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Policies for Science and Technology must always be mixture of
realism and idealism.
---Chris Freeman (1921-2010) [Pioneer of National Innovation Concept]
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A recent UNESCO Science Report 2010 broadly captures what Fareed Zakaria is trying to tap in the book “Post American World”. Development in global economy has been arrived due to the assertive role of developments of science and technology. The reasons are as follows. A) Cheap and easy access to new digital technologies such as broadband, internet and mobile phones have accelerated the diffusion of best practice technologies revolutionized the internal and external organization of research and development centers. B) Countries have been catching up rapidly in terms of economic growth and investment in knowledge as expressed in investment in tertiary education and R&D. C) The impact of global recession on post 2008 challenged the north south technology trade and growth models. This recession is being viewed as challenging western S&T dominance. It is interesting that emerging economy which once served as repository of outsourcing of manufacturing activities, they have now moved on to autonomous process technology development, product development, design and applied research.
Achieving knowledge intensive growth is the top priority of the countries. Value creation depends increasingly upon better use of knowledge, whatever the level of development, whatever the form and whatever its origin; new product, process or technologies developed domestically, or the re-use of and novel combination of knowledge developed elsewhere. Increase in stock of ‘worlds knowledge’, as epitomized by new digital technologies and discoveries in life sciences or nanotechnologies, is creating fantastic opportunities for emerging nations to attain higher levels of social welfare and productivity. The old notion of technological gap is being considered as blessing for the countries possessing sufficient absorptive capacity and efficiency to enable them to exploit their advantage of their relative backwardness.
There is growing recognition that it is the systemic congruence between the various knowledge components of the innovation system that counts when it comes to devising a successful growth strategy. There is growing emphasis on STI Policies on sustainability and green technologies. National STI policies clearly face a radically new global landscape in which territorial policy focus is coming under severe pressure. Knowledge accumulation and knowledge diffusion is possible to happen at faster pace, involving a growing number of entrants and providing a threat to established threat to institutions.
Out of all key factors mentioned above, let us focus on one factor alone for the sake of greater understanding of the part of the progress/development/changes underway. Considering the higher education as a citadel for the symbiosis of innovation, economic growth and quest for sustainable development, let us understand some of the keen issues facing this sector. “The current landscape of advanced degrees is increasingly varied. This has resulted from the many changes and developments in recent years within the Higher Education sector where supply must adapt to more diverse demand. On one hand, research degrees continue to denote advanced study in a chosen discipline with a view to the pursuit of an academic career; in this respect expertise in research methodology and investigative skills are acquired. On the other hand, there is a growing demand for Masters and doctorates related to a specific field of professional activity such as business studies or administration. Though sometimes referred to as “taught qualifications” which may be undertaken concurrently with actual workplace activity, these involve a certain degree of research both for the professors and the students involved.”
Five main areas merit special attention:
a) Challenges for students researching advanced degrees in developing countries (notably in scientific fields)
b) The research component in “in demand” degrees which are awarded on the basis of taught courses
c) The current advantages offered by open and E-learning with regard to the demand for advanced degrees
d) The benefits of “jointly delivered” advanced degrees which aim for rapid and quality credentials
e) The impact of branding and networking strategies for advanced degrees earned from research-reputed universities.
2006 Global Colloquium of the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education Research and Knowledge debated the status of research universities worldwide. The conclusions stressed the urgency of resolving the major problems identified:
a. The precarious nature of research in non-OECD countries
b. The major cleavages in research between wealthy and emerging countries in terms of capacity, agendas, contexts, criteria, climate and partnerships
c. The need to accelerate networking and cooperation amongst universities to strengthen research
d. The urgency of building improved research capacity in countries of the South and elimination of the isolation of their researchers.
e. The rapidly increasing political nature of national research agendas
f. The need for countries to map and analyze their research systems, to pinpoint their major challenges and to benchmark themselves in relation to similar emerging economies.
These days the notion of “third stream” of activities or third mission developed from research activities is being discussed vigorously. The starting point is the assimilation of fundamental research to codified knowledge and thus to information. This economic assimilation is critical since it tells that this “good”, once produced, is very difficult to appropriate. It has two consequences. The first one is that no economic actor will invest into fundamental research since he will not be able to recover its investment, thus the need for governments to invest in fundamental research. The second consequence is that its take-up and circulation are “free” for interested economic actors. There is thus no need of specific mechanisms that help knowledge flow from public sector to the economic and social worlds.”
Universities do not structure themselves along the three missions, but that they articulate differently these three missions depending upon the “functions” they fulfill. I see three central functions or activities which I have labeled: “mass tertiary education” (with the bachelor degree as a central feature), “professional specialize higher education and research” (with the professional master as a central diploma, and “problem solving research” as a central activity) and “academic training and research” (with the PhD as the central diploma and articles as the central output). While the first and the third activities are clearly located respectively at the local and world levels, the second is focused on professions and follows their internationalization.
All universities are thus a specific and probably unique mix of these three functions. The choice of this positioning is often mostly the result of contingent historical factors. Making it evolve, and turning it into a “constructed” choice is key to the articulation of the university with its environment. In such an approach, the activities gathered under the third mission become the outcome of this positioning (whatever the conditions through which it has been arrived at). It also provides a different lens through which to look at connections with the external world, considering education and research on a similar footing. The scientific elite, however, have pushed back by redefining their role: (I) destroying the earlier status-quo and re-linking themselves to state institutions, (II) managing S&T development and lobbying for the scientific community, etc.; (III) acquiring other functions; apart from their cognitive role, i. e, influencing the citadel of power and public opinion directly in favor of its own relevance to societal and scientific progress.
Second important aspect being mobility. The scientist mobility has various forms: a common, social form involves moving along the career ladder (upward and downward), moving between generations (inter-generational) and within a generation (intra-generational). The occupational aspect is a transition from one scientific discipline to another, from one scientific field to another, transition from one research institution to another, or in a pathological form it is when scientists leave science for other jobs, or in a geographical form it means territorial movements of scientists.
R&D, innovation and technology are now being increasingly recognized as important drivers for growth, exports, and competitiveness of businesses in globalizing economies such as India and China. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) have also been leveraged by several developing countries such as Korea and China to enhance their technological, management and trade capabilities when FDI policies are appropriately integrated with other domestic policies including S&T, trade and industrial policies. Corporate and medium & small firms in India are also restructuring their business strategies, attracting FDI, and investing more on R&D, technology acquisitions and technology related capacities in several sectors since the implementation of new policies from 1991 onward. The government policies and mechanisms have also been supporting the initiatives of enterprises and corporate, resulting in high growth rates of economies and exports. However, there are very limited studies and documentation available for India in the context of technology and exports.
Lastly it should be remembered that now-a-days, any policy making is done after a long interaction with government representatives, private enterprise as well as nongovernmental organizations. Complex dynamics in the contemporary world makes new forms of regulations and governance replacing established government norms. Government policy framing and implementation is largely affected by market agents with diverse economic interests, public interest groups, social movements and activists, self-help organizations and various professional associations with different motivations and goals of political, economic and idealist dimensions, e.g., industrial and labor market conditions, environment, natural resources, consumer interests, genetic engineering and gender differences.
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References:
a) Liberalizing Research in Science and Technology: Studies in Science Policy, Edited by Nadia Asheulova, Binay Kumar Pattnaik, Eduard Kolchinsky, Gregory Sandstrom. Saint-Petersburg: Politechnika, 2010. (ISBN 978-5-904031-76-3)
b) Toward a Third mission for Universities, P. Laredo, UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge. 2007
c) The Role of Post-Graduate Education in Research Systems, Kearney, M-L, UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge. 2007
d) UNESCO Science Report 2010
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