goverdhan mehta director, indian institute of science co-chair, interacademy council
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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). 21 st century will be the century of knowledge. The Dawn of Knowledge Era. Information - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Goverdhan Mehta
Director, Indian Institute of Science
Co-Chair, InterAcademy Council
Past President–Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
Science and Technology Capacity and the Knowledge Society
The Dawn of Knowledge EraThe Dawn of Knowledge Era
21st century will be the century of knowledge
Raw MaterialsRaw MaterialsAgri productsAgri products
IndustrialIndustrial productsproducts
Knowledge products
Information products
Innovation
Networks
Technology
Industrial Society
Agricultural Society
InformationSociety
KnowledgeSociety
Societal Transformation
Eco
no
mic
Gro
wth
What is a Knowledge Society ?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”
In a globalizing, knowledge driven world with increasing importance of service industries and technological competitiveness, this contribution can only become higher.
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.
“There is hardly any social problem on which science cannot make some contribution”
-D. K. Price, Scientific Estate
Science is never sufficient to solve a problem completely; it is, however, always necessary.
Science for policy and
Policy for Science
Science for policy and
Policy for Science
“Policy, not charity, will determine whether new technologies become a
tool for human development everywhere”
UNDP-HDR 2001
“There is enough in this world for everyone's needs but not greed” -Mahatma Gandhi
The Dignity of Work“Development is about expanding the choices people have 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 capacityS & T infrastructure
which are critical in the new knowledge based world………
THE POWER OF HUMAN CAPITAL
78
69
40
60.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Researchers and Engineers per 10,000workers
JAPAN
USA
EU
China
LDCs Non-Asia
India 1.49
Knowledge “have nots”
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report, 1999, USPTO
Population With InternetDeveloped World 15% 88%
Developing World 85% 12%
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
1750 1900 doubled1900 1950 doubled1950 3-4 yrs doubles
Explosive Growth of Knowledge
00 AD 1750 doubled
More new information has been generated in the last 30 years than in the previous 5000
Watson-Crick 1953 1973
Galloping pace of technology
Shrinking time domains
ElectricityFaraday 1830 1881 Genetic Engg.
Computing Power doubles….………..18 monthsNetworking (Band width) doubles……12 monthsStorage (Hard disk) doubles……………9 months
“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”
But, 80 countries are classified as scientifically lagging and
have no capital
RAND S & T Report 2001
Nanotechnology
Genomics
Investment Driven R&D Regime
Bend the Curves
The Gap
Time
2003
Current trends greater gaps scientific apartheid!
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, INDIAExperiments 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
Capacity building is a continuum
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
“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
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
New Paradigms in Science Education
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 ProgramUNESCO,TWAS, ICSU ………
Information Access-Books and Journals ………Some silver lining
Digital libraries- Million 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
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”
Towards New Understandings and Partnerships
The Role of the Science Academies
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
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 ProcessIndependence• Study panels established through broad
consultations (IAP Academies)• Composition of panels approved by IAC BoardMerit-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