The framework for science research and innovation will be at the centre of Thailand's push to achieve the status of a high-income country in the next 12 years, says Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Yodchanan Wongsawat.
He was speaking on Wednesday during the launch of a public hearing on the draft of a framework for science research and innovation, organised by the Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI).
The ministry, he said, serves as the backbone of government policies to increase the efficiency of science, technology and innovation, and respond to new challenges and fast-shifting technology.
He said the government invests around 20 billion baht per year in technology and innovation development. Unfortunately, that's not enough to drive the country toward achieving high-income status within the next 12 years.
For this, the government would need to invest approximately 50–100 billion baht annually, which appears to be unrealistic. However, achieving this target may still be possible if the government can attract investment from global sponsors and partners to support Thailand's development.
"Semiconductor will be the fundamental component of all industries in the future," said Mr Yodchanan.
"Our country possesses skills in chip production, however, we trail behind compared to overseas technology ... which is why we need to attract investment from global companies to create economic opportunity and technology transfer to advance our human resource."
Research can be targeted to fit the needs of private firms so that a joint product development project can be set up to bring results from laboratory directly to the market, he suggested.
The TSRI's public hearing aims to gather feedback from stakeholders on its five-year plan for 2028–2032.
