INDO-GERMAN COLLABORATION IN S&T: AN ANALYSIS THROUGH CO-AUTHORED PUBLICATIONS,

Transcription

1 Annals of Library and Information Studies 51, 1; 2004; INDO-GERMAN COLLABORATION IN S&T: AN ANALYSIS THROUGH CO-AUTHORED PUBLICATIONS, M.K.D.Rao Recruitment and Assessment Board Council of Scientific and Industrial Research CSIR Complex, Library Avenue, Pusa New Delhi M.Gupta Nationallnstiitute of Science, Technology and Development Studies Dr K.S.Krishnan Marg New Delhi , India The paper looks into the Indo-German collaboration in S& T, through the co-authored publications during the period The collaboration is under two broad streams, bilateral and multilateral. The study provides an analysis of co-authored papers by main fields and sub-fields and the impact of such collaboration in different fields of S& T. The paper identifies the major institutions involved in collaborative research in the two countries. The study reveals the extent of commonality of subject interest between the two countries. The analysis showed that the bilateral papers were maximum in physics followed by chemistry, biomedical research, etc. However the impact factor of bilateral papers was highest in biomedical research followed by physics, chemistry, etc. As many as 88 per cent of all bilateral papers have been reported in journals having impact factor less than 1.38, the average impact factor of all bilateral papers. Similar result of analysis is shown for the multilateral papers. INTRODUCTION The Indo-German cooperation in S& T dates back to September 1965 when the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) agreed to have an arrangement for the exchange of scientists. The two governments could formally conclude several agreements and special arrangements including an agreement on cooperation for Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy and Space Research in An inter-governmental agreement in 1974 on cooperation in the field of science and technology laid the foundation for major bilateral cooperations between the two countries. These agreements provided an umbrella for a series of arrangements between R&D institutions of the two nations, as for example, (i) between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 64 and Deutsche Forschungs-und Versuchsanstalt fur Luft- und Raumfahrt e.v., DFVLR (today called Deutsche Forsch-ungsanstalt fur Luft-und Raumfahrt Ev., DLR) for cooperation in the field of space technology in 1974, (ii) between Kernforschungsanlage Julich GmbH (KFA) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on cooperation in the field of scientific research and technological development in 1974, (iii) between Gesellschaft fur Strahlen- und Umweltforschung mbh (GSF) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on cooperation in the fields of medicine and biology in 1976, (iv) between the CSIR and Deutsche Forschungs- and Versuchsabnstalt fur Luft- und Raumfahrt e.v. (DLR) in the field of aeronautical science in 1982, and (v) between Department of Education (DoEd) and KFA on cooperation in the field of scientific research and technological development in Later, agreements in other areas were also entered into such as a MoU between the Ministries of Environment of both the countries (September 1998) and an agreement on cooperation in the field of biotechnology (15th February 2001) between Forschungszentrum, Juelich and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi. In addition, agreements for the exchange of scientists were reached between the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and University Grants Commission (UGC) as well as CSIR; the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, AvH, and UGC; between the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (MPG), and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA). Ann Lib Inf Stu

2 INDO-GERMAN COLLABORATION IN S&T Technical cooperation is also an important component of the bilateral cooperation agreements and it contributes to the strengthening of R&D infrastructure and training of manpower. The strengthening of infrastructure at the Indian Institute of Technology, the research vessel Saagar Kanya, and the commencement of an academic exchange.programme on remote sensing at Anna University, Chennai, are some of the examples of ventures in this direction. Carl Duisberg Centren (CDEC) offered practical training and vocational training to Indian craftsmen and technicians. Similarly, the Volkswagen Foundation has provided practical training to Indian engineers under such cooperative programmes. The identified priority areas under bilateral cooperation between the two countries were advanced materials, biotechnology and genetic engineering, medical & health research, space science, technology and applications, ocean science, geoscience, antarctic research and clean and environmental technologies. To these now information technology (IT) has also been added. Indo-German cooperation in aerospace research has led to launching of the German satellite "BIRD" through Incian launch vehicle PSLV in September 2001 is an example of growing bilateral cooperation in the field. It is the third German satellite that India has successfully put into space. So far, more than 1000 joint projects have been successfully undertaken, resulting in more than 4000 short-term/long-term exchanges of scientists, more than 3000 joint publications and about 100 Indo-German workshops and seminars. At present, more than 140 joint projects are under implementation. Indo German workshops covering biotechnology, nanotechnology, tropical diseases and bioethics were also held at Germany and India A strong pillar of Indo-German collaboration in S& T is the exchange programmes of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (DAAD) and the German Research Society (DFG), which started shortly after India became independent and which has enabled about 1300 Humboldt- and more than Vol 51 No 2 June DAAD-Fellows to visit Germany for short or long-term research programmes. The Indo-German cooperation though is carried mainly through bilateral cooperation in S& T, the. two countries are also jointly participating in a number of international programmes of the United Nations and other international agencies, such as Unesco, UNDP, WHO, IAEA, etc. The present Indo-German bilateral S& T cooperation is structured on the basis of a threetier system, viz. (a) joint research projects; (b) exchange programmes; and (c) technical cooperation. An Indo-German Committee on Science and Technology, which meets every 18 months, alternately in India and Germany, coordinates the Indo-German cooperation in science, research and technology. With the integration of former GDR and FRG in October 1990, the agreement became valid for the entire Germany. The Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Government of Germany, are the nodal. agencies for implementation of the bilateral agreements. INDIA'S S&T COLLABORATION AS REFLECTED THROUGH CO-AUTHORED PUBLICATIONS The number of publications resulting from collaborations amongst different countries is growing steadily worldwide, from 7.8% in to 14.8% in [1]. This is largely due to the role of international cooperation, which helps in the development of capabilities and in accessing to new knowledge in science and technology [2]. India's share of internationally collaborated papers among its total research output covered in Science Citation Index (SCI) is also growing, from 6.87% in 1990 to 17.62% in 1998 [3]. Moreover, the list of countries with which India is collaborating (as reflected in its co-authored papers) is also expanding. India was a collaborating partner with 87 countries in the co-authored publications in and this figure extended to 109 in [1], in the field of S& T. The collaborating partners have 65

3 Rao M K D and Gupta B M been both from the developing and developed world, including countries like the USA, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, China, Australia, and Brazil. OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY The co-authored research publications are the natural output of the bilateral and international collaborative programmes, and so is between India and Germany. In this communication, an analysis of 1595 co-authored research publications of Indian and German scientists, published in international journals covered by the Science Citation Index (SCI) during the period is presented. The study includes an analysis of the co-authored papers by main fields and sub-fields, and the impact of such collaborations in different fields, and identification of major participating institutions involved in collaborative research. A few suggestions are provided for strengthening these collaborations further between the two countries. SCI has been selected as a source of study because it covers more than 3000 primary journals published worldwide in major fields of science and technology. The publication data downloaded from SCI have been classified according to the journal classification procedure developed by CHI, Inc., USA. The impact of collaborative papers has been studied indirectly through the 'impact factor' (IF) of the reporting journals, for which the data were culled from the annual Journal Citation Reports, published by ISI, Philadelphia, USA. ANALYSIS OF THE INDO-GERMAN CO AUTHORED PUBLICATION DATA The study revealed that there were two streams of collaboration: one was bilateral in which only Indian and German institutions/scientists were involved and the other was multilateral in which scientists/institutions from countries like the USA, the UK, Japan, etc. also participated, besides Indian and Germany. It was observed that out of 1595 jointly authored papers in S& T during 1996 to 2000, 900 papers were under bilateral and 695 under multilateral collaboration. The subject-wise study of these 1595 papers revealed that the collaboration in the area of "physics" had made the major contribution with 681 (42.69%) papers. The subject-wise. contribution of the remaining 914 papers was as follows: Chemistry (243 papers), Earth & Space Sciences (161 papers), Biomedical Research (140 papers), Engineering & Technology (124 papers), Clinical Medicine (97 papers), Biology (86 papers), Multidisciplinary Sciences (32 papers), Mathematics (19 papers), Health Sciences (1 paper), Psychology (1 paper), and unassigned (10 papers). Coming to bilateral papers first, which were 900 out of 1595, it was found that these were distributed across three major disciplines: Physics 354 papers (39%), Chemistry 136 papers (15.11%), and Biomedical Research 107 papers (11.88%). The remaining 403 papers were distributed as follows: Engineering & Technology (73 papers), Earth & Space Sciences (72 papers), Biology (66 papers), Clinical Medicine (59 papers), Multidisciplinary Sciences (17 papers), and Mathematics (11 papers). The distribution of papers in various sub fields under each subject is depicted in Table 1. The 354 papers in Physics are spread over in 9 subfields, with focus in general physics (123 papers), nuclear & particle physics (10 papers), applied physics (54 papers), solid state physics (26 papers), and chemical physics (25 papers). In Chemistry, having contribution of 136 papers in 7 sub-fields, the larger emphasis is on physical chemistry (49 papers), general chemistry (33 papers), inorganic chemistry (20 papers), and organic chemistry (18 papers). The 107 papers in Biomedical Research are spread over in 11 sub-fields, with focus in biochemistry & molecular biology (44 papers), microbiology (16 papers), cell biology (15 papers) and biomedical engineering (8 papers). In Engineering & Technology, having contribution of 73 papers in 10 sub-fields, the larger emphasis is on material science (23 papers), 66 Ann Lib Inf Stu

4 INDO-GERMAN COLLABORATION IN S&T metals & metallurgy (13 papers), electrical & electronics engineering (11 papers), and computers (8 papers). The 72 papers in Earth & Space Sciences are spread over in 6 subfields, with focus in astronomy & astrophysics (30 papers), geology (14 papers), EPS (9 papers) and environmental science (8 papers). In Biology, having contribution of 66 papers in 9 sub-fields, the larger emphasis is on botany (40 papers), dairy & animal science (7 papers), and entomology (6 papers). The 59 papers in Clinical Medicine are spread in 19 sub-fields, with focus in pharmacology (17 papers), cancer (8 papers), immunology (4 papers), neurology & neurosurgery (4 papers), and dermatology & veneral diseases (4 papers). In Chemistry, having contribution of 11 papers in 3 sub-fields, the larger emphasis is on general mathematics (7 papers), applied mathematics (3 papers), and probability & statistics (1 papers). The average impact factor (IF) of these papers varied from 0.55 to About 88% of total bilateral papers were reported in journals having IF less than 1.38, which is the average IF of all bilateral papers. The value of IF was!-:ighest (2.72) in Biomedical Research, followed by 2.17 in Physics, 2.10 in Chemistry, 1.96 in Clinical Medicine, 1.83 in Earth & Space Sciences, 1.34 in Biology, 1.06 in Multidisciplinary Sciences, 0.68 in Engineering & Technology and 0.55 in Mathematics. The IF of various sub-fields Table 1. is also depicted in The major Indian institutions involved in bilateral collaborative research were: Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (51 papers) Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (49 papers) Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad (47 papers) Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (38 papers) Institute of Science, Bangalore (34 papers) University of Hyderabad (33 papers) Anna University, Madras (30 papers) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (30 papers) Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai (30 papers) University of Delhi (22 papers) Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (21 papers) Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (20 papers) Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic research, Kalpakkam (20 papers) Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi (18 papers) Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani (17 papers) Let us now look at the multilateral papers (695 out of 1595). Here, Physics was the main discipline with maximum contribution of 340 (48.92%) papers. The remaining 368 papers were as follows: Chemistry (94), Earth & Space Sciences (89), Engineering & Technology (51), Clinical Medicine (38), Biomedical Research (33), Biology (20), Multidisciplinary Sciences (15) and Mathematics (8). The average impact factor of these multilateral papers varied from 0.79 to Except for the Multidisciplinary Sciences, it was highest. (3.81) in Clinical Medicine, followed by Biology (2.87), Physics (2.62), Earth & Space Sciences (2.0), Chemistry (1.78), Biology (1.30), Health Sciences (0.97), Engineering & Technology (0.84), and Mathematics (0.79). The IF values for sub-fields are depicted in Table 2. The major Indian institutions involved in the multilateral collaborative research were: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay (188 papers) Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Bombay (46 papers) Vol 51 No 2 June

5 Rao M K D and Gupta B M Table 1- Number of bilateral papers in various sub-fields ( ) Institute Punjab University Physical Fields/Subfields University, of Research of Physics, Rajasthan, Jammu, Chandigarh Laboratory, Bhubaneshwar Jammu Impact Rajasthan Factor (37 (40 papers) (31 (19Number papers) papers) Ann Lib Inf Stu Astronomy General Botany Cardiovascular Engineering Mathematics Biochemistry Earth Material Physiology Physical & Space Science Mathematics Physics Chemistry && Astrophysics Technology Sciences Molecular System

6 INDO-GERMAN COLLABORATION IN S&T Saha Table North-East Hill of University, Nuclear Astrophysics, IF2 - Number Physics Shillong of multilateral ( 16 (17 National Banaras Indian Statistical Institute Physical Hindu of Institute, Laboratory Technology, ( Calcutta 13(12 papers) Bombay (15 papers (11 Bangalore Number in164 papers) various subfields (14 papers) ( ) 69 Chemistry Botany Biochemistry General Astronomy Metals Physical& & Mathematics Chemistry Metallurgy Internal & & Astrophysics Molecular MedicineBiology ields/sub-fields

7 Rao M K D alld Gupta B M Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (11 papers) University of Hyderabad 10 (papers) Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune (10 papers) All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (9 papers) India and Germany both possess sufficient scientific potential for making bigger contributions, their cooperation at bilateral level in terms of quantity and quality of publications was weak during the period as revealed under study. Institutional participation was also low. Physics, Chemistry and Biomedical Resea:-ch were the preferred areas for collaborative research at bilateral level, and they together contributed 70 % of the total output. Within Physics, 79% output pertained to papers in Nuclear and Particle Physics, General Physics, and Applied Physics. This may be attributed to the common interest India and Germany share in aeronautics, space, nuclear research and defence for which physics is the backbone. Within Chemistry, major emphasis was on Physical Chemistry, contributing around 36% of its total output. In Biomedical Research, the main emphasis was on Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Cell Biology, and they together contributed around 70% of its total output. In terms of impact, the Biomedical Research had shown a beaer performance (IF=2.72), followed by Physics (IF=2.17) and Chemistry (IF=2.1 0). It suggests that the impact of bilateral papers in these two disciplines was good and comparable to international standards. The low output through bilateral research might have been due to the applied nature of joint research, which sometimes leads to outputs such as technology development, normally not documented for public consumption. Physics, Chemistry and Earth & Space Sciences were the preferred areas for collaborative research at multilateral level, and these together contributed 75 % of the total multilateral output. Within Physics (327 out of 695 papers), the emphasis was on Nuclear and Particle Physics (164 papers), General Physics (82 papers), Solid State Physics (31 papers), Applied Physics (23 papers) and Chemical Physics (22 papers). Within Chemistry, major emphasis was on Physical Chemistry, contributing 29 papers out of 94 papers. In Earth & Space Sciences, the main emphasis was in Astronomy & Astrophysics (47 out of 89 pape rs). In terms of impact, the Clinical Medicine had shown a better performance (IF=3.81), followed by Biomedical Research (IF=2.87) and Physics (IF=2.62). CONCLUSIONS It was observed that out of 1595 jointly authored papers in S&T during 1996 to 2000, 56% papers were under bilateral and 44% under multilateral collaboration. The Indo-German co-authored papers were predominantly in basic sciences, involving German Universities and the Max Planck Institutes. Maximum papers were in Physics followed by Chemistry, in bilateral and multilateral modes. Relatively, the impact of collaborative research at multilateral level was better compared to the bilateral research. The study showed that participation by as many as 60 other countries under the multilateral collaborative research could be instrumental in generating high impact research output. FUTURISTIC OUTLOOK - The German R&D establishments have a rich experience of forging partnership with their industries, e.g. FhG is a large network of industrial research institutes. Indians must look for 2+2 mode of cooperation in which at least one Indian or German industry is made a collaborator. As a long-term strategy, besides improving the knowledge base, India should aim at the development of critical scientific areas like genomics and nanotechnology. The German firms/r&d establishments are being located outside Germany, like Siemens, Bayer, AEG. Daimler Benz, Sttutgart, a big name in automotive, electrical engineering and aerospace, has already setup a R&D unit in Bangalore as a hundred per cent own subsidiary of Daimler Benz parent company. Such 70 Ann Lib In!' Stu

8 j1 INDO-GERMAN COLLABORATION IN S&T companies must be approached for collaboration by the Indian R&D institutions. In order to make between Indo-German collaboration more effective, there is a need to understand the shortcomings in the mechanism of participatory research, particularly by Indian institutions. For promoting collaborative researches, both German and Indian institutions may offer more fellowships, travel grants, etc. to researchers. There is also a need to extend the scope of cooperation to frontier areas of science and technology, particularly to those areas where Germany has a strong base and also a strong institutional mechanism of cooperation on the lines of Indo-French and Indo-Russian collaborations. REFERENCES 1. National Science Board. Science & Engineering Indicators Vol 1 & 2. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation Van Raan, AFJ. Science as an international enterprise. Science and Public Policy. Oct 1997, 24(5): Arunachalam, S. International collaboration in science: The case of India and China. In. Cronin, Blaise and Atkins, Helen Barsky, eds. The web of knowledge; A festschrift in honour of Eugene Garfield. New York; ASIS Vol 51 No 2 June