Higher Education, Research and Innovation

as Key Drivers of Thailand 4.0

Suvit Maesincee
Minister of Science & Technology
 How digital 9 Major Shifts toward the Digital Economy (2001)
innovation changed
Asymmetry of Democratization of
the world Information Information

Goods for Elite Goods for Everyone

Make & Sell Sense & Respond

Local Economy Global Economy

Economics of Economics of
Diminishing Returns Increasing Returns

Owning Assets Gaining Access

Corporate Governance Market Governance

Mass Markets Markets of One

Marketing Moves: A New Approach to
Profits, Growth, and Renewal
Harvard Business School Press, 2001 Just-In-Time Real-Time 2
 How digital New 9 Major Shifts toward the Digital Economy (2018)
innovation is Centralized Hierarchical Structure Multilayered Poly-Centric Governance

changing Command & Control Communicative Coordination

the world today
Internalized/Proprietary Externalized/Open Source

M Society W Society

Sense & Response Caring & Sharing

Financial Capitalism Data Capitalism

Economic Growth Orientation Thriving in Balance

Representative Democracy Collaborative Democracy

Incremental Change Transformative Change

Suvit Maesincee, 2018 3
Examples of National Model in the 21th Century

• A Nation of Makers : USA

• Design in Innovation : United Kingdom
• Made in China 2025 : China
• Make in India : India
• Smart Nation : Singapore
• Creative Economy : South Korea
• Thailand 4.0 : Thailand

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The Circle of Future Setting
The Age of
The Age of Paradox The Age of
Extremity Disruption

Global “The Future cannot be Predicted

Challenges but Future can be Invented”

Dennis Gabor

Strategic Regulatory &

Transformation Policy Sandboxes

5
Regulatory & Policy Sandboxes
Future Lab
Counter-Disruptive
Change
Policy Lab
Regulatory
& Policy
Gov. Lab Adaptive
Sandbox
Change

Living Lab

Transformative
Social Lab Change
6
The Circle of GameChangers
Regulatory & New Development
Policy Sandboxes Paradigm

Global Strategic New Operating

Challenges Transformation Platform

The Circle of The Circle of

Future Setting GameChangers
7
Economic Growth as the Development Paradigm
The Age of
Extremity

Human Economic
Greed Growth Global
Challenges
The Age of The Age of
Paradox Disruption

8
The New Development Paradigm

Thriving in Balance

Economic Innovative Human Technology

Wealth Economy

Human Social Distributive Human Human

Wisdom Well-Beings Economy

Environmental Human Nature

Regenerative
Wellness Economy
9
Innovative Economy: Roadmap to Prosperity
Focus on Financial Focus on Talent
& Physical Capital & Technology Prosperity

• Enhancement of Science Literacy, Digital Skill

Literacy, Information Literacy, and Media Literacy
• Heavy Investment in Science & Technology,
R&D
• Research & Innovation Cluster Development
• Incubation of Technology, Design, and Creativity
Entrepreneurs
• Innovation-Driven Enterprises Development
• Skill Development for the Future
• Ease of Doing Innovation Business Management of Digital Platforms
• Etc.

10
Distributive Economy: Roadmap to Stability
Concentration of Distribution of
Wealth & Opportunities Wealth & Opportunities
Stability

• Immunization for the Bottom 40% of Income Distribution

• Negative Income Taxes for Low-Income People
• Modernization of Agricultural Sector
• Educational Quality Improvement
• Re-Skilling, Up-Skilling & Multiple-Skilling
• Start-ups and SMEs Promotion
• Social Enterprises Promotion
• Regional & Provincial Development Strategies
• Formation and Distribution of Innovation Hubs
• Local Economy Development
• Public-Private Collaboration
• Etc.
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Regenerative Economy: Roadmap to Sustainability

Unplanned Utilization Well-planned Conservation & Sustainability

of Natural Resources Utilization of Natural Resources

• Disaster Risk Management

• Smart City and Livable City
• Non-Carbon Based Society
• Environmental-friendly and Clean Technology
Business & Production
• Paradigm Shift from ‘Cost Advantage’ to ‘Loss Advantage’
• Being “Doing Good, Doing Well” Organizations
• Etc.

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Building a “Caring & Sharing” Society

M-Society W-Society

• Rational Economic Men • Socially Responsible Men

• Ego-Centric (Self) • Eco-Centric (SELF)

• Nature as Resource • Nature as Source

• People for Growth • Growth for People

• Making Things • Making Skills

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Building a “Caring & Sharing” Society

M-Society W-Society

Human Brain Shared Brains

Power of Knowledge Power of Shared Knowledge

Producing Matters Producing Meanings

14
The New Operating Platform

Technological Physical Dual

Civilization Civilization
Revolution
Social System Socio-Technical System
The Rate of
Accelerating Return Physical Humanity Digital Humanity

Human Physical System Cyber-Physical System

Revolution

We are ending a 4 billion years-old hegemony of “Darwinian Evolution”

15
Cyber-Physical System
Execution Data Collection
by Machines by Sensors
& Robots & Devices
Physical Materialization
Market
Place by 4D printers Place

Cyber Integration via Market

VR & AR
Space Space
Analysis Accumulation
by AI, etc. as Big Data
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Source: Society 5.0
The Dual Operating Model
Minds Machines
Socio-Technical System

Products Platforms
Digital Humanity

Cyber-Physical System Core Crowd

17
Source: Andrew McAfee, Erik Brynjolfsson
The Circle of Innovative Capacity

Regulatory & Balanced High Skilled

Policy Sandboxes Development Paradigm Talents

Strategic Dual Operating Research

Global
Transformation Platform & Innovation
Challenges

Circle of Circle of Circle of

Future Setting GameChangers Innovative Capacity

18
 High Skilled Talents
Novel & New Media
Adaptive Learning Literacy
Minds Machines
Design
Cognitive Load Mindset
Management
Products Platforms New
Skillset Social
Computational Intelligence
Thinking

Core Crowd ns-

Trans Cross Cultural
Disciplinary Competency
Virtual
Collaboration
Source: Andrew McAfee, Erik Brynjolfsson/ TIME : The Future of Work
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Turning Head, Hand & Heart On
Heart

On Deep
Learning

Shallow Head
Learning On

On

Hand
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4 Traps of Thai Universities
Trap Detail Solution
• Overprotected
1. Comfort Zone Trap • Contestable Market
• No accountability for quality of graduates
• No burden for bankruptcy • Performance-based Budgeting/Incentive

• Only focus on being Comprehensive U. • Different mission for each university

2. Commoditization Trap • Indifference among universities • Different set of KPI for each university
• Wrong social values of higher education, focusing
more on degree than useful knowledge & skill
• National Brain Power Planning
3. Mismatch Trap (Form over Substance)
• Matching Talent Demand &
• Producing graduates based on wrong social values
• Focusing more on teaching than researching Supply
because of income generating issue
• Decrease of Enrollment because of ageing
society, leading to an oversupply of universities
Major Universities’
4. Irrelevance Trap • Low quality and mismatch graduates for driving
the country in the 21st century Strategic Transformation
• Old-fashioned management, High bureaucratic
system 21
Paradigm Shift on Education for Driving the Country in the 21st Century
• Focus on academic program development/ • Focus on career development/
Teacher-Centric (Supply Side) Student-Centric (Demand Side)

• Focus on completing academic program/ • Focus on fulfilling necessary knowledge and

Education based on program requirement skills/Education based on individual requirement
(Mass Education) (Personalized Education)

• Cognitive-based learning • Experience-based learning

• Learning in a classroom/school/system • Learning outside a classroom/school/system

• Focus on only Age Group 5-22 • Lifelong learning (especially reskilling,

upskilling, multiskilling current workforce
and recycling retired workforce)
• Focus on diploma/degree program • Focus on non-diploma/non-degree program
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 Partners:

• Founded in 2008 by Silicon Valley think tank to offer

educational programs and a business incubator
• Apply scientific progress and exponential technologies
to address humanity’s grand challenges (impact at
least “1 Billions Lives”).
• Accepted students learn about new technologies, and
work together over the summer to start social
enterprises.
A.I., Robotics, Biotech,
Manufacturing, Computation,
Synthetic Biology, Digital Medicine
23
BERD achieved target at 70%
of GERD in

24
% Growth = 39%

25
 Business expenditure on R&D

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10 Challenges of Thailand Research & Innovation
• R&I Topics from Supply-side
(Researcher-Centric)
• Research for Publication
• Fragmented Research Topics
• Something in Everything
• Disintegration and Redundancy
• Government-Driven R&I
• Lack of R&I Policy, Strategic Direction,
Strategic Intent
• Technology Dependency
• Yearly-based Research Budgeting
• Unbalanced & Unlinked in Research
among Science, Social Science, and
Humanity
• R&I Topics from Demand-side
(Country/Private/Community Centric)
• Research for Innovation
• Integrated Research Agenda
• Everything in Something
• Creating R&I Network Systemically
• PPP-Driven R&I (Private, Community,
Government, University, Research Institute)
• Clear R&I Policy with Strategic Direction/Strategic
Intent
• Technology Interdependency
• Block-grant/Multiple-year Research Budgeting
• Balanced & Linked in Research among Science,
Social Science, and Humanity
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 = Outcome Earth Bold Short-Term (0-3 Yrs)
Science Regular Mid-Term (3-7 Yrs ++)
= Research Area (Possible White Long-Term (>7 Yrs)
Research Center) Radio Astronomy Fusion & Synthetic
Plasma Biology Pilot
= Infrastructure Facility Biofuel plant
Tech
Satellite Tech Synchrotron
Facility
Digital Smart
Zero
Internet Grid Bio
Science Security Waste Society GLP
Of Things Materials
& Defense
Map-Informatics
Animal Lab Bio
(Agri/Hydro/Poverty) Science
Internet Of Smart Microbiome
Value Tech City Plant
Smart Living & Smart Bioresources Factory
Life Analytics Farming Study
Biobank

Smart SME DNA

Precision
TransOMIC Origami
AI & Machine Sensing Agriculture
technologies
Learning Technology
New Drug
Neuro Discovery
Cell Atlas
science Gene Editing
Quantum
Computing Computing &
Data Facility Medical Single Cell
Precision
Robotics Technology
Devices Medicine Targeted
(Industrial/
Drug Delivery
Service)
Industry
5.0 Predictive Gene therapy
Genomics Artificial
Organ In-Body
Smart Hospital Nano
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Materials Nano
Encapsulation
materials
Ease of Doing Innovation Business
• National Quality Infrastructure
• Innovation Lists
• Research Procurement
• B/D Act
• Regulatory & Technical Sandboxes
• IP Management System
• Start-Up Business Act

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Are We Ready to Change Thailand?

Regulatory & Policy Balanced High Skilled

Sandboxes Development Paradigm Talents

Circle of Circle of Circle of

Future Setting GameChangers Innovative Capacity
Global Strategic Dual Operating Research &
Challenges Transformation Platform Innovation

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 Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
Guiding Principle

1. Transformation Strategic Orientation Structure Governance Culture & Mechanism

2. Empowerment Change to Innovation Economy Prepare Thai people for 21st Century

3. Building Foundation for Future Future Setting Game Changing Innovative Capacity Building

4. Autonomy with Accountability Strategic Agenda Performance-based Budget Superboard

5. Flow and Collaborative Networks Flexible Talent Mobility Cross-sector Collaboration

6. Public Organization Structure Quasi-Government Agency Research Service Infrastructure

7. Power to Lead Policy & Funding Research Institutes Universities

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Guiding Principles for
Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation

1. Transformation
Not just combining parts of ministries but reforming the structures and collaborative
mechanism
2. Empowerment
The new minister’s objectives are
1) Preparing Thailand for innovation-driven economy and empowering research and
development in other organizations.
2) Preparing Thais for the 21st century by adjusting new mindset and skillset for the
future.

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Guiding Principles for
Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
3. Building Capacity for the Future
Missions
1) Future Setting: Laying a foundation for the future
2) Game Changing: New platform for Thailand 4.0
3) Innovative Capacity Building: Cultivating knowledge, the most powerful tool
for shaping the future of our nation
4. Autonomy with Accountability
1) Support autonomy but with governance
2) Full-time commissions and directing through Performance-based Budgeting
3) “Superboard” with the prime minister as the chairman and 4-5 related
ministers as board members

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Guiding Principles for
Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation

5. Flow and Collaborative Networks

Facilitate flows of researchers and professors within the minister for cross-functioning
collaborations

6. Public Organization Structure

NISTI structured as Public Organization (P.O.) with different KPIs as each units may play
different roles

7. Power to Lead
- Combine funding agencies to synergize the power to push forward national-level agenda
with 3-5 years block grant
- Orchestrate the research and development efforts through funding integration
- Annual Budget to cover basic function only
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