SCIENCE DIPLOMACY AND STEM POPULARIZATION

Collaborated advancement of scientific knowledge and broader national interests is Science

Diplomacy. Todays technologically advanced are at present level after passing through eons of

learning and development iterations. Developing counties cannot compete or even keep the pace,

and thus seem to stay handicapped. The world have seen a rather disruptive rise of few Asian

countries in last 3-4 decades, generally attributed to their aggressive manufacturing and trade

policies but equally highlighting their emphasis on objective education focused at Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Though Natural resources had classically

been a major contributor to nation’s economic power and stability, like oil rich Middle East and

resource rich USA, Russia and China, yet we have seen oil rich Venezuela and Nigeria as well as

mineral rich Congo in tatters and at brink of civil war. Resources plus STEM is the recipe for

development, though raw resources can always be bought and finished product be sold at

exuberant price (a $10,000 Rolex watch costs under $1000 to produce including material and

craftsmanship).

Science Diplomacy is two-way traffic, equally beneficial to either side. iThe concept of “science

for diplomacy” was actually the aspiration by larger countries to project their culture and

influence beyond their boundaries. Countries are seeking the ways how science relationships can

promote trade and broaden diplomatic interests.

ii
President Obama’s 2012 preference for STEM Education and the 2013 Global Innovation Initiatives drafted

by the US and UK, makes it evident that science diplomacy can be a useful and reasonable tool for advancing

the STEM disciplines. iiiSmaller but developed countries like Israel, New Zealand and Nordic

countries are using science diplomacy to project their influence to neighbors and even globally.
Enhancement of science literacy and capacity through promotion of STEM is vital to

development of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), nevertheless equally valid for the

lowest-income countries.

Attempts to re-inventing own STEM would keep us behind; therefore ‘importing’ the knowledge

is the best option. Brain is knowledge bearing vessel essential for import/export of information,

STEM popularization is the fundamental step to enable our young brains to evolve and become

the bearer of knowledge.

In the paper I would try to identify various STEM popularization initiatives and how Science

Diplomacy can play.

Factors Formulating The Aspirations Of A Child

Ask a child what he/she aspires to become, the answer would be direct reflection of environment

around, exposure and degree of interaction. Interestingly the ambitions would shift drastically

with the age.

Figure 1 - Top 10 career aspirations by school years iv

Above are the survey results of US students, though I could not find a similar survey in Pakistan,

but basing upon my experience of school administration, the career aspirations can be seen

circulating around doctor, engineer, pilot, military and teacher.

Parents are first aspiration, teacher are second, followed by a never ending conflict between what

parents’ desire their kid to be and what the kid want to become itself. Parents’ desires are

generally driven by what they could not achieve, but what kid wants is driven by the social

environment as well as level of interaction.v “Providing students with access to core STEM

courses as early as elementary school increases their interest in pursuing STEM careers”.

STEM Popularization is the key to evolve our young brains and is to start at the earliest possible

age for a kid.

How STEM paved way to development

Science diplomacy and STEM
Objectives/Future Goals/Recommendation for Pakistan
i
Science Diplomacy: A Pragmatic Perspective from the Inside ,By Vaughan C. Turekian, Peter D.
Gluckman, Teruo Kishi, and Robin W. Grimes - 01/16/2018

ii
David P. Hajjar et al., Role for Diplomacy in Advancing Global Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Policies in the Twenty-First Century. Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations. Spring 2015: 93-100
iii
How a Small Country Can Use Science Diplomacy: A View from New Zealand Peter D. Gluckman, Stephen L. Goldson, and
Alan S. Beedle
https://twas.org/sites/default/files/attachments/how_a_small_country_can_use_science_diplomacy_science_diplomacy_
0.pdf
iv
An article based upon a survey of 2136 respondents in USA. https://www.trade-schools.net/learn/childhood-aspirations
v
https://gems.education.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/STEM_in_Schools_v1-2.pdf