SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION KEY TO DEVELOPMENT

The Government will increase research grant to between Sh 400 million and Sh 500 million in the next financial year, Prof Hellen Sambili, Minister for Higher Education Science and Technology (MoHEST) has said.

So far the MOHEST grant has funded 318 research and innovation projects. The grant supports postgraduate research in local universities at both masters and doctorate levels. To encourage young women scientist and researchers, the grant has dedicated a specified portion for women, she said.

The ministry is encouraged by the fact that some of the beneficiaries of the funds have been able to translate their ideas, innovations and research into market products, like the car tracker by Morris Beta that was launched into the market during the closing ceremony of the 4th national conference on dissemination of research results and exhibition of innovation at KICC.

Prof Sambili said they have mooted a Bill to upgrade the National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) into a commission. NCST is currently responsible for the allocation of the grants to applicants .

Through the Science, Technology and Innovation Bill a National Research Foundation will be established to source and coordinate funding for science, technology and innovation as well as establish the National Innovation Agency to coordinate and support innovation and commercialization of research results and the strengthening the partnerships and collaboration between government, universities and research institutes, innovators and the private sector.

Prof Cyprus Kiamba, permanent secretary, MoHEST said research grant should not exclude anybody, even school dropouts, so long as one has an idea invent and create. He said the teaching of mathematics and sciences should be fortified from formative years of primary and secondary schools because they are the bedrock of science, technology and innovation.

Deputy Chief (Minister) of the Embassy of Japan, Yoichiro Yamada, said with scientific knowledge, better paths to development could be pursued. “Developing human skills, and in particular, advancement of science and technology, is the key to national development.”

Prof Shaukat Abdulrazak, secretary and CEO, NCST said “we recognize that the future prosperity of Kenya is the knowledge economy, value addition.

Prof Abdulrazak said the absence of National Research Policy and low funding for science, technology and technology and research and development which is less than 0.5 percent of GDP is challenge. The low reseach and development is reflected in low publication and the 42 patents that have been registered over the past 20 years.

According to the UNESCO Science Report 2010 Kenya produced only 6.6 percent of scientific publications in the sub-Saharan Africa compared to 46.4 percentage and 11.4 percent of South Africa and of Nigeria respectively.

The NCST chief said there is an urgent need to invest in the development and commercialization of science, technology and innovation products and services as well as tapping indigenous knowledge.

The assistant minister of MoHEST, Hasman Kamama who officiated the closing ceremony of the conference and the launching of the NCST strategic plan of 2009 to 2013 said it is recognized that science and technology infrastructure is quite important for productivity growth. In advanced economies, science and technology becomes the source of new ideas that drive the frontier of knowledge outward. Kenya, being a developing nation will use the science, technology and innovation to improve its absorptive capacity needed to draw on the knowledge others others have already generated, thus catching up.

Kamama said the need of technically qualified personnel and professionals science, engineering, technology and research should be responded to by government allocation of funds.

Dr. Christoph Hansert, Director DAAD, who gave the key note address during the launch said the increasing number of undergraduate students in Kenyan universities should be answered by producing enough qualified lectures for the quality education to be improved and sustained.

Hansert, whose country, German, has been giving 75 PhD scholarships every year to kenyans said Kenya has been producing 200 PhD instead of 1,000. He challenged the ministry to fortify their capacity to produce more PhDs with higher competency in carrying out research for evidence based policies for the realization of Vision 2030.