Oh Deog-seong is a professor and former Vice President of Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea. He also happens to be the Secretary General of the WTO(World Technopolis Association), a non-profit NGO whose mission is to spread knowledge – and ultimately wealth – to less developed countries by way of science and technology.
This, of course, is a form of aid – but one that can ultimately benefit everyone involved, which is why the projects are so exciting and worthy. As Secretary General, Oh is deeply committed to its mission – and keenly aware of its need – as Korea IT Times' reporter Julia Yoo discovered while sitting down with him for an interview about the upcoming WTA meetings that will be held from September 22nd to the 25th in Daejeon...Ed
Q: The upcoming September WTA meetings are vital to the exchange of knowledge and information among dozens of science cities around the world. What is this year’s focus and why
A : The theme this year is “Sharing Innovation’s Benefits.” We expect to have more technology based economic growth, job creation, and also the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs] through R&D, but these kinds of accomplishments belong to developed countries.
For developing countries, this is just a dream. They would like to achieve these things, but they don’t know how to proceed. So this year, we want to help these developing countries gain access to innovation’s benefits through collaboration between the developed and developing countries.
Q: So basically this year’s meetings will show how the developing countries can access technological innovation for their own economic growth.
A : Yes. In order to do this, we have divided the talks into three sessions. The first session will be about global trends and challenges in new technology development. Martha Russell who is the Executive Director of MediaX at Stanford University will show us some of these global trends. The second session will be about how to foster the SMEs’ adoption of innovation.
From the perspective of SMEs, the second session will show some real benefits [of innovation]. In this session, the Vice President of the International network for SMEs (INSME) in Europe will offer some details about this. Session three will be about entrepreneurial development. Prof. Fred Phillips [Yuan Ze University, Taiwan] and I will provide some trends within innovation precursors. By “innovation precursor,” we mean the university or the research institute that will drive that kind of R&D. We will give some ideas, theories, and some examples.
Q: So, after these three sessions, the developing countries should have a better understanding of how to use innovation to their benefit.
A : Yes. And, through networking between academia and industry, the developing countries can work towards entrepreneurial development. In addition to these three main sessions, we will have some special sessions for the developing countries. One of these special sessions is called “Grassroots Industry, Grassroots Technology.” We will kindly request some of the developing countries to join us for one special session. That is grassroots industry.
Q: So you are giving the developing countries a chance to be more active within WTA.
A : Yes. WTA’s role is to help the developing countries access the developed countries, so they can work together. This is the venue for them to meet and then after that they can work out for themselves how to pursue their goals.
Q: Are there any particular talks you are looking forward to
A : I am the keynote speaker of the third session, but I’m particularly interested in session two from the perspective of the business people. That could be the most enjoyable session not only for the academics but for students and business people as well.
Q: How do you think Korea’s role has benefitted WTA’s efforts
A : I found something interesting after finishing the [Sri Lankan] project. [The Sri Lankans requested WTA and UNESCO to help them to establish an innovation platform]. The Korean science park model is one of the best models for a developing country to emulate. The UK, Germany, Japan, and the United States all have their own unique science park models like Silicon Valley or Cambridge Science Park but their results have been products of several centuries’ of technological developments and academic accomplishments.
For these countries, based on those trends, they are able to continue the trajectory of the science park development. But for developing countries, these models look too far into the future. In the case of South Korea, just 40, 50 years ago, we used to be the same as Sri Lanka or some African countries. Within a short time, we have done this kind of innovation. So they [the developing countries] have a great interest in this kind of very rapid and resourceful accomplishment of the Korean science model. So they will make the best use of the Korean science park model.
Q: For all of this to be successful there should be a certain continuity in the “logicspeak” between all the participants. Is there any particular attention being paid to how cultural aspects can affect the understanding of the information being shared among the different countries Are you simply taking knowledge/information and handing it over or are you taking into consideration some of the cultural aspects of how individuals from other countries absorb that information
A : As far as culture is concerned, there were some mistakes 10 years ago from the perspective of the Korean people – the supplier. We were preparing for a kind of workshop or conference. Kind of like designing a menu with our interests in mind – but that was quite different from the requests and needs of the developing country. I realized that I needed to be much more aware of the view from my colleagues in the developing countries. So this innovation forum is one example of how sincere we are – from the topic to the decision to hold a grassroots special session or UNESCO special session to show them the ten years’ worth of developing and developed countries’ collaborations.
Q: So then you are very sensitive to this issue
A : Yes.
Q: Can you then give me some examples of some specific problems you had ten years ago when you were preparing the said “menu”
A : The choice of topic for example. We were more inclined to choose a topic that was trendy at the time. It wasn’t necessarily a topic that reflected the developing country’s unique interests. We ignored that. [At the time] if we liked it, we thought it could work for them.
Q: WTA is based on science and technology fuelling all of this but as you know this can only work when policies go hand in hand with all of this. What do you think are some of the most supportive policies – or unsupportive policies – for what you are trying to achieve
[Here, Secretary General Oh reminded me that this is not a Korean project. It is a UNESCO/WTA international project.]
A : WTA is a non-profit organization. Daejeon Metropolitan City is supporting WTA, so they will get some benefits through this investment. [But we should remind ourselves] that we need to be aware of not only Daejeon’s requests but to the developing country’s requests. And also to the views of UNESCO.
Q: But do they always align with each other
A : Yes, for the most part… But it is a little complicated. There are 189 countries in UNESCO. About 70-80% of them are underdeveloped countries. But WTA can only teach them how to get the fish, so to speak. That is how we help them. WTA does not apply [on their behalf] to complete their investment. That is up to them… but it is usually not about policy.
It’s more political. In the underdeveloped countries, the leaders particularly in innovation usually have political connections and affiliations and aren’t neutral such as professors or businessmen. So UNESCO is the leader to negotiate between the tricky process of innovation policy and different kinds of political systems. For example, we are planning a Regional Innovation Forum in Costa Rica, in conjunction with local universities and local and central governments. For them to work together, there should be a framework based on their legal system but we didn’t have any ideas about this. And Costa Rica has little experience in academia-industry collaborations.
So how do we foster this type of collaboration We have a nice theory and examples that have worked in Korea, Taiwan, or Germany but when we recommend this model to Costa Rica, the policies or procedures are quite different. So now the situation is in transition – regarding how to do this. For now, the best solution is to invite an expert from that country. Work together. Then they can pave the way to change the political system or policies. This takes a lot of time. We are very far behind in this. We can give a good answer, and good examples but they must do it for themselves.
Q: So right now you are focused on working one on one and then it’s up to that person
A : Yes. Human-based. So we invite three professors and high-ranking civil servants. Then we teach and persuade them regarding how to do this. Then they persuade [those that can affect change].
Q: So basically, you are showing them what is possible if they follow your recommendations. Then they need to take that information and try to figure out how to make that possible in their home country.
A: Yes… how to adapt and apply it to the unique situation in their country.
Q: About UNESCO’s role – because of their commitment to sustainability is there a sense that sometimes it ties your hands behind your back
A : This is complicated. I will start from the basic concept of UNESCO. It has three parts. Culture and history; Education; and Science and technology. This science and technology part has a big interest in sustainability. But science and technology has two faces. For example in the 20th century, science and technology were the antithesis to environment. And sustainability has three components. One is economic. So they are focused on economic sustainability. Then they lose the environment and physical sustainability. At the same time they can lose social sustainability. So now they are considering how to match them together. And in our session Science Park and Innovation, we try to see the best ways to match them together.
Q: The MERS outbreak is under control now, but I have to ask – has it affected participation rates
A : The participation rate is high. Last month people were sending me e-mails asking me whether I was all right. Now, they aren’t sending me such letters of anxiety, which shows me that people aren’t terribly worried about the situation in Korea. There are three countries though – China, Hong Kong, and Japan – who are slightly more sensitive to the situation, but in general most people are committed to participating.
