By Eugene Sebastian Governments in Asia are spending big on science, technology and innovation to drive their economies. These governments also recognise that investing in system reforms alone is not enough. Spending on having programmes that help strengthen links is also important. Can closer international scientific ties help strengthen international links? The Royal Society in…
Category: Economies
How science, research and innovation can drive economic growth and development.
China’s Education Gap
An article that recently appeared in the New York Times identifying the gap in China’s phenomenal education expansion. By Helen Gao BEIJING — Every September, the campuses of Peking and Tsinghua Universities, dubbed the Harvard and M.I.T. of China, brim with bright-eyed new students, the winners of China’s cutthroat education system. These young men and women…
Saudi’s push towards an innovation economy
By Mohamed Imam Salem, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is pushing to diversify its economy beyond natural resource. Transitioning towards a knowledge-based economy is its optimal development strategy. In pursuing this strategy, the Kingdom is focusing on science and technology. As the technological requirements of the global…
Indonesia’s innovation challenge
By Siwage Dharma Negara The 2014 Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks Indonesia 87th out of 143 countries in terms of innovation capability. In this aspect, Indonesia still lags behind several of its ASEAN neighbors, such as Singapore (7), Malaysia (33), Thailand (48), and Vietnam (71). Indonesia’s ranking is only better than Brunei Darussalam (88), the Philippines…
Unleashing the power of innovation
By Andrew Moody Is China about to lead the world as an innovator again? The world’s second-largest economy invented gunpowder, the compass, printing and papermaking, but has fallen behind not just in recent decades but for most of the last two centuries. After reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, China became the workshop of the…
China needs a culture of creative innovation
By Timothy Beardson Here are several tools by which we can measure the level of innovation in a country. In China there is often a focus on numbers of patents, university graduates and scientific papers. The authorities have set quantitative targets for patents as a measure of innovation, and the number granted has subsequently increased. However, a…
The new science of diplomacy?
How do you increase resources in tough financial times? One answer is to look overseas. UK research is looking to dynamic emerging economies in Asia and Latin America where spending on science and innovation is growing fast. Even the UK government sees science and innovation as an emerging business opportunity in its international engagement. According to…
China Wants Fewer College Grads, More Skilled Workers. Sound Familiar?
By Dexter Roberts The U.S. and China differ in many ways. But when it comes to education, there’s one striking similarity. In both countries a mismatch exists between what young people learn and the skills employers need. Just as in the U.S., China’s university graduates—some 7 million each year—are struggling to find jobs. Now China has…
Asia-Pacific Analysis: Bridging the ASEAN research gap
By Crispin Maslog Member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), home to some 600 million people, expect to enter 2015 riding on the waves of strong economic growth and a burgeoning middle class. This development coincides with the launch of the integrated ASEAN Economic Community next year. However, some South-East Asian economies…
Twitter on the rise in Asia
In five years’ time, more than 40 per cent of Twitter users will be in Asia Pacific, according to a new report by research firm eMarketer. Slowing user growth in the United States has been a growing concern for Twitter ever since it went public late last year. It is also a major reason why…
How American Universities Turned Into Corporations
By Andrew Rossi – 22 May 2014 A profitable student loan market has fuelled an arms race among colleges and universities, along with an astronomic rise in tuition fees that seeks to capture the student loan dollar through increasing fees. College graduation season is here, and that means students should be celebrating their hard-earned educations….
4 Countries that are leaving Silicon Valley in their tracks
By Vivian Giang Every few months there seems to be another region somewhere in the world that claims to be the next Silicon Valley. Sometimes the new high-tech hub is hyped up, but other times, it’s evident that there’s something special brewing. These countries have digitized governments that will put our Healthcare.gov problems to…
Science in the time of elections
Science and Technology may not form part of the daily vitriol that is spewed in election speeches, but scientists need not despair By Pallava Bagla In the science section of their manifestoes, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) draws inspiration from an Islamic scholar, the Congress has almost forgotten about Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘modern temples’ and the Aam…
The ‘Asianisation’ Of Global Innovation
By Dr. Dan Steinbock Since the 1950s, the United States and the West have set the standards for prosperity, productivity and innovation. But the share of Asia in global R&D is climbing; and based on recent statistics,the region could soon displace the West as the global R&D driver. Global innovation is shifting toward Asia and…
Special Report: Indonesia’s graftbusters battle the establishment
A good article offering some insights into Indonesia’s battle against corruption by Kanupriya Kappro and Randy Fabi that appeared in the recent Chicago Tribune. Authours: Kanupriya Kapoor and Randy Fabi Indonesia’s Inspector General of Police had just withstood eight hours of interrogation on the night of October 5, last year at the Jakarta headquarters of…
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