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