The opening ceremony of Science Technology and Innovation Policy Design Training Program Year 5 (STIP05) was held on 31 January 2023 at KX Building. STIP05 is a collaborative effort of NXPO and the Science Technology and Innovation Policy Institute (STIPI) of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), aiming to build Thailand’s capability in STI policy development and create a policy network whereby people can come together to drive policies essential for the national development.
The ceremony was attended by several guests of honor, including Prof. Dr. Yongyuth Yuthavong, former Deputy Prime Minister and former S&T Minister; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sakarindr Bhumiratana, Advisor to KMUTT President; Dr. Krissanapong Kirtikara, former Deputy Minister of Education; and Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, former Minister of Digital Economy and Society. Apart from underscoring the importance of evidence-based policy study and design, guests of honor also raised a few imminent issues that should be considered in the policy design process, including Thailand’s entering an aging society and the connection between the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) national agenda and the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) concept to drive sustainable business growth.
In his opening remarks, KMUTT President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suvit Saetia said that world leaders have pointed out the potential of STI in driving sustainable growth, promoting people’s well-being, and reducing income gap. As some policies and milestones have already been defined, the remaining challenge for Thailand is the deployment. A well-connected network of people from various departments and ministries established in this course will be instrumental in this policy deployment process to achieve desirable outcomes.
In his opening statement, NXPO President Dr. Kitipong Promwong remarked that an important element of policy design and implementation is people, and this course aims to create an ecosystem to bring together people from different organizations to form a collaborative network to drive the policy to the success. From this program, participants will gain: 1) concept and fundamental knowledge of policy design process, 2) wisdom from industry experts, and 3) professional network.
Dr. Kitipong also gave a lecture on overcoming STI challenges. His talk focused on an attempt to bring Thailand out of the middle-income trap (MIT). To escape from MIT, the per capita gross national product needs to rise from the current USD 7,000 to above USD 12,000. The strategy is to strengthen innovation system. Issues that NXPO is working on to drive the national development with higher education and STI include: 1) development of innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs) and creative economy based on cultural capital, 2) social mobility of grassroots people, 3) zero emissions and water resource management to achieve 10-million-ton CO2 emission reduction, and 4) reinventing higher education system and frontier research.
STIP05 has 52 participants from 21 organizations. The course is held in a hybrid format – a mix of onsite and online instruction. The online platform STIPIAcademy.com allows participants to watch VDO lessons, download class documents, turn in assignments, view feedbacks and submit suggestions.
