I am quite an avid follower of international current affairs events since I am young, it always bewilders me that mono linguistic and societies with homogeneous socio ethnic structures always do better (with the prominent examples being Germany, Sweden,  Japan and Korea)  , there is another element which differentiates them from the rot of the third world – an emphasis of public values; they lay a premium on how their leaders behave in public and they uphold the sanctum sanctorum of values of good governance. Whether these emanate from Confucian or Protestant values, these nations hold national pride in delivering the goods and upholding respect.

Although there are examples of chronic failure in standards in governance as well such as Greece and Italy (The Prime Minister having a very colorful existence ) in Europe, but they have the EU Safety Shield to protect them.  India, being my country of birth and citizenship; has a total vacuum in value driven governance. With a plethora of scams and goof ups in major events which uphold national honor such as the commonwealth games, the need of the hour in India is someone who restores Indian Pride internationally and inspires us to take up the mantle for growth and development. Nationalism is only demonstrated in India in the event of a cricket match or of a territorial conflict. With the emergence of competent leadership in the opposition camp such as Nitish Kumar, Shivraj Chauhan and above all Narendra Bhai Modi; there is hope. Dynamic leaders in the ruling establishment such as Rahulji Gandhi, Sachin Pilot and Omar Abdullah have brought some efficiency in the system. But these examples are few and far in between. A Kapil Sibal and a Jairam Ramesh can only do so much. Corruption and nepotism is endemic, these are tumors in our system.  The room for values based decision making is squeezed out.

The moment, values are brought back on the seat of power; governance will be restored to its rightful place….

This is my first article in this month, well a few changes have taken place over the last month. I have got a opportunity to pursue Doctoral research in Science and Technology Policy at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Thus I am back to my favorite city once again- Singapore:) This research stint will be the third academic domain transition, I would be making- My undergrad engineering degree in biotechnology from Oman, my masters is in environmental engineering from NUS and my Graduate research degree will be in Science and Technology Policy.  It seems a bit strange to explain the rationale to well-wishers and acquaintances concern my academic career moves… I have had a perchant for Governance and Social issues; the intersection of Technology and the Humanities fascinates me… its a frontier where intellectual value can be created, particularly when Technologists and Scientist do not grasp the social issues and researchers in the Humanities find science, greek and latin to them. Its a risky endeavor, but something which I am excited about pursuing as a career in academia & research.

Policy and Governance issues cannot be intellectually compartmentalized. The issues that are dealt in Social Science and Policy Schools deal ultimately with critical decision making matters, concerns the lives of many at hand. A broad understanding of the various domains in science and tech policy creation will lead to better economies and societies as a whole. I would encourage educators to design programs which have a blend of the sciences and the humanities, which will create the next generation of solution creators, where innovation is the currency for competitive advantage. A right equilibrium of the right and the left brains is essential towards creating more options of ideation and innovative execution.

The tight compartmentalization and super specialization of academic domains creates less than complete individuals for the job market. More efforts towards inter-disciplinary learning should be encouraged in countries such as in South Asia to create broader mind-sets and liberated souls….