Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), A ddis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 The contributions of existing and emerging technologies to the industrialization of developing countries Benjamin Lamptey, PhD (Meteorologist) Regional maritime University, Accra Ghana [email protected]
22
Embed
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The contributions of existing and emerging.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
The contributions of existing and emerging technologies to
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Some Technology efforts (I)
• University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (USA) Africa Initiative Radar network in West Africa (http://www.africa.ucar.edu)– Issue: Does the capacity exist in the Met
Services to use and maintain these radars? How can the capacity issue be addressed in a sustainable way? African governments must be ready to offer support
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Some Technology efforts (II)
• AfricaArray refers to scientists working on arrays of continent-wide linked projects; arrays of shared training programmes and observational networks; and above all, a common vision that Africa will build and retain capacity in an array of technical and scientific fields (http://www.africaarray.psu.edu/)
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Some Technology efforts (III)• Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT - High
Performance Computing Infrastructure meant for West Africa– Issues: Are scientists within the region making
maximum use of this facility; How can the facility be improved?
• GPS network in Ghana– Pilot phase (5) : – Next phase - whole country– Issues: Mainly to be used by cartographers (e.g. from
Land Survey Department); Does the meteorologist in Ghana Meteorological Agency even know they can benefit from observations such as IWV?
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Effective Use of Technology
• Lesson: Implementing technology for technology sake without regard to how the technology will be used, has failed!!!
• By using technology effectively, it is possible to do more with less resources and compete in a larger playing field
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Key Issues
• What are the existing technologies?• How effective are we using the existing
• How do we improve and sustain capacity (both human and infrastructural) for existing technologies?
• How appropriate are emerging technologies?• Do we have the capacity (both human and
infrastructural) for emerging technologies?
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
The way forward (I)
• Need to assess technology needs (current and future) of business, institution, etc– Research Existing and Future Conditions– Establish General Direction - Vision– Conduct Needs Assessment
• Foster stronger links between Academia and Industry at the national and continental levels– Both academia and industry must agree on
appropriateness of emerging technologies– Academia to train students for the current and future
technological trends in industry
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
The way forward (II)
• Organize very focused periodic workshops that bring together experts from academia and Industry at the national level; For example – Mathematical Problems in Industry (MPI):MPI is a
problem solving workshop that attracts leading applied mathematicians and scientists from universities, industry, and national laboratories. During the workshop, engineers and scientists from industry interact with the academic participants on problems of interest to their companies
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
The way forward (III)
• Have a structure to facilitate transition from existing to emerging technologies and to train the next generation - linkage with academia
• Have a structure to promote private sector involvement. E.g. tax relief policy
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
The way forward (IV)
• Identify which industry could be a “starter” industry– The textile industry was the first to be
highly mechanized in England– The textile industry remains “starter” in
Indonesia– The Palm Oil industry was the “starter” in
Malaysia– ICT was the “starter” in India
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Conclusion
• The contribution of technology to industrialization is enormous if used effectively
• For a particular institution, the contribution can be quantified in monetary terms if say the income status before and after the introduction of a particular technology are compared
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Thank you for your attention
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Conducting Needs Assessment (I)
• Tech needs assessment is more effective when the analysis is based on business goals and available resources– Available resources:
• Existing hardware and software• capacity to acquire funds for infrastructure building to
provide on-going professional development programs for those that will be using the new technology
• A needs assessment may occur at various levels of the organizational structure. A decision should be made, based on goals and resources
Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011
Conducting Needs Assessment (II)
• A decision should be made, based on goals and resources, as to the extent to which technology will be infused into the daily operations of the business