R

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RD in Developing Countries Reconsidered HRD of
the Ordinary People, by the ordinary People for
the ordinary People

• Hiroo Niiyama
• Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology

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Background of the LecturerProf. Hiroo NIIYAMA

• Major (Academic) Reaction Engineering,
  Heterogeneous Catalysis
• Experiences in International Projects/Program
• JSPS Program (1987 1999) As a Participant,
  Program leader, Project Coordinator
• 1994 2001 JICA Project, Enhancement of
  Capabilities of Faculty of Engineering, Thamassat
  University, Thailand
• Long-term Expert (6/1994 10/1995), Short-term
  Expert (10 times, total duration of the stay is
  around 10 months in 5 years)
• Project Formulation, Evaluation, Supporting
  Committee Members, etc.
• Several Other JICA projects
• SEED Net Project Networking the ASEAN Major
  Universities
• Supporting Committee Chairman, Arzentina

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Current Activities

• Current Major Activities
• Manager, Tokyo Tech Office (Thailand)
• Establishment of the office
• Coordinator, Lecture Provision to Asian
  Institute of Technology and KMITL
• Organizer, Regional Symposium on Chemical
  Engineering
• Journal Publishing ASEAN Journal of Chemical
  Engineering, since 2001

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Tokyo Tech Office (Thailand)

• in NSTDA (National Science and Technology
  Development Agency) building at Science Park
• 100 sq. m, with teleconference system to link up
  with mother campus
• Coordinating,
• lecture distributions
• cooperative researches
• linkage with Tokyo Tech graduates and industries

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HE Dr. Thaksin, Prime Minister of Thailand,
visited Tokyo Tech Officeon Dec.23, 2002
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HE Dr. Thaksin appears in the main screen, while
Prof. Aizawa in Tokyo, is in the monitoring
screen, right-below.
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Satellite Lectures at AIT
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Future Plan
Asian Network
Thailand NSTDA CU, KU, TU, KMIT AIT
Country C
Country B
Japan Tokyo Tech
Philippines DOST UP,
Other groups MIT-NSU
Indonesia UI BIT,
Europe
USA
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Regional Symposium to Journal Publication

• Regional Symposium on Chemical Engineering (RSCE)
• Since 1994
• Periodical Occurrence Ph(1994) Th Isia
  Msia Ph Th Spore Isia Msia (Ph
  2003) As a natural consequence, networking
  among the ASEAN universities has established. We
  will expand the scheme to ASEAN 10.
• We have published ASEAN Journal of Chemical
  Engineering based on the RSCE. The secretariat
  is located in DLSU.

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Symposium Proceedings (Left) and the Journal
(Right)
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RD activities in developing countries ----
continued

• RD engineers also work,
• for modifying technologies to suit the occasion
• as advisors to decision makers when technologies
  are imported,
• and, as a results, they develop themselves.
• Even they do not develop any original technology,
  they contribute a lot for the company.

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How to enhance research capability in Developing
Countries?

• Measures taken by governments
• Degree Acquisition
• Foundation Research Institutions / Graduate
  School
• Research Fund, State-of-the Art research facility
  
• Still unsatisfactory What is lacking?
• Research Management System

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Research Management

• Innovation is a work of genius. It comes out
  unexpectedly general perception in the 18th
  Century.
• A. Whitehead The biggest invention in the 19th
  century is the method of invention
• Well organized team can do it, provided that
  .
• macro view governmental policy
• micro view ordinary peoples ways of life

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Japanese ExperienceEngineering Education in
Japan

• Competitive Entrance Examination
• Moratorium Period for the first three years
• Research workforce
• Education through research
• Self-study, teach each other,
• Team-play research in a family-like research cell

• at the entrance
• for the first three years
• for BS graduate thesis (one year)
• and another two years for MS thesis

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It does fit to

• Elite Education stage, not to mass education
  or universal access stage,
• Catching-up stage in the countrys development,
• Students with hungry spirits.
• The basement is melting away. Japanese system of
  engineering education has to be restructured.
• However it has something to be learnt at a
  certain stage of the economic development.

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American way of research management Simple
Management System

• All academic staffs are independent.
• Main research forces are post-doctoral fellows
  and Ph.D. Candidates (No BS thesis work is done.
  MS works are not comprehensive researches.
• All the research forces are directly supervised
  by Professors (or Assoc. Prof. or Assistant
  Prof.).

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Japanese Way of Research Management Family-type
Community

• Laboratory hierarchy
• Academic Staffs make up a team with appropriate
  burden sharing.
• Senior Students instruct juniors.
• Work forces
• Not only Ph.D. students but also MS and BS
  students do research works for their graduation
  requirements.
• MS and especially BS students need hand-in-hand
  instructions for pursuing research works.
• Laboratory, under the name of presiding Professor
• Equipments, apparatus are of semi-private use.
  Establishment of the laboratory is a life work.
• Presiding Professor, as a managing director of
  the laboratory.

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Japanese System of Research Laboratory in
Universities Koza

• Typical Koza (??) unit
• Professor 1
• Associate Professor 1
• Research Associate 2
• (Technician)
• Although the complete Koza unit is few
  nowadays, incomplete unit (e.g., Professor
  Research Associate) is still common in many
  universities. Moreover, working attitude that
  grows up in the long history of this Koza
  system is quite common.

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Demerits of Koza System

• Professors tend to be dictators.
• Old fashioned research, for long time
• Retard constructive criticism
• Life-long employment, and the Professor becomes a
  naked King.
• Other academic staffs sometimes become servants.
• It suppresses flexible thinking. Originality of
  the young researchers dies after certain period
  of time.
• And the same story repeats after the retirement
  of the boss. Fresh blood is difficult to flow
  in.
• This is, more or less, personality problems.
  There are many success story. I wish to stress
  that the system is favorable at a certain stage
  of development of universities, if not all the
  way through the development.

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How the Koza works?

• Burden Sharing
• Professor
• Managing Director of the laboratory, including
  personnel management
• Collector of research funds
• Speaker to the society and general public the
  Face
• Associate Professor
• Active Research Coordinator, Researcher
• Research Associate
• Active Researcher
• Instructor and adviser to students

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Koza Poor mens wisdom

• Research activities of Japanese Universities
  depend on inexperienced junior students, who
  conduct researches as a partial fulfillment of
  their graduation.
• Without careful, thorough and hand-in-handed
  instructions, students cannot complete their
  research within a limited time.
• We needs a system to train a junior student up to
  a research work force.
• ? Team-play researches, Family-like
  laboratory and Brother-like advisers (Senior
  students and research associates)

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Koza Unit An incubator of young researchers

• Ph.D. Degree is not a certificate as a good
  researcher They have to develop themselves to be
  an independent researcher.
• Post-doctoral fellow in US they work for
  established professors and they develop
  themselves in turn.
• Research associate in Japan no educational duty,
  no administrative duty, and no worry about
  research fund ? Koza may work as an incubator.
• They can go on double track life work with
  long-term view (that may not be funded) and
  projects which does fit to current needs (to be
  funded).

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The Problems in Developing Country, From
Niiyamas observation - 1

• All staffs are independent American way
• Senior professors are under heavy administrative
  duties and therefore have little time for
  research.
• Young bright lecturers/assistant professors
  cannot get research funds.
• As a result, they are difficult to go out of the
  track of his/her Ph.D. work.

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The Problems in Developing Country -2

• Research work force is students The same as in
  Japan, but without managing system to suit the
  case.
• Research work force is minimal only a very few
  graduate students.
• There is no hierarchy structure among students.
  Students are independent and they have no elder
  brother. They have to work out by themselves.
• No continuity they comes in in the beginning of
  the year and leave after one year without
  transferring the techniques that they have got to
  the successor.

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What we need?

• We need a system to make students a force.
• Team play to help each other
• Unification of Senior/Middle/Young Staffs
• Student hierarchy
• Enough number of graduate students (even MS
  student will do.)
• Let us think about seriously the Japanese System,
  and possible modifications to suit the mentality
  of the countrys people.

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Research Management

• Key to the development
• The researchers are not the holy orders. They
  are ordinary peoples, to be trained in a well
  designed method, to be encouraged by worldly
  honors, and discouraged by disregards.

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However,------

• The research management is a sub-system of the
  society, and therefore,
• It has to fit to Thai peoples mentality.
• I do believe that Japanese system of research
  management has some advantages at a certain stage
  of the countrys development.

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Thank you very much for your attention.