Science and Technology Capacity

and the Knowledge Society

Goverdhan Mehta
Director, Indian Institute of Science
Co-Chair, InterAcademy Council
Past PresidentIndian National Science Academy (INSA)

The Dawn of Knowledge Era

21st century will be the century of knowledge

Industrial
Society

Agricultural
Society

Information
Society

Economic Growth

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 centurys 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
oflead
Work
choices
people
have to
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 worlds 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
0

0.5

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

Research =
(OECD:LIE)

60 times (OECD:LIE)
250 times

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
doubled
1900
doubled
1950
doubled
3-4 yrs 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) doubles12 months
Storage (Hard disk) doubles9 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
worlds leading academies of sciences
[Inter Academy Panel, IAP, ~90 academies ]

Purpose of IAC
Mobilizing the worlds 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