Under the microscope
Suvit Maesincee made good on his plan to live a life of science, and now he wants Thailand to do a better job of inspiring young minds.
S uvitMaesincee had dreams of becoming a scientist when he was young, and he feels his dream is now fulfilled after his appointment as science and technology minister under the current government. Mr Suvit groomed himself since childhood for the path he longed for. He won the science fair held by the Science Society of Thailand in junior high school and received the prize from the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
His science project was called “Single Cell Protein From Sulfite Waste Liquor”.
“I was very excited and extremely delighted and am still impressed nowadays,” says Mr Suvit, 57. “And when I became science and technology minister, I was fully aware that I was given an important opportunity for human resource development in science and technology.”
Mr Suvit was one of 18 cabinet member in the latest line-up announced by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government last November.
Mr Suvit says he feels fortunate to have been taught by a professor from the Science Faculty of Mahidol University since his junior high days, while his parents and other relatives encouraged him to pursue the path of science and supported his studies.
At home, the young man used his bedroom as a science lab; an unfortunate explosion during an experiment later caused him jaundice. An interest in medicine led him to study pharmacy at Mahidol.
Mr Suvit later shifted fields for his doctoral degree to business administration at the National Institute of Development Administration, where one of his key lecturers was Somkid Jatusripitak, now a deputy prime minister. It was Mr Somkid who offered an opportunity to meet Philip Kotler, the US marketing guru. The two Thai men later co-authored The Marketing of Nations: A Strategic Approach to Building National Wealth with Mr Kotler in 1997.
“Providing opportunities to children and people is very important,” Mr Suvit says, “thus once I became science and technology minister, I set out to create and offer opportunity and create inspiration for Thai children.”
Providing opportunities to children and people is very important. SUVIT MAESINCEE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MINISTER
According to Mr Suvit, inspiration is vital and the government will create inspiration to drive youth to fulfil their dreams. He says he’ll focus on using science for three missions: creating human resources, enhancing Thai competitiveness and reducing income disparity.
Some 70% of Thai students study social sciences, with just 30% in the hard sciences. The goal of the ministry is to inspire Thai students to study more science and technology.
“Human resource development to cope with the 21st century is a direct duty of the ministry to inspire a new generation to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),” Mr Suvit says. “The ministry has asked the government to allocate an additional 3.4 billion baht worth of budget from the 8 billion baht in fiscal 2017 that was left undisbursed to implement urgent projects to serve the three missions.”
HUMAN RESOURCES
Apart from the ministry-initiated Futurium, a science and technology learning centre, the ministry has asked cooperation from leading private companies such as Siam Cement Group, PTT and Thai Airways International to build their own museums and exhibition centres.
The ministry has also launched the Young Scientist Forum, which gathers thousands of scientists from the ministry and other agencies to serve as role models to inspire the new generation to study science.
The first forum was held on Jan 17.
The ministry also plans to initiate a forum for young scientists to meet directly with chief executives and well-known scientists, as well as facilitate contacts with science students from different schools to meet one another.
Another agenda item is organising more science contests among schools, promoting science teacher development and continuing existing projects such as the Prime Minister’s Youth Science Award and the Prime Minister’s Science Teacher Award.
The Science Expo will be organised in four regions of the country, aiming to attract 4-5 million students from a total of 13 million nationwide.
The ministry will also team up with private groups such as the Thailand Robot Society, foreign organisations and the embassies to organise events and scholarships related to STEM education.
The ministry plans to ask cabinet approval for budget to provide 200,000 Kid Bright boards for high schools nationwide.
The Kid Bright is a mechanical board with which students can learn how to control a robot and design or develop easy robots themselves.
The National Science and Technology Development Agency has developed Kid Bright boards for 500 baht each, which is cheaper than overseas equivalents that cost 660-5,200 baht each.
The Kid Bright board was presented to the cabinet on Jan 16, and Gen Prayut agreed that the government should set aside budget to distribute boards to high schools nationwide.
The ministry plans to use 940 million baht to run the first mission in 2018.
COMPETITIVENESS
The ministry has established the Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi), a science innovation park aimed at fostering innovation and joint R&D among the public sector, private companies, universities and local communities. The EECi also aims to commercialise research.
The Food Innopolis is a global food innovation hub focused on R&D and innovation in the food industry. The venue is fully equipped with qualified human resources and facilities to support food producers of every scale, be it local, regional or global, and has attracted 36 companies to set up R&D centres. More than 20 large companies and 60 small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to establish R&D centres this year.
The ministry also aims to build six Food Innopolis branches in the provinces, setting a lofty goal of creating 5,000 innovation-driven enterprises and startups.
Another significant development programme is dental service improvement. The ministry plans to spend 500 million baht for R&D in dental instruments.
The ministry will spend 800 million baht to set up the first national biobank to catalogue Thailand’s biodiversity of animals, plants and seeds. The industrial sector will be allowed to conduct R&D to increase the value of samples available at the national biobank.
Another key initiative is an innovation upgrade for Thai herbs during 2018-19 with a budget of 200 million baht.
INCOME DISPARITY
The ministry is initiating numerous projects to narrow income disparity, budgeting 909 million baht.
Under the mission, the ministry aims to help 878 One Tambon One Product makers in each district upgrade their innovation and establish innovation hubs in all regions, as well as establish food fabrication pilot plants.
According to Mr Suvit, the ministry is revising the development projects in fiscal 2018 to ensure greater efficiency. For fiscal 2018, the ministry has been awarded 18 billion baht from the state’s coffers, up from 14 billion baht in fiscal 2017.
“Working at the ministry to create opportunities for youth and Thai people to build technology and innovation is just another dream of mine,” Mr Suvit says. “There is also another dream that I still keep alive: driving Thailand to meet Thailand 4.0.”
Mr Suvit is one of the architects of the much-touted Thailand 4.0, the country’s national strategy focused on added value, high technology and innovation. He also plays a key role in implementing ongoing socioeconomic reforms.
Technology investments will concentrate on food, agriculture and biotechnology; health, wellness and biomedical sciences; smart devices, robotics and mechatronics; digital technologies, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and embedded technology; and creative, cultural and high-value services.
The emphasis will be on social infrastructure and creating an inclusive society based on a welfare system, according to Mr Suvit.
“The need for Thailand 4.0 arises because Thailand needs to avoid the middle-income trap and the inequality trap and correct the imbalance between humans and nature,” Mr Suvit says. “This can be achieved by creating inclusive green growth engines.”
Strategic thrusts under Thailand 4.0 will include connectivity (local, regional and global) and innovative community-driven enterprises. In the field of trade, Thailand seeks to emerge as a node with efforts to convert borders into bridges.
Mr Suvit also postulates four shifts: from a national to a global market, from trade regulation to trade facilitation, from value addition to value creation, and from trade in goods to trade in services.
The government has also set an ambitious plan to raise domestic spending on R&D, with Thailand partnering with leading global research institutes to bolster innovation.
Private companies will be urged to spend more on R&D, prodded by Board of Investment incentives.
Under the 20-year national plan, the government aims to raise R&D spending to an average 1% of GDP during 2017-21, 1.5% during 2022-26, 2% during 2027-31 and more than 2% during 2032-36.