Come to the market please! ‘Show and Tell to Industry’

On 24 and 25 October, the BMICH will see a market place with a difference and an important difference at that, considering current national needs. Hopefully this would spin a differ

ence to the way we hope to develop our economy in the mindsets of practitioners, planners and bankers alike.

Listening to the inside, learning from the inside and then taking products and concepts to the world outside may happen here. A definite hope is that seeds for future fruit may be sown in a productive manner. I know that we are not quite used to this idea.

The Sri Lankan industrial landscape or even commercial floors are not exactly buzzing with the news. While Lee Kwan Yew may have learnt from Ceylon, we do not pride ourselves with an ability to teach others – most times we are not capable of even convincing ourselves.

We are quite engrossed with messengers from outside, with whom we expect to travel to the Promised Land. It is mostly in the sphere of S&T that I am writing about and the event planned at BMICH by the Ministry of Technology and Research is on just that. That is why the appeal to the corporate sector and to those in commerce to come to the market place! The market place programme is aptly named ‘Show and Tell to Industry’.

The 19th century witnessed some of the most talked about events of this nature on a grand scale. 1844 in Paris there was the French Industrial Exposition. Of course the British not to be outdone and to indicate their supremacy held the Grand Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations which was known as the Crystal Palace exhibition in 1851. It is stated that products of colonies were also showcased and India is identified.

However, the underlying message was the technological supremacy of British. Showing naturally occurring diamonds or gems though may get attention but do not send any message of technological prowess.

The Great Exhibition in London was a success and we see events of this nature to date but with a more commercial bias. The most recent Shanghai’s Expo was an example. As British did, it is important that one understands one’s own capabilities as that is what will lead to self reliance. Science in Sri Lanka has lost through lack of understanding rather than through lack of talent.

A technology marketplace – Why?

The Technology Marketplace which is the scheduled event may not have the glamour of the Crystal Palace but will be held in the shadows of the BMICH, a definite city landmark. It is an event that seeks to link scientific research with industry so as to forge partnerships that will ensure that research findings are utilised to add value to industrial products, contribute to the development of the industry and thereby to the national economy.

According to the communiqué from the Ministry, The Marketplace is one of several initiatives envisaged by the Ministry to bridge the gap that exists between research and industry and to bring industry to collaborate more closely with Public Research Institutions. This effort is in furtherance of Sri Lanka’s commitment to transform to a knowledge-based economy.

This is a must if we are to forge ahead and this opportunity should be made use of. The State research institutes will be present in strength to meet the industry and it is hoped that industry would be there in strength too.

Cultural gap

In Sri Lanka, a cultural gap is said to exist between scientific research and Industry. The MoTR believes that there is a critical need to bridge that gap so as to assist Industry to be more competitive in the global market and that there is a need to move away from the current supply push only policy to strike a balance with a demand pull policy .

Effective partnerships can only be established when parties have confidence in each other. This is an effort to build that confidence and inspire Industry to work with public research institutions.

What one may read or hear about the commercialisation of research by public sector research institutes may be many cynical comments and expressions. Take a deep dive and with some effort in reading about the past one may be surprised to hear what these institutes have done. In fact ITI, formerly CISIR, had been a role model for the region in the times gone by. One may actually feel guilty about the response accorded for some of these silent contributions. Yes, scientists and engineers have worked on against odds and contributed and there had been fewer town criers associated with the organisations to pass the message. A smarter job had been done by the representatives of outside products and services. Perhaps that is to be expected when the agents only have to spend the entire funding on fliers and advertising. The organisational structures of public sector research institutes hardly have any funds and mechanisms for meaningful outreach.

The event is designed in such a way to obtain the views of industry on a variety of concerns, such as the problems faced in building effective partnerships with public research institutions, how new research industry tie-ups can be initiated and existing tie-ups be made more effective and how an environment of trust and confidence can be created.

With SLINTEC (Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology) being present as an important public-private partnership in research, the event will be an eye-opener in working together as well.

Open message to the State

When Margaret Thatcher was changing the face of Britain, The Engineering Council in UK took full page advertisement in The Times and stated that ‘No country in the world can have a well-fed, well-clothed healthy population with a service and tourist based economy’.

They placed data and were quite strong in this open message to the state. Yes some may be well-fed, very well clothed but the stress on manufacturing was to ensure much more equity and the ability to generate economic power. The Engineering Council was pointing out the fallacy of mere services approach for a better economy.

With services, the issue is your economy may get entwined in such a way that you have no room to take decisions but be a meek servant of someone else’s economic instrument. One must understand that today the word ‘service’ has taken a deeper meaning yet the way we practice is not at that deeper level but at the initial shallow level.

It is important that our commerce and industry base use the services of the public sector research institutes. They should not perform the duties of a transient training place for high quality graduates awaiting placement overseas. You cannot make a researcher overnight and losing a person means a serious loss. Probe inside and you may understand why.

We are immune to such analysis and shy away from issues finding solace perhaps with any income generating activity to keep the kitty growing but the economy may not grow.

Statement of Akio Morita

Take the statement of Akio Morita who was affronted from a nationalistic manner in Germany after ordering an ice cream when the waiter had informed after serving him his ice cream with a miniature paper parasol stuck into it as a decoration that the paper parasol is from Japan. It was a show of courtesy or a complement of sort but to Akio the message was different.

He writes in his biography about the incident and mentions the way the Germans have understood his country’s capabilities. It was interesting this incident happened with both economies having being smashed by the allies in WWII. He was not amused by the incident and took in seriously the progress made by Germany. The answer to such an attitudinal display is to prove otherwise, though difficult which he did and Sony is now a global brand thanks to science, technology and marketing.

Attitudes are all important and that is why the presence at BMICH on this occasion is important. You may not get the Crystal Palace experience yet the conversations and the relationships that could be cultivated can take you places. Remember President Kennedy wanted to get an American to the moon and it was a political ideology but was left to the scientists and engineers to achieve the task. If S&T did not respond, it would have been just another political statement. The key, however, is forging that link.

Need for our economy to be a knowledge hub

The political dice has been cast. The realisation awaits, which can only come from within and linking with S&T. Political masters need to pump in resources and support just as Kennedy did. The journey however is not to be done in isolation as knowledge created, developed, exchanged, and transformed must have an economic meaning and then only the acceptance of the achievement.

This is where the meeting of minds between the researcher and industrialists need to take place as researching alone cannot do this trick. BMICH was once a place where the non-aligned world met. Rudyard Kipling has stated that ‘East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet’ in his popular ballad. We believe that our industry and our research institutes do not meet much either!

In this era of peace and seeking prosperity, for the industry and public research institutes, there is no choice but to meet. The place at BMICH is also set for one-to-one meetings. ‘Show and Tell’ the partnering institutes will; the call is to come and listen and then partner! We may be doing this show, around 160 years after Paris and London, but it is our hope that Colombo TM 2011 will make a difference to the Sri Lankan industrial landscape.

(Professor Ajith de Alwis is Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. With an initial BSc Chemical engineering Honours degree from Moratuwa, he proceeded to the University of Cambridge for his PhD. He is a Science Team Leader at the Sri Lanka Nanotechnology Institute. He can be reached via email on [email protected].)