The government is establishing an 8.8-billion-baht fund for human resources development in higher education, focusing on advanced technology.
The Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai last Thursday approved the establishment of the fund, mainly to supply targeted S-curve industries.
The government's 12 targeted S-curve industries comprise cars; smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemicals; digital; medical services; defence; and education development.
According to Mr Don, the fund also aims to create academic excellence among higher education institutes.
Sirirurg Songsivilai, permanent higher education, science, research and innovation secretary, said the ministry plans to propose the fund to the cabinet for approval.
The fund is expected to take effect by 2022.
According to Mr Don, the council last week also approved 24.5 billion baht in fiscal 2022 for R&D, up from 19.9 billion in fiscal 2021.
The plan in 2022 focuses on strengthening competitiveness in the production and services sectors, narrowing income disparity and upgrading technology, especially in targeted industries.
Mr Sirirurg said the country's overall spending on R&D in 2021 is estimated to reach 270 billion baht, making up 1.5% of GDP, led mainly by the private sector, which is expected to account for 70% of spending on R&D.
In 2020, overall R&D spending was estimated at 166 billion baht or 1.09% of GDP.
The private sector contributed 71%, with the remainder coming from the government sector.
"The government is ambitious in supporting R&D spending to reach 2% of GDP, or 400 billion baht, in 2027 as planned," said Mr Don.
He said the council also required the spending in fiscal 2022 to focus on three issues comprising the bio-circular-green (BCG) economy; the use of science, research and innovation to manage coronavirus infections; and science and technology development to cater to the country's demands, especially in advanced technology.
For BCG in particular, the government already agreed to place the theme on the national agenda to speed up development, aiming to increase the value of farm products as BCG is a global development trend, said Mr Don.
The BCG strategic plan covers four sectors: farm and food; healthcare and medical services; energy and biochemicals; and tourism and the creative economy.
The first meeting of a management committee to drive the BCG economy chaired by the prime minister took place last month, approving a five-year strategic plan to promote BCG between 2021 and 2026.
The five-year BCG strategic plan aims to generate 4.4 trillion baht worth of income, or 24% of GDP, up from 3.5 trillion baht in 2019. The plan also wants to create 16.5 million jobs by 2022.
