Features | Sundayobserver.lk

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Dr. M.C.N. Jayasuriya - Director/ CEO, National Science Foundation	We are hoping for a hi-tech, sophisticated future for us and our next generation to live in. But how successful are we in achieving this dream? How are we faring in the field of science? Hence, ‘Face 2 Face’ is focusing on a scientific approach.	Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura Pix : Iresha Waduge
Our scientists are highly capable yet less in number There is no future development without research		We need to create a science culture in the country University research mostly based for promotions

1) How do you see the present state of the advancement of the science field?

A number of research is being done by a limited number of people. We have only a few scientists. We have a severe brain drain. Many scientists have gone abroad finding better employment and opportunities to expand their knowledge. National Science Foundation is set up in order to support the research in the country. Though there was a supported research culture in Sri Lanka the outcome was not felt by the people. The researches have produced results but these were not translated in a manner which a non-scientific person would be able to understand. Some of these researches have not been directed towards yielding an outcome. As a result now we have reoriented ourselves to developmental research; Researches that would give a developed result. We identify a theme that would be beneficial for the development and the country's priorities. And then get the scientists to achieve that goal.Hence, we will have answers in another few years, to the problems we are facing today.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

We had a good science culture from the beginning. We had Tea, Rubber Research Institutes and Agriculture Research Institutes as well. The Universities too conducted research programs. Then we have Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, particularly assigned to look into the advancement of the field. There are institutes for Chemistry, Physics and Biology which also contribute to the Scientific research field. But, recently we see many countries have taken a quick step forward.

Countries like India, China have taken huge steps in their science and technological cultures targeting to be technologically advanced countries. Hence, comparatively we are still lagging behind unable to go in line with the other countries.

The number of scientists is very much less. But they are highly capable and if they get the proper technology they will do wonders. In terms of funds, because money is important in research, our budget has been low in the past. NSF is a fully Government owned organization. The money has to come from the treasury. But in the recent past the money given to the NSF has increased. Although NSF has more money the overall budget allocation for research and development has not been increased so much in terms of GDP levels. The situation in India, Thailand is different. They allocate closer to 1% of their GDP levels when we are still at the very low level of around 0.1 % level. So the amount has increased but in terms of GDP levels it is not. Of course we do understand the constraints the Government faces but we need to develop. Absolutely there is no future without research. When funds are low there will be less facilities for researches.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Science and Technology, need to be largely State funded. Science provides solutions to many problems a country would face. Technology is the key element that changes countries from one another at present. Science has already solved many problems faced by Sri Lanka. Example: the health sector. Life expectancy in Sri Lanka is far higher than that of many countries, even that of India. We have totally eradicated neo-natal tetanus. We took these technologies from the west and applied them in a proper manner under a very efficient and effective network of Medical Officers. This technology reaches the rural poor very effectively. And lots of researches are carried out in the Agriculture field as there are many agro based research stations in Sri Lanka. The yield per hectare of many crops has increased tremendously. The present problem is that funding is less in the field. The main funding agency is the National Science Foundation and the money allocated to them is also reduced. In the Universities the equipment budgets are shared equally. Other faculties can buy computers and the science faculties have to buy the computers as well as other scientific equipment. So the money to buy hitech equipment is rather limited. In addition, we see that many good scientists migrate to other countries mainly due to economic problems.

3) How about awareness among the public on advancement of science?

Two problems apply. As a scientist I must sadly say scientists have not been trained to communicate with the public. Because we scientists know how to write a scientific paper and we publish it then we are very happy.But that should not be the way. Our Scientific language must be translated to simple language to be understood by an average person. This is where the NSF is putting hard work in trying to translate these scientific work into simple terms. Most of the time scientists are not Journalists and journalists are not scientists. If the message needs to be conveyed properly these two talents need to be joined. We have identified this as deficiency. We are trying all possible paths to create more awareness among the public by making it more simple and communicable. We have another basic problem at school level, the children are not taking into science. More and more children are moving away from science. People do not know how best these technological developments can be used in their day to day life. This has to be conveyed.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Very low, I think. There are no Science heroes in Sri Lanka. People do not know about scientists. They do not believe that many day to day problems can be solved with the help of science. True scientific facts need to be told to the public. We see many advertising and marketing strategies carried out in the media based on false scientific facts. These mislead the society. A normal person should be aware of the fundamental scientific facts if we are to stop these misconceptions. And to advance as a country there are lots of things available for us to develop. These should be communicated to the society. There are lots of results found in the science field that makes an average person's life easy, environment friendly etc.

That is the main problem. And lack of man power. At NSF we are very keen to develop the human resource in the science field. Increasing our qualified scientists is important. And this coupled with adequate funds will be the key to a thriving scientific field. I do not see why Sri Lanka cannot become a highly developed country in Science field.Our scientists are extremely capable. When they go to scientifically advanced countries they perform very well. But here their remuneration is very low. And this results in a severe brain drain to the country. Facility wise and recognition wise scientists are at a very low level in our country.If science has to come up the scientists need to be treated well and recognized well. So that they can be equal to their counterparts in other countries.And having just a degree wont make a scientist. Training to do research is needed to become a scientist. It is a completely different story. One need to learn to follow a discipline, a theory if one needs to become a scientist.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Truly speaking it is not the only reason. But Scientists tend to get employed in other different areas due to the financial constraints. In addition new blood is not coming to the field. New students are less interested about science. That is another problem we are facing. Many go into Management and other fields because of the availability of better opportunities in them.

We do not have a scientific culture in Sri Lanka. We do not have 'technocrats'. Specially in India these people advise the Government on policy matters. Local entrepreneurs have a low interest in the local scientific knowledge. They believe their solutions are with the foreign scientists. Even in the media, science is not a popular subject. If we are to become a developed nation we have to embrace science and technology.

Our scientists could contribute more. We could show a bit more commitment and dedication. But I don't blame them. The scientists do not have the facilities required in Sri Lanka. As I mentioned earlier our scientists are highly capable. Sometimes the salaries they get are not enough to look after their household needs. It is difficult for them to commit in such a backdrop. This is the difference between a Sri Lankan scientist and scientists abroad. A qualified scientist if he goes abroad will be able to earn 7000 - 8000 $ per month. That is the standard in those countries. So as I see, better remuneration is a must for scientists if the field is to be developed.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Sad to say university research mostly based for promotions. Even for such promotions, demanding international standard publications only promote subjects interested by the international community. This does not address the local requirement. Therefore, a scientist would only be catering to donors. What we need is a promotion system or a career development path that could tackle local problems. Scientists are to be partly blamed for not having an entity to commercialize such products. We cannot provide space technology to the private sector which we do not know. We have to develop local sciences. We are a rich country in terms of resources but poor in technology. Research is taking place but product development and commercializing is inadequate.

There was an Information Technology era, we did not get into the bandwagon. We lost it. Then came Biotechnology. Again we didn't get involved in that. And we lost that as well. Countries like Cuba, Malaysia, India got involved and achieved leaps and bounds but we lost these chances.We do not want to loose this time. This is the nanotechnology era. We are very keen to get involved. In many research organizations around the world, the management provide their scientists with many facilities in order to help them to focus on their research work. Assisting in doing their normal day to day household chaos, like taking children to school etc are taken care of. But we do not have such a culture. If there is change of environment I believe there will be better commitment. I think the Government has understood this fact very well. We feel it with certain changes and policies we come across. But the present situation of the country does not allow the development we want. I hope that we can soon get out of these problems and achieve a better tomorrow.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Not only us but as I see the entire region did not capture the true spirit of technological revolutions that took place in the world. That's why we became a developing nation. Knowledge economy is coming up as the new trend. What we need is new technologies like Information and Communication (ICT), nanotechnology, space and nuclear - these new trends need new investments. Our scientists also need to be guided on the lines necessary for the development.

Nowhere in the world scientific research institutes are profit-driven. For example ITI is charging huge amounts of money. So we see that the Government alone cannot continue. Some parts has to be given to the private sector. The Universities do not have a role in promoting science. The country should identify what are its goals. Government should be able to give a policy to the scientists based on the country's requirements.

The present era is that of nanotechnology. This is the field and this is where we must invest. Nanotechnology is still a developing field and because of that the gap between us and the world is becoming narrower. So it is easy for us to become equal. One of the achievements of NSF in adopting new technology can be sited in DNA finger printing. As I said earlier we are focusing on developmental research and if a researcher can find a path to develop it into industrial level we are willing even to assist in finding a business partner for the researcher. DNA finger printing is an example. This is a positive outcome which the people do not see.

Dr. Hiran Amarasekara - Senior Lecturer, Dept of Forestry,University of Sri Jayewardenepura

We have certain fields, such as the food sector, agriculture, if we combine local knowledge as well as foreign investments these will have a better future. Another innovative area is Alternative and Herbal medicine. One scientist thrived in this field, who was earlier in Industrial Technological Institute (ITI), by making products of international standard for simple cures. In Sri Jayawardanapura University scientists are trying to develop standards for 'Arishtas'. We are a biodiversity-rich country, so biotechnology can be a promising field of course, there are fields which we can develop ourselves.

Science yet to get due recognition

3) How about awareness among the public on advancement of science?