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Innovation ministry needs 'miracle' to go ahead (Dr Udom said (a…
Innovation ministry needs 'miracle' to go ahead
according to Deputy Education Minister Udom Kachintorn.
Attempts to create a new ministry to promote research and innovation in universities hang on a cabinet decision this week to approve the required laws
the new Ministry of Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science will be a merger between the Office of Higher Education Commission
which falls under the Education Ministry, and the Science and Technology Ministry.
The idea for the ministry
is initiated by Science Minister Suwit Maesincee
and the government hoped to complete the plan before the election
so it could herald its policy of promoting research and innovation in the country.
To do so, the process needs three laws to be passed.
The first is the Higher Education Act
which had been approved in principle by the cabinet in August.
the other two draft administrative bills have yet to get the green light.
Dr Udom said
a model similar to the Chinese Academy of Sciences will also be adopted to focus on research and development for satellites, astronomy, nuclear physics and other crucial fields
"We're now living in the age of disruption. To boost GDP and get out of the middle-income trap, we cannot just rely on imported technology. We need our own innovations to compete with other nations, and to do so universities must be the spearhead"
to transform the economy, universities need to focus more on science-related fields in order to produce more innovators and science experts.
The government
expects spending on
research
development by the public and private sectors to reach 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, with 70% of that coming from the private sector.
has been increasing
the budget for research and development while urging the private sector to do the same
target is
or spending on research and development to total 1.5% of GDP by 2021.
In Asia
South Korea
leads by spending 4.23% of GDP on research
the second highest percentage in the world after Israel.
Within Southeast Asia
Singapore
is the leader on 2.2% of GDP and a target of 3.5% for coming years.