Calls for boosting R&D | Bangkok Post: tech

Targeting strategic areas by boosting R&D spending will help Thailand uplift its innovation and competitiveness in preparing for Asean's free trade community.

By 2015, Thailand will increase its spending on research and development from 0.25 percent to 1 percent of gross domestic product, said Pichet Durongkaveroj, Secretary General of the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office.

To date, the kingdom has spent 18 billion baht on R&D, or 0.25 percent of GDP, which still below the average at the global level of around 1.04 percent according to The International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) competitiveness ranking of 58 countries.

However, the government should have more aggressive strategies to boost R&D activities, especially through Government Procurement, National Projects to get the benefit by training people related with those projects and technology transfer.

Climate change, energy, healthcare, agricultural and food safety, tourism and original design manufacturing are all targeted strategic areas for National Policy and Plan for Science Technology and Innovation 2010-2020.

All these strategic areas will be guideline frameworks for committees to grant research budgets to the research projects. This will help the country reduce overlapping projects and focus on serving policy and preparing the country from the impact of globalisation, especially from free trade agreements allowing a free flow of workers.

Thailand should find its way to collaborate in S&T with Asean Plus 6. For example, S&T education with Cambodia, Laos Myanmar and Vietnam, and halal food co-operation with Malaysia and Indonesia. The kingdom must boost research spending equally in both the public and private sectors, but currently 55 percent of R&D spending comes from the government. And it needs to encourage research institutions to focus more on upstream technology rather than dominate in processing and trouble-shooting.

Moreover, there is a need to motivate the younger generation to learn Science and Technology (S&T) in order to increase the researcher rate from 6.75 researchers per 10,000 to 10 researchers per 10,000. Currently, in Thailand, only 20 percent of students choose to learn S&T, compared to Korea, where 70 percent of students choose to learn S&T.

"The aim is to produce graduates with an academic background and high technology skills by project-based teaching and learning methodology. Students are to discover their capability of applying their technology-inventing skills in their careers or in higher education," Pichet said.

Manoo Ordeedolchest, Chairman of ICT policy at Sripathum University, said that the government can leverage use of social network sites to motivate the young generation to learn S&T aggressively by providing interesting science tips and contents that show the application of science to daily life and how it can change the world.

Meanwhile Dr Dundar Kocaoglu, President and CEO of Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), also suggested that Thailand move towards being an innovative country by changing its education system from a model based on rote learning to a new model based on inquiring and applying knowledge as well as creating more research universities.

Rapidly changing technology is increasing competition among businesses and the country needs to use innovation not only in the world of business but the government should create awareness and facilitate an environment of innovation such as boosting high tech manpower and recognition for researchers and higher education. South Korea places great emphasis on innovation while Taiwan is known for its entrepreneurial spirit.