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COSTI, Google explore innovation, research here via new technology
View(s):The Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI) met the Google team to discuss how they could implement new technology to enhance innovation and research in the country.
“COSTI is mandated to activities in the Science and Technology spheres and also to ensure that a useful economic end result is obtained. The Google team was in the country after attending the Institute Policy Studies (IPS)-led event of the Asian Economic Summit. The visit was requested as Google is an innovation company and also a provider of platform technologies for managing data,” COSTI Project Director Prof Ajith de Alwis said.
He said that COSTI envisage understands importance of timely data in decision making and the current mechanisms which are manually driven have significant lapses in data quality, while another feature observed is that, almost always, timely up-to-date data is not available.
“Google was interested in the meeting to explore opportunities and for a discussion. IPS facilitated the meeting as COSTI and IPS are presently engaged with Science Technology Space field definitions. Hence it was mutually beneficial for all concerned to have this meeting.”
He said that a frequent question asked from them is what is happening with all the research conducted in the country. “The need for some coordination is obvious. Considering how skills and expertise, along with resources are distributed, what is evident is that, at times, this prevents the realisation of an economic end goal.”
Prof. Alwis said that researchers, who are mainly in universities, are under the Ministry of Higher Education. Research institutes are distributed under several line ministries. Industries and SME’s and Intellectual Property office is under the Ministry of Industry etc. It is obvious in the current context that across-the-board active engagement is not taking place. COSTI also explained its eCOSTI social media platform which is reaching out to the scattered but growing research and business community and to Google, which is in line with current development of public engagement.
Talking of the outcome of the meeting, he said that it is important in getting engaged and understanding possibilities, while the needs and the expertise available were discussed in some detail. COSTI’s concept of making a 10x change (1.5% high tech exports to be increased up to 15% in a short time period, rhymed well with Google’s own concept of 10x change makes a real contribution. “However the relationship needs building upon.”
COSTI hopes to mobilise and support economic development via the use of STI and maximising available opportunities via networking.
Director, Public Policy & Government Relations Google Asia Pacific Ptv. Ltd, Ann Lavin, Country Lead, Public Policy & Government Relations Asia Pacific, Mike Orgill, and Sri Lanka Country Consultant Contractor appointed by Google, Rohan Jayaweera were present at the meeting.
(AW)
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