UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

The Arab States
The first reform was introduced within weeks of the revolution.
During her brief stint as Secretary of State for Higher Education
from January to March 2011 in the caretaker government,
Faouzia Charfi changed the procedure for filling top university
posts. For the first time in Tunisia, elections were held in June
2011 for faculty directors and university presidents (Yahia,
2012). This is a step forward, even if corruption continues to
plague the Tunisian university system, according to a study
published in June 2014 21 by the Tunisian University Forum, an
NGO formed after 14 January 2011.
That this NGO could even publish such a study without fear
of retribution is a sign, in itself, of greater academic freedom
in Tunisia since President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali fled the
country on 14 January 2011. According to Faouzia Charfi,
under the former president, ‘universities and researchers
had little freedom to develop their own strategies or even
to choose who they worked with’. Other scientists have said
that regime bureaucrats thwarted their attempts to establish
independent links with industry (Butler, 2011). Scientists
were also discouraged from maintaining international ties.
Organizers of scientific meetings, for instance, were obliged
to submit the topics and research on the agenda to regime
bureaucrats, in order to obtain prior authorization. Ten
months after the revolution, a group of PhD holders and
students formed the Tunisian Association of Doctors and PhD
Students in Science to help Tunisian scientists network with
one another other and with scientists abroad (Yahia, 2012).
Despite restrictions, 48% of scientific articles published by
Tunisian researchers had foreign co-authors in 2009. This
share had risen to 58% by 2014. In 2009, the government
began negotiating an agreement for a joint research
programme with the European Union (EU). The three-year
programme was ultimately launched on 12 October 2011,
with € 12 million in EU funding. The Tunisian Agency for the
Promotion of Scientific Research was given responsibility
for distributing the programme funds in accordance with
the country’s priority research areas: renewable energy,
biotechnology, water, the environment, desertification,
micro-electronics, nanotechnology, health and ICTs.
The programme also sought to forge links between academic
research and the Tunisian industrial sector. The German
Society for International Cooperation, for instance, conducted
a study of market needs to help simplify co-ordination
between the academic and industrial sectors. At the launch
of the programme, the Tunisian Minister for Industry and
Technology, Abd El-Aziz Rasaa, announced plans to raise
Tunisia’s technological exports from 30% of the total in 2011
to 50% by 2016 (Boumedjout, 2011).
The economy has proved relatively resilient over the past four
years, thanks partly to its broad base, with well-developed
agricultural, mining, petroleum and manufacturing sectors. This
helped to cushion the drop in tourism, which accounted for
18% of GDP in 2009 but only 14% four years later. Tourism was
beginning to recover when terrorist acts against a museum and
hotel complex in March and June 2015 once more destabilized
the industry. Tunisia’s relative stability and reputed health
clinics have also made it a beacon for medical tourism.
High-level support for science
Compared to most African and Arab states, the STI system in
Tunisia is fairly advanced and enjoys strong government support.
The Higher Council of Scientific Research and Technology is
chaired by none other than the prime minister himself. The
body responsible for formulating policy and implementation
strategies, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research
and Information and Communication Technologies, can count
upon the expertise of both the National Consultative Council of
Scientific Research and Technology and the National Evaluation
Committee of Scientific Research Activities. The latter is an
independent body in charge of evaluating both public scientific
research and private sector research programmes benefiting
from the public purse. The National Observatory of Science
and Technology is another vital component of the Tunisian STI
system. It was established in 2006, two years before being placed
under the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
A strategy to build bridges between universities and
industry
The University Council is presided by the Minister of
Higher Education, Scientific Research and Information and
Communication Technologies. In January 2015, the University
Council approved a broad reform of scientific research and
higher education that is to be implemented over the period
2015–2025. The reform will focus on modernizing university
curricula, in order to give graduates the skills employers need,
and on giving universities greater administrative and financial
autonomy. In 2012, the ministry had already taken a step in
this direction by placing its relations with universities on a
contractual basis 22 for the first time.
The reform will also strengthen university–industry ties
and revise the university map to ensure greater equity
between regions. Central to this strategy is the ongoing
development of technoparks, as they foster research and
job creation in the regions.
Tunisia is investing heavily in technoparks. Elgazala Technopark
in the Tunis region was the first, both for Tunisia and the
Chapter 17
21. See: www.businessflood.com/forum-universitaire-tunisien-etude-sur-lediagnostic-et-la-prevention-de-la-corruption-dans-le-milieu-universitaire-tunisien
22. The two parties concluded a framework contract which authorizes universities
and institutions to devise their own teaching and research strategies for a period
of four years within the framework of specific projects and programmes; these
strategies are accompanied by implementation plans.
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