benefits or it is just a bluff. We often used to hear about the importance of science in technological development. However, there were few examples of successful use in Pakistan and even today, except in IT. So, when I went for masters and PhD studies in plasma technology to UK, I had an interest in how these are applied and utilized in the local economy. Fortunately, one of the most successful startup in the country (Northern Ireland) had emerged from my research group. My supervisor's first graduate student had developed several successful companies in plasma technology. Observing several new and old companies which emerged during my study from my department and research group, I had realized that more than anything, the approach and attitude from the beginning was very different in researchers who eventually developed a successful product/application/company. Generally, university faculty in Pakistan is motivated to get the maximum number of research publications and care mostly about the impact factor of journals and citations only. Regardless if their work has any impact on the local economy and solves any real world or domestic problems. During my job in the last six years, I had tried to develop solutions which are useful for commercial applications and can address local problems. By working using this approach on different problems, alhamdullilah now we had success in several areas, one of which you may see in the news. Unfortunately, in job interviews in Pakistan, people had questioned my priorities, and if they are even research. My friends from Pakistan had suggested I am going on a path of self-destruction, and after a few years, I would not be employable. Alhamdullilah for this work in the news, I have been invited as a speaker at the most prestigious global conference in plasma technology. Also, I had received an invitation to collaborate with one of the top 20 global universities. I am also hoping to publish at an excellent journal. These would be great accomplishments for a scientist at my stage in the career working even at a good western university. None of these were my goals, but I achieved them without any effort, working with a very limited budget and in a new university not reputed even in KSA or the region. There could be monetary benefits Insha ALLAH. We had received interest by several local investors, and several plasma experts had suggested this technology can have a great commercial impact. I want to share my story with scientists and university faculty from Pakistan, trying to inspire them to focus on the real world and local problems. It takes some time and patience, but once one is able to get a breakthrough, it is worth the efforts. I need your guidance on how to receive the attention and share my story. Best regards, Mujahid Mujahid Zaka Saudi Arabia