Call for economic master plan
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What is the world coming to by 2010?
If the answer is "I don't know" then all of us will be in trouble. We will need good personal or government planning to progress competitively in new areas of jobs or economic growth in future.
Existing government approaches : leadership, emphasising on a few people at the helm doing things quietly on ad hoc, basis.
There is no serious planning. Even if there are, there is no involvement or interactions of such plans with citizens or businesses.
Today, open and accountable researches and planning institutes are planning out new areas of growths and challenges but in our case, we keep talking.
So we will lag behind due to lack of knowledge or practical knowledge in which areas of growths or potential new growth areas to get industries to upgrade and advance to.
Citizens themselves should be prepared to make their own progress instead of just listening to government or leaders to avoid disappointments due to random and uncertain past approaches. We also cannot take full advantages of business hubs we know of and the businesses are creating.
An Economic Master Plan will provide for awareness to prepare ourselves, the students, investors to plan relevant adjustments and shifts to new areas of growths. We can use it to understand how the universities conduct researches, new teaching methods, prepare students to go into new advanced technological areas and get them to work for those industries and companies charting new growths. The good students will then be prepared in advance to serve finally as CEOs/COOs of the new or charted industries such as the following:-
(1) Petro-chemical industries will churn out new products
(2) Micro-electronics will continue to miniaturize equipment and gadgets.
(3) Bio-medical cures, medical transplants, and automated laboratories
(4) New IT and telecommunication softwares and hardwares
(5) Office administration fully computerized
(6) Management of businesses e-based, automated and processable.
(7) Works processes fully integrated by IT/interfaces.
(Cool Home automation by TV, slim and lighter computers, robotic and gadgets
(9) Work/home interfaces e.g. hand-phones/laptops create mobile works.
The list is not exhaustive. I am waiting to improve it further. What are your views? Any modifications or new items to include?
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Our government has a very impressive and agressive plan for One-North, 4 years had gone, and only Biopolis is up so far.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/18/BUGAI66EEK1.DTL
$300m spent on Biopolis, and where are the jobs?
According to Zaobao, http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp050428_509.html, at present our photonic (flat panel display, optoelectronics, optical storage ..) industry currently lagged Taiwan and South Korea by 5 years, in couple of years (wei lai ji nian), we will be able to catch up with them......
Are we too optimistic? At present we had only AFPD in Tampines, and that's was the one and only flat panel display plant we had in Singapore.
And there is another report in Business Times, http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/bizit/story/0,4574,153639,00.html, it claims Singapore is well suited to support regional fabs, and to act as a wafer fab hub for the Asia Pacific region.
My ex-employer (not Chartered) has to resort to China to look for experienced engineers, and Chartered itself too go to China to look for engineers. Perhaps I am a pessimist, I do not think that would happen, worst we are fast losing our competitive edge against the Chinese fabs.
My ex-employer had ever claimed that it will take China 20 years for the Chinese to set up fabs of similar scale and stability, my Chinese colleagues would only giggle at his comments.
We even have contract Chinese engineers (2 to be exact recruited in China) went (secretly) back to China. They are not attracted by the high salary here. On the other hand, they feel that their standard of living in Shanghai were not as bad. Despite earning 3000RMB monthly in China, they are enjoying a fairly comfortable lifestyle.
Have you ever wondered why Chartered still bleeding? Whilst TSMC and UMC still profitting? TSMC and UMC are leaders in the foundry industry, Chartered is just a follower!
We need to be leaders in leading industry and not as follower in a leading industry. -
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Anyone can advise me on how the 2 keys (hold by president) work in securing our reserves?
Are the keys able to shield us sufficiently from Enron fall (Auditors Anderson sleep in their jobs). -
More ideas are welcome !!! Now people should deliberate and put up their own economic master plan and later have it presented to the authority.
Please carry out brainstorming here. When enough ideas are collected one of you may summarise or take it up to the government as they are now running out of ideas how to catch up with technological advances.
They are so many legal, commerce and other generalists among the leaders who do not and cannot understand how technologies play the most important role in shaping our future competitiveness. -
Hello all forumers,
To those who are or know the people working in new product developments or investment planning in petrochemical, IT software and hardware, Oceanology, space manufacturing, plasma technology, new generation computers and chips, Bio-tech or Bio-medical, clinical automation, home automation, 3/4 G hand-phone, new laptop capabilities etc, I hope you will do your part by discussing or posting here.
Rome is not built in one day. So if all want to build a new economy or prepare ourselves more competitively as a worker it is in our personal interest to speak up and share our ideas here. I encourage humbleness even if we have knowledge so that the whole new economic master plan will incrementally be built up by our forumers. -
any one you here holding a senior management position or running a business?
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If they have run out of ideas, why are they still paying themselves millions for having done a bad job. Are they not supermen and such great talents? They have to remake themselves first before expecting others to do so.Originally posted by robertteh:More ideas are welcome !!! Now people should deliberate and put up their own economic master plan and later have it presented to the authority.
Please carry out brainstorming here. When enough ideas are collected one of you may summarise or take it up to the government as they are now running out of ideas how to catch up with technological advances.
They are so many legal, commerce and other generalists among the leaders who do not and cannot understand how technologies play the most important role in shaping our future competitiveness. -
Leaders' own forecasts of talents or leadership abilities are not supported by results or actual implementations. The controlled media wil continue to cover their presentations and justificaitons probably till the next serious downturns.Originally posted by j6sus:If they have run out of ideas, why are they still paying themselves millions for having done a bad job. Are they not supermen and such great talents? They have to remake themselves first before expecting others to do so.
"Kuan yu lian ker koa" (Chinese character "government or official" has two mouths (double talk). -
Top 20 Singapore Corporates - Asia Magazine (Chinese edition)
http://www.yzzk.com/htm/events/2004_1000/content.cfm?Path=01sing20.htm
Top 20 Taiwanese Corporates - Asia Magazine (Chinese edition)
http://www.yzzk.com/htm/events/2004_1000/content.cfm?Path=01tai20.htm
Why Taiwan Matters - Businese Week
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_20/b3933011.htm
It saddens me that only a handful of the top 20 Singapore Corporates are truly owned by Singapoeans. Do you associate STM, HP, Infineon, Samsung Asia and BP Singapore as Singapore Corporates?
On the other hand, the top 20 Taiwanese Corporates spell the strength of Taiwanese manufacturing in the digital arena.But Taiwan's advantage goes way beyond cheap labor. The island combines an entrepreneurial culture with effective government involvement.
Q: Lots of people are worrying about the Taiwanese economy hollowing out as manufacturing jobs disappear.
Hollowing out of intangible things is really critical. How much of such intangible things do we have had???
A: Hollowing out -- [the process] starts from Japan, it's their terminology. I try to convince the Taiwan general public that the hollowing out of low-value-added activity is not a critical concern. Hollowing out the future higher-value-added activity is the concern, and those areas are more intangible. Hollowing out of tangible things is not critical. Hollowing out of intangible things is really critical. But this kind of message is not easy to communicate and appreciated by the general public.
What are the truly Singapore Companies you are proud of ??? Chartered? Creative? Hyflux? -
The plight of the assistant deputy director who ends up to be a cleaner saddens me. Age had caught up on him, and fortunately his mindset didn't failed him, he is taking MBA.
A positive mindset and altitude matters always. He articulates well, he is positive, he got management experience, he got overseas exposure, he is billingual, he drives, he is independent, he doesn't seem someone who would have problem in seeking a more decent job.
I am not discriminating a cleaner job.
I have a friend, who at the age of 40, realizes that he need to 'upgrade' to stay competitive, and enrol himself into a part time SGD35K electrical degree course. Despite jobless for a year, he willingly fork up the monies to 'upgrade' himself. Would he be granted a job when he graduate?
Even a fresh graduate from school of lifescience still yet to secure a job after a year.
from Today
A graduate with a degree in the life sciences, Lim still has not found a job one year and 200 applications later. He identifies three problems for fresh graduates out in the job market today.
One must not deny the power of media, 'upgrade' probably appears more often in recent years. One needs to certify to be a cleaner, one needs to have a forklift license to be a warehouse assistant, one needs to pass IPPT to be a security guard, one needs to attend classes to be rewarded a 'taxi license', a spa therapist......
It's really a long hard paper chase in Singapore.
Are we competitive in this globalised arena? Are those papers allow us to stay more competitive? Knowledge is indeed power, a critical, analytical and the ability to pass judgement and to think to me are far more important.
Do we have critical, analytical, judgemental mindset, that enable us to compete?
If my friend possesses an analytical mindset, he might think twice before forking out $35k for an electronics degree. If my friend is critical, he might pass the 'upgrading', as money rolling businesses for some institutions.
Henry Ford on people management once said: "when he needed is simply a pair of hand, however it always come along with a big brain". Is our society truly welcome knowledge workers? Or do our 'top people' simply think like Henry Ford? Do we have an environment to groom knowledge workers?
Our stock market was crazy the last couples of days, it went bull for straight 6 days, it reminded me of the internet bubbles in the 97~98.
Is our economy really getting better?
What makes Chartered Shares an attractive buy? People buying Creative shares on heresays rumours, even analysts say now is the right time to 'go in'.... It only reminds me of Richdad prophecy.
Singapore has probably bowed out from the electronics and semiconductors. When is the last FDI?
We are generous in handling out millions to scholars and foreign talents, we were told that they would spin off more jobs for the locals.... Why can't it be you give millions to locals for them to grow and network in the world....
Just a question:
If a foreign talent and a local graduate both drowned, who would our government first rescue?
A recent survey reflected that we possessed little knowledge in managing our investments, financial, retirements..., as a financial hub and a cosmopolitan nation, it's surprising. On the other hand, looking into our media industry, our papers, our publications, our printed materials, are we exposed to these knowledge? All SPH papers published the survey, and ...?
Besides financial knowledge, do we have a good grasp of competitive edge, unique selling, value added, supply chain management, OEM, ODM, branding, Kaisen, TQM.., perhaps we know and exposed more about Zoe, Taufik, F4, Energy than those management gurus...
Reading into Taiwanese papers and publications, United dailies, Economic Daily Times (money.udn.com), Commonwealth Magazines (cw.com.tw), Money Magazines (moneymg.com.tw), I am embarassed on my little knowledge on economics, managements, financial tools. Despite having a daily read on Straits Times, Zaobao, Business times, I know just too little.
The proliferation of the Taiwanese media industry may be a contributing factor on the growth of their SME, entreprenuers ..., the varied channels of information has probably equipped, armed the Taiwanese with financial, business, management, risk-taking, legal knowlege.
Just read an interesting article (Money, Jun 2005, pg 153, Central Library L9), the article is about the starting and monies making of a breakfast van business in Taipei by a 30yo Taiwanese.
Unlike our URA breakfast van, he is able to roam in Taipei in searching for a most bustling location, and he is able to park his van in various locations during different timings of a day. Like our counterparts, he had few customers and lost monies on his initial days, fortunately he is allow to roam in Taipei streets. And 4 years later, his monthly turovers NT26000 and monthly overheads NT13000. An handsome profit of NT13000 a month.
I pity our breakfast van sellers, many or most had lost greatly. Many started to earn a living, unfortunately many ended with losses instead. Why forbid them to roam in Orchard? Why shouldn't URA extend their operating hours?
There is another news report in Economic Daily News on their dismay estimated GDP growth @ 3.3%, and how South Korea had caught up with with Taiwan with GDP, and the panel of gurus discusses and suggested the difference in economy structure between the 2 parties, and how the skin deep profits from ODM services had eated their GDP growth, and how they could take up LG and Sunsung . The report was extensive.
On the other hand, how is our quarterly growth being reported by Business Times and Straits Times?
GDP growth seen tepid despite strong Q2
ANALYSTS have opted not to lift growth forecasts for Singapore this year despite a strong second quarter, as a patchy recovery in electronics casts a pall over the economy, a Reuters poll shows.
Still cloudy: Singapore's export growth is seen slowing in the second half as China's economy cools
The median forecast of 12 economists was for gross domestic product to grow by 3.8 per cent in 2005, unchanged from a forecast in a similar poll in May.
Between polls, the government estimated second-quarter GDP grew at an annualised rate of 12.3 per cent in the second quarter after the economy contracted in the first quarter. The government has forecast growth of 2.5 to 4.5 per cent for 2005.
Economists attributed the second quarter rebound to a sudden swell in the highly volatile pharmaceuticals sector - one which had dragged down growth in the first quarter - but said the recovery in the crucial electronics sector remained slow.
Electronics account for 32 per cent of Singapore's manufacturing and about half of its non-oil domestic exports. The government expects a global recovery in the electronics sector to pick up in the second half of the year.
'Right now, it's hovering around the bottom, but it's not clear enough if the upturn will come so soon,' said Wong Keng Siong, economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Analysts expect non-oil exports in South-east Asia's fourth-largest economy to rise 4.9 per cent this year - slightly lower than the government's forecast for 5 to 7 per cent growth. The forecast is also below a 7.5 per cent rise expected in May's poll and sharply weaker than the 17 per cent rise seen in 2004.
'Export growth will slow in the second half of the year as China's economy cools and as the euro falls further because Asian goods will be much more expensive,' said Nigel Rendell, senior economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.
Mr Rendell has cut his forecast for export growth to one per cent from 7 per cent.
Although the Singapore dollar was seen gaining after the yuan's revaluation, the central bank's policy of allowing a modest and gradual currency appreciation would limit the rise.
The Singapore dollar was expected to strengthen to 1.63 against the US dollar by the end of the year, up from the current 1.66 per dollar. - Reuters
It seems the above has become a template, where are our gurus to advise us on how to break us from this trend?
I am looking forward for a bustling media industry, that would probably make our people stronger and more confident in this ever competitive world.
So should we spend still spend a million on a foreign talent, or should be spend 100k to arm our citizens with a global mindsets? -
erm.. i am not in the IT or engineering field. Economics and international business is my research area. A master plan for economic success is pretty difficult to formulate up. Most developed economies that succeed adopt minimalistic intervention, with government giving a free reign to market forces (invisible hand theory). The success of many European and American firms is the management structure. many companies are run by professional CEOs where ownership and management are seperated. remuneration is tied to the performance of the company. Such CEOs understand the value drivers of the company and how to bring out the core competencies and other latent resources to make sure that all departments create value.
American firms are much more profitable (take not profitable does not = more profits) and CEOs understand the use of resources. If Singapore comapnies can adopt such a practice, it might increase the motivation and profitability of the companies. This is one idea that popped into mind .. i will post up other suggestions when i can think of them -
How to get workers to apply existing and advanced technological knowledge?
If Singapore businesses do not have the habits or culture to motivate their workers or employees to apply what they learn on the jobs and the knowledge in all fields, they will forever fall behind in the technology race.
Hence, in order to design an economic master plan that is practicable and easily implemented by all businesses, government should encourage all businesses to motivate workers to apply on-the-job knowledge. Incremental knowledge applications in every sphere of economic activities hold the ultimate secret of success in creating an innovative knowledge application culture.
Read one model of practical knowledge application in this blog:
http://www.managefranchise.blogspot.com -
I have to admit that our elites here are great planners. They can come up with great master plan. What we lack here in Singapore are implementors, because our elites offer only lip services. We always pit in the implementation stage.
From my observations, the time taken from the time of planning till seeing the result is too long. By the time we started implementing, others had already done it way ahead. Budget airline is one great example. The main reason to it is that it takes too long for a project to be approved because of the requirement of detailed documentations and legal process.
I have worked in Thailand and was surprised by their efficiency. To get a loan from their bank, it takes less than 2 weeks to process. You are first interviewed by the bank director with your business plan, he will read it on the spot and immediately approve or reject your application. Once approved, all you need is to declare and sign and in less than 2 weeks you get your money. On the other hand, it takes around 1 month for the bank to study your business plan and another 1 month for them to process.
We are too trained to work with black and white and cannot accept flexibility. I once filled up a form in HDB with red ink because that was the only pen I had then, and was asked to refill the form in black ink at the counter. This just go to show how inflexible and inefficient we are. -
From Straits Times report on 13 Aug.
Biopolis: Will experiment pay off?
How long before success?
Management guru and Harvard don Michael Porter (wow!) said he figured it would "conceivably" take the Biopolis some 35 years to mature.
....
Mr Yeo concurred. "I think we can do it faster - times have changed, technology has changed - but we will still probably take half the time," he said.
Half the time - that's still equivalent to 17.5 years.
While much resources and efforts were put in to build up our bioscience capability, hope there is no neglect in building up our manufacturing, semiconductors and electronics industries. -
Good planner? Don't make laugh leh.....Originally posted by Agressor:I have to admit that our elites here are great planners. They can come up with great master plan. What we lack here in Singapore are implementors, because our elites offer only lip services. We always pit in the implementation stage.
From my observations, the time taken from the time of planning till seeing the result is too long. By the time we started implementing, others had already done it way ahead. Budget airline is one great example. The main reason to it is that it takes too long for a project to be approved because of the requirement of detailed documentations and legal process.
I have worked in Thailand and was surprised by their efficiency. To get a loan from their bank, it takes less than 2 weeks to process. You are first interviewed by the bank director with your business plan, he will read it on the spot and immediately approve or reject your application. Once approved, all you need is to declare and sign and in less than 2 weeks you get your money. On the other hand, it takes around 1 month for the bank to study your business plan and another 1 month for them to process.
We are too trained to work with black and white and cannot accept flexibility. I once filled up a form in HDB with red ink because that was the only pen I had then, and was asked to refill the form in black ink at the counter. This just go to show how inflexible and inefficient we are. -
singapore gov is good in Tze shan tang pin. Talk and discuss war on paper~!Originally posted by Agressor:I have to admit that our elites here are great planners. They can come up with great master plan. What we lack here in Singapore are implementors, because our elites offer only lip services. We always pit in the implementation stage.
From my observations, the time taken from the time of planning till seeing the result is too long. By the time we started implementing, others had already done it way ahead. Budget airline is one great example. The main reason to it is that it takes too long for a project to be approved because of the requirement of detailed documentations and legal process.
I have worked in Thailand and was surprised by their efficiency. To get a loan from their bank, it takes less than 2 weeks to process. You are first interviewed by the bank director with your business plan, he will read it on the spot and immediately approve or reject your application. Once approved, all you need is to declare and sign and in less than 2 weeks you get your money. On the other hand, it takes around 1 month for the bank to study your business plan and another 1 month for them to process.
We are too trained to work with black and white and cannot accept flexibility. I once filled up a form in HDB with red ink because that was the only pen I had then, and was asked to refill the form in black ink at the counter. This just go to show how inflexible and inefficient we are.
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This constant talk about delays or problems instead of forward preemptive plan to overcome potential problem is a sign of preparing some "U" turn.Originally posted by iamgoondu:From Straits Times report on 13 Aug.
Biopolis: Will experiment pay off?
How long before success?
Management guru and Harvard don Michael Porter (wow!) said he figured it would "conceivably" take the Biopolis some 35 years to mature.
....
Mr Yeo concurred. "I think we can do it faster - times have changed, technology has changed - but we will still probably take half the time," he said.
Half the time - that's still equivalent to 17.5 years.
While much resources and efforts were put in to build up our bioscience capability, hope there is no neglect in building up our manufacturing, semiconductors and electronics industries.
If biopolis is seen to be falling behind schedule, (original schedule probably quite rubber) then there may be some good back-track putting blame on some long gestation period whether foreseable or unsforeable which suddenly become worldly-wise phenomenon no longer the planner's fault. -
It needs no investment guru to understand the gloomy state of our electronics manufacturing environment.
A layman like me is well aware of the losing competitiveness we have had over the Chinese, Koreans and Taiwanese.
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Henderson Global turns bearish on Singapore tech stocks
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Investment manager, Henderson Global Investors, says it is bullish about the global tech sector because of an expected replacement cycle and attractive low valuations.
But the same optimism unfortunately doesn't extend to Singapore technology bellwethers like Creative Technology and Chartered Semiconductor.
If you invest in global technology counters, there's still money to be made, according to Henderson Global Investors.
But the investment manager has turned bearish on some technology favourites in Singapore.
For one, it believes that Creative Technology's shares will suffer as the company continues its battle with Apple for market share in the MP3 player market.
Stuart O' Gorman, Director of Technology Investment, Henderson Global Investors, said: "I suppose that in a more commoditised industry, Number 2s will often struggle. Creative is competing against a monster as Apple with iPod got such a dramatic larger share than anyone else in the group while Creative being Number 2 is a long way behind in second place."
Creative shares have fallen almost 50 percent since the start of the year, closing at S$12.40 on Monday.
But another tech bellwether, Chartered Semiconductor, has had better luck.
It shares gained nearly 13 percent in the last 9 months.
Still, Henderson says it does not favour Singapore companies that are not widely considered as market leaders in their field.
Henderson manages US$120 billion of assets worldwide.
It has a technology portfolio worth around US$800 million. - CNA /ch -
Hello iamgoondu,
We have too many lawyers, administrators and generalists who do not know how to connect to new technologies and create new technology start-ups like Taiwan did back in the 1970s with computers.
Now we are in the era of instant global telecommunication and technology transfer. Even India is able to come up with simple niche area and do well.
We went through the last two recessions in despairs without solutions how to catch up in creating new technology start-ups and new jobs. The elites were in denial state pushing the blame on external forces and not knowing that they have many ways to build on our strengths and niches as Korea, Finland the smaller countries have been doing.
Now, the talk is to create new images new names, posh downtowns and facade of clean and garden city or world-class Orchard Road etc. I am afraid this is not true entrepreneurship.
The leaders should have created some new value-adding industries to give us more jobs and more reputable international products like Samsung, Hitachi etc.
Our leaders are therefore mostly generalists with little exposures to practical entrepreneurship and competitiveness.
So many opportunities to develop value-adding industries were missed. Now we are chasing after these advanced technologies already well established in newly developed countries.
Practical entrepreneurs are needed in large number to create technology start-ups and without concentrating their energy on this and giving more support to the local entrepreneurs, we will not be able to make it. -
Tech startups...
1) Government do not have the tech know how to understand its trend.
Tech is a very intricate industry that only few of those in the industry understand.
Brute force or bold plans alone are not enuf.
Government's econimist will never ever understand.
2) Even if they can paint the nicest pictures, and plan a master plan.
can they do it??? can they implement it???
Being in the tech industry myself, I feel they cannot do it.
The only thing governemnt can do is plan for tech manufacturing sector
where they simple buy equipments and operate them.
Not real tech startups.
Even so, this way, u will forever be following the manufacturing industry.
There is no tech edge.
I have more observations to share,
but im busy now...maybe another time... -
I know something about the biomedical tech industry and here's my two cents' worth:
1. Unite, not divide:
Advances in medicine nowadays require a team effort. It is highly unlikely that a single researcher, however talented, can come with a truly novel and useful solution. Having worked at top research centres in the world, that is the one common feature I have noticed. Yet in Singapore we divide our medical professionals into two clusters, believing that the competition will be good. Unfortunately, with such a small talent base, the result is petty rivalry, an extreme unwillingness to work together, duplication of effort and both clusters ending up with lack of resources. In short, instead of competing with regional giants like South Korea, we end up fighting among ourselves.
2. Bottom up approach, rather than top down:
Wanting quick results, the government has taken a paternalistic, top-down approach. They plough all the money into biopolis, cutting off funding to budding young researchers and instead hire top-gun foreign researchers to produce the quick results they hope to get. They feel the junior scientist who needs a few thousand dollars for his work is not worth supporting because they think the big boys who ask for a few millions are more likely to churn out earth-shaking discoveries and patents.
This is a myopic move. They have alienated the vast majority of 'non-elite' local researchers who feel they have no place in Singapore and so emigrate, which further reduces our talent pool. Penicillin was not discovered by a million-dollar Nobel laureate working in a top-notch research facility. It came about because an observant but not terribly careful researcher studying microbiology forgot to shut his window and allowed a contaminant to grow on his culture plates. Serendipity plays an important role in many research discoveries...a project failure may mean a great success for a different question.
We should encourage all kinds of research by all levels of researchers, instead of putting all our eggs in one basket. Not all the wild ideas of the young scientist will come to anything. There will be alot of chaff but there may be a gem in the midst of the chaff. Instead we spend huge sums of money buying a golden goose in the hope that it will lay another golden egg. If it doesn't, we have no backup plan. This I consider to be our greatest failure.
3. Create a research, not business culture
An enquiring mind is the basic requirement for successful research. Instead our government runs research like a business corporation with excessive emphasis on tangible targets. If your KPI is publication in a high-impact journal, then researchers will only do research in areas that are likely to yield publications. But of what use is a publication to the Singapore economy? There is a lot of talk about securing patents. But how many patents actually translate into products that contribute to our economy?
By over-emphasizing publication targets, we are not encouraging researchers to think creatively, because a really wild idea is less likely to get a publication. It is better to stick to the accepted dogma and look for a small, newer facet of an old idea to ensure publication. We must not forget that when Peyton Rous suggested that viruses can cause cancer, nobody believed him. He got his Nobel prize 3 years before he died. When pathologist Robbin Warren suggested that the bacteria Helicobacter causes peptic ulcers instead of stress, people laughed at him. Everybody knew it was stress that caused ulcers, or so we thought. To prove they were right, his collaborator Barry Marshall drank a culture of the bacteria to give himself peptic ulcer. They won the Nobel Prize this year.
Can you imagine if Warren and Marshall were to apply for a research grant in Singapore to prove such a wild idea? Which funding agency would dare to support them when the chances of a publication was so extremely slim?
I have alot more to say, but this post is long enough.. -
Pardon my comments, as i do not have biotech backgrd.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:I know something about the biomedical tech industry and here's my two cents' worth:
1. Unite, not divide:
Advances in medicine nowadays require a team effort. It is highly unlikely that a single researcher, however talented, can come with a truly novel and useful solution. Having worked at top research centres in the world, that is the one common feature I have noticed. Yet in Singapore we divide our medical professionals into two clusters, believing that the competition will be good. Unfortunately, with such a small talent base, the result is petty rivalry, an extreme unwillingness to work together, duplication of effort and both clusters ending up with lack of resources. In short, instead of competing with regional giants like South Korea, we end up fighting among ourselves.
2. Bottom up approach, rather than top down:
Wanting quick results, the government has taken a paternalistic, top-down approach. They plough all the money into biopolis, cutting off funding to budding young researchers and instead hire top-gun foreign researchers to produce the quick results they hope to get. They feel the junior scientist who needs a few thousand dollars for his work is not worth supporting because they think the big boys who ask for a few millions are more likely to churn out earth-shaking discoveries and patents.
This is a myopic move. They have alienated the vast majority of 'non-elite' local researchers who feel they have no place in Singapore and so emigrate, which further reduces our talent pool. Penicillin was not discovered by a million-dollar Nobel laureate working in a top-notch research facility. It came about because an observant but not terribly careful researcher studying microbiology forgot to shut his window and allowed a contaminant to grow on his culture plates. Serendipity plays an important role in many research discoveries...a project failure may mean a great success for a different question.
We should encourage all kinds of research by all levels of researchers, instead of putting all our eggs in one basket. Not all the wild ideas of the young scientist will come to anything. There will be alot of chaff but there may be a gem in the midst of the chaff. Instead we spend huge sums of money buying a golden goose in the hope that it will lay another golden egg. If it doesn't, we have no backup plan. This I consider to be our greatest failure.
3. Create a research, not business culture
An enquiring mind is the basic requirement for successful research. Instead our government runs research like a business corporation with excessive emphasis on tangible targets. If your KPI is publication in a high-impact journal, then researchers will only do research in areas that are likely to yield publications. But of what use is a publication to the Singapore economy? There is a lot of talk about securing patents. But how many patents actually translate into products that contribute to our economy?
By over-emphasizing publication targets, we are not encouraging researchers to think creatively, because a really wild idea is less likely to get a publication. It is better to stick to the accepted dogma and look for a small, newer facet of an old idea to ensure publication. We must not forget that when Peyton Rous suggested that viruses can cause cancer, nobody believed him. He got his Nobel prize 3 years before he died. When pathologist Robbin Warren suggested that the bacteria Helicobacter causes peptic ulcers instead of stress, people laughed at him. Everybody knew it was stress that caused ulcers, or so we thought. To prove they were right, his collaborator Barry Marshall drank a culture of the bacteria to give himself peptic ulcer. They won the Nobel Prize this year.
Can you imagine if Warren and Marshall were to apply for a research grant in Singapore to prove such a wild idea? Which funding agency would dare to support them when the chances of a publication was so extremely slim?
I have alot more to say, but this post is long enough..
I dunno if u got some typo or misunderstanding from my side...
>1. Unite, not divide:
where do u get this no unity thing from???
I thought this biopolis thing is suppose to encourage
unity and bring several related research together??
>2. Bottom up approach, rather than top down:
I feel the ans to this is yes and no.
becos afterall the local who are in biotech research are few and
by far inexperienced compared to the world.
Also the way how research can be more sucessful
with real world application, it is often those that are
lead by reknown researchers as their experiences
will guide the rest in the right direction.
Otherwise, those locals researchers will be spending much
time/$$ 'finding needles in the sea'.
Thou i do not know abt biotech, this applies to Engineering Tech
research too. (which at least i know abit)
yes, there will always be a few "geniuses" among the locals
researchers wo much experiences.
but these are by far too few???
im sure the garment had better look out for these people,
else it will be like wat u said.
>3. Create a research, not business culture
did u mistype this??
cos subsequently, u seemed to say not to emhapsis
publication persue culture.
Cos in my understanding, normally research is abt publications.
only when it is done with the right direction for biz gains,
this emhapsis of publications will get less.
So by saying 'create a research culture'
it meant to say 'create more publications'?!?!
u got me blur.
pardon my lack of understanding of biotech. -
They are run and lead by techie entrepenuers. not government.Originally posted by iamgoondu:Have you ever wondered why Chartered still bleeding? Whilst TSMC and UMC still profitting? TSMC and UMC are leaders in the foundry industry, Chartered is just a follower!
We need to be leaders in leading industry and not as follower in a leading industry.
Any government lead company to compete in the commercial world
can NEVER win the competition.
Becos of the lack of real passionate talents who understand
the intricate industry trends, and the type of people they attract.
Creative, innovative peple will never work for GLCs. -
The fact that the government had not done some right thingsOriginally posted by robertteh:Hello all forumers,
To those who are or know the people working in new product developments or investment planning in petrochemical, IT software and hardware, Oceanology, space manufacturing, plasma technology, new generation computers and chips, Bio-tech or Bio-medical, clinical automation, home automation, 3/4 G hand-phone, new laptop capabilities etc, I hope you will do your part by discussing or posting here.
Rome is not built in one day. So if all want to build a new economy or prepare ourselves more competitively as a worker it is in our personal interest to speak up and share our ideas here. I encourage humbleness even if we have knowledge so that the whole new economic master plan will incrementally be built up by our forumers.
the past (and now too), made some1 like me reluntant to present
any grand economic/biz plan to them
And so what if i tell them my grand plan, can they can execute it???
i do doubt so.
My believe is commercial biz stuffs, goverment will not be able
to execute them well.