Transcript Document

Science and Technology Capacity
and the Knowledge Society
Goverdhan Mehta
Director, Indian Institute of Science
Co-Chair, InterAcademy Council
Past President–Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
The Dawn of Knowledge Era
21st century will be the century of knowledge
Industrial
Society
Agricultural
Society
Information
Society
Innovation
Networks
Knowledge
Society
Knowledge
products
Information
products
Technology
Industrial
products
Raw Materials
Agri products
Societal Transformation
What is a Knowledge Society ?
 That uses knowledge holistically to empower and
enrich people– and is an integral driver of sustainable
development (societal transformation)
 A life-long learning society committed to innovation
 Has the capacity to generate, diffuse, utilize and
protect knowledge - creates economic wealth and
social equity
 Enlightens people towards an integrated view of life
as a fusion of mind, body and spirit
Planning Commission Report, India 2001
The Age of Science
“The 20th century’s unprecedented gains
in advancing human development and
eradicating poverty came largely from
technological breakthroughs”
S & T as an engine for development ?
Consensus is emerging among policy makers and
economists that at least half, if not more, of the
economic growth in countries is directly
attributable to science and technology.
In a globalizing, knowledge driven world with
increasing importance of service industries and
technological competitiveness, this contribution
can only become higher.
“There is hardly any social problem on which
science cannot make some contribution”
-D. K. Price, Scientific Estate
Science for policy
and
Policy for Science
Science is never sufficient to solve a problem
completely; it is, however, always necessary.
“Policy, not charity, will determine
whether new technologies become a
tool for human development
everywhere”
“There is enough in this world for
everyone's needs but not greed”
-Mahatma Gandhi
UNDP-HDR 2001
“Development is about expanding the
The
Dignity
Work
choices
people
have of
to lead
lives that
they value”
…..But, two thirds of the world population
lives in conditions of relative to complete
deprivation…..What choices do they have?
….1 billion without safe drinking water, 2.4 billion
without access to basic sanitation, 1 billion illiterates…
The Paradox of Our Time
Growing inequalities
Knowledge Divide
Rising Inequities
• Inequities are rising within and between
countries
• Assets of world’s 3 richest people exceed
combined GDP of poorest 48 countries
• 1.2 billion people living on less than $1 a day
and 2.8 billion on less than $2 a day (1998)
Industrialized nations
vs
Less Developed Countries (LDCs)
Widening gaps in ……
human resource capacity
S & T infrastructure
which are critical in the new knowledge
based world………
THE POWER OF HUMAN CAPITAL
90
80
70
78
69
JAPAN
USA
EU
China
LDCs Non-Asia
60
50
40
40
30
20
10
6
0.5
0
Researchers and Engineers per 10,000
workers
India 1.49
Knowledge “have nots”
Developed World
Population
15%
With Internet
88%
Developing World
85%
12%
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report, 1999, USPTO
Asymmetry in scientific
spending vs incomes
Income
=
60 times (OECD:LIE)
Research = 250 times (OECD:LIE)
OECD countries contribute 94% of scientific literature
OECD Countries account for 85% of total R & D
expenditure
Explosive Growth of Knowledge
00 AD
1750
1900
1950
1750
1900
1950
3-4 yrs
doubled
doubled
doubled
doubles
More new information has been generated in the
last 30 years than in the previous 5000
Galloping pace of technology
Shrinking time domains
Faraday
1830
Watson-Crick 1953
1881
1973
Electricity
Genetic Engg.
Computing Power doubles….………..18 months
Networking (Band width) doubles……12 months
Storage (Hard disk) doubles……………9 months
Investment Driven R&D Regime
“When R & D investments begins
to exceed capital investment, the
corporation can be said to be
shifting from a place for
production to a place for
knowledge creation”
Genomics
But, 80 countries are classified
as scientifically lagging and
have no capital
Nanotechnology
RAND S & T Report 2001
Current trends
greater gaps
scientific apartheid!
Bend the Curves
The Gap
2003
Time
Among the many challenges of the
global knowledge divide,
the growing S&T gap
between North and South is the most
important
Distribution of S & T capacities is even more lopsided
than that of economic power
A long way to go…
But there is promise…
The ‘HOLE-IN-THE WALL’ EXPERIMENT, NIIT, INDIA
Experiments in Minimally Invasive Education
.….and there is great potential of rich
human capital in the south
Population can be a renewable knowledge
resource as important as capital
Inventing the Future
Urgent Need for
S & T Capacity Building for transition
to the knowledge society
Recognize it as a worldwide challenge
S & T Capacity Building-The Road Ahead
 Need for a global perspective and
commitment- harmonize with local contexts
 Rethink by global institutions that deal with
scientific knowledge
 New understanding of south--talent is all
pervasive, access & opportunity are not
 Practical, pragmatic strategies
Capacity building is a continuum
“Broad Banding”-S & T Capacities
“…it is more appropriate to view innovations as the
fusion of different types of technology rather than as a
series of technical breakthroughs. Fusion means more
than a combination of different technologies:it invokes an
arithmetic in which one plus one makes three”
F. Kodama
 That developing countries need only relevant
technologies is a ‘myth’
 Every country needs the capacity to understand and
adapt global technologies for local needs
 Integration of immediate needs and long term vision
10,000 years ago…………..
“Let Knowledge come from all sides”
-Rig Veda
Segmentation of knowledge leads to divisiveness
Let knowledge be harnessed to uplift the
blossoms in the dust too
Clusters of Action points
• Human Resources-New paradigms in science education
• Universal scientific and technical literacy
• Science, its values and Societal engagement
• Institutions, infrastructure and networks
• Information access-particularly to scientific journals
• Public/Private partnerships
• Policy issues - national and international
New Paradigms in Science Education
 Need for a major rethink at pedagogic and curricular level
 Imaginative synergy with other knowledge streams
 Rekindle interest in experiments and sensory observations
 Restore the inspirational role of teacher-motivator & mentor
 Integration with concepts of sustainable development
 Learning science as an enlivening experience-neither esoteric
nor prosaic
Strengthening science education at all levels is an
enabling requirement, especially for developing
nations, for a self-standing national science base.
New initiatives in different countries
are being attempted
Need to share experiences and
evolve local strategies
IAP Science Education Program
UNESCO,TWAS, ICSU ………
Information Access-Books and Journals
………Some silver lining
 Digital librariesMillion books on the web initiative –CMU & IISc
MIT-OCW initiative
Dig Lib in Alexandria
 Electronic Journals
Public library of Science {PLOS) www.plos.org
PLOS Biology, PLOS Journal of Medicine
PNAS-National Academy of Sciences (USA)
The interactive complexity of the
triumvirate of science, innovation and
commercialization indicates that the
linear conception of S & T for progress
in the emerging knowledge society may
be inadequate.
Scientific revolution has outpaced
social revolution for over a century now
Towards New Understandings and Partnerships
 Recognize indigenous knowledge-as a common
heritage of humankind- many of its features could be
key elements of sustainable development strategies
 Innovative approaches to international S & T
cooperation-primacy of south-south cooperation
 Alliances to build capacities for the generation,
infusion and absorption of technologies in real time
 Establish “BANK” to which patents can be assigned
for public good, “peace and happiness”
The Role of the Science Academies
Inter Academy Council
Origin of IAC
• Established in 2001 and supported by the
world’s leading academies of sciences
[Inter Academy Panel, IAP, ~90 academies ]
Purpose of IAC
• Mobilizing the world’s best science for a better
tomorrow.
Inter Academy Council
Executive Board
• Academies of Science from Brazil, China, France,
Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia,
South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States;
and the Third World Academy of Sciences
Co-Chairs
• Bruce Alberts, President, National Academy of Sciences
• Goverdhan Mehta, Past President, Indian National
Science Academy
Observers
• International Council for Science, ICSU;
• InterAcademy Panel (IAP) ; and
• The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Inter Academy Council
Modus operandi
• Project-by-project studies, sponsor-initiated
• Transparent Process
Independence
• Study panels established through broad
consultations (IAP Academies)
• Composition of panels approved by IAC Board
Merit-based
• Draft reports subject to intensive peer review
• Released after approval by the IAC Board
Inter Academy Council
First study:
• Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in
Science and Technology.
(Expected release Dec 2003, Mexico City)
• Second study:
• Science and Technology for Improving
Agricultural Productivity in Africa
(Expected completion Jan 2004)
Third study initiated:
• Towards Transitions to Sustainable Energy
Systems
(under implementation)
Inter Academy Council
Activities Planned
• Gender Issues in Science & Technology
• Use of Internet for Distance Education in S & T
• Science and Technology in Preserving World
Heritage Sites (UNESCO)
“ Today, the Third World is only
slowly waking up to the realization
that in the final analysis, creation,
mastery and utilization of modern
science and technology is basically
what distinguishes the South from the
North. On S &T depend the standards
of living of a nation”
- Prof. Abdus Salam
Founder TWAS
Thank You