Research gets practical

The mission is to improve people's quality of life and the competitiveness of the country's strategic industries with research and development provided by its four technology centres through technology transfers and commercialised patents.

Sakarindr Bhumiratana, president of NSTDA, said that this year's mission is to focus on turning short and medium-term research and development into practical use by the nation's strategic industries such as automobiles, transport, food, agriculture, public health, microchip software and electronics, life sciences, textiles and energy.

The agency aims to encourage short and medium-term research and development to increase the proportion of technology and innovation in products and services in the private sector from only 10 per cent at present to 35 per cent in the near future. The move is to increase added value in Thai products and services with technology and innovation and as part of a way to become a knowledge-based economy.

To achieve the goal, Sakrindr said the number of patents, researchers and research-and-development works needed to be increased. The agency plans to have 110 new patents this year before having 400 in the next five years.

The agency also aims to create more collaborative research and development between the agency's scientists and scientists from the private sector, universities and government. It aims to have about 400 to 500 researchers a year rather than only 200 a year. The goal of the country is to create about 2,000 researchers, while the agency will support around 400 to 500 researchers a year. It also aims to create around 500 to 600 new PhD holders a year.

Thailand's research and development force in 2004 was about 42,400 people - only 6.7 per 10,000 of population - while Korea had 38.9 people, Taiwan 57 and Japan 69.1 people per 10,000 of population.

The agency targets the use of collaboration and networking between the agency and three other sectors including the government itself, universities and the private sector. NSTDA has been working with 1,500 companies to adopt science and technology to improve their existing productivity and to enhance their competitiveness.

The agency also plans to provide more research and development facilities for the industrial sector through the expansion of science parks in the provinces.

Somchai Chatratana, deputy director of Technology Management Centre, said the centre is in the first phase of a three-year provincial science park project from 2007 to 2009. The two main collaboration efforts of the agency - universities and industries in the Southern and Northeastern regions - are in the process of a feasibility study to determine the needs of industries that require research-and-development support from the government.

The second phase will move to a "pilot plant" stage to develop the prototypes of new products and services applying R&D and innovation.

The third and final phase will be the establishment of full-scale science parks in the provinces to provide research and development as well as laboratory facilities located close to the industries.

Furthermore, Sakrindr said, to increase the number of patents requires more spending on research and development. Thailand's gross spending on research and development is only 0.28 per cent of GDP. It is expected to reach 1 per cent by 2010.

More research-and-development spending means more research-and-development projects as well as more patents.

"Our mission is to have more scientists and researchers, more research and development, more patents, and finally more commercialisation of knowledge," said Sakarindr.

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation