A silver lining for S&T in RP

Being a mother of five children, I often think of how best to motivate children to do their best and to succeed. Since they were young, I would stress to my children that they should strive for self-improvement. If their grades improved over a quarter, I was happy. I did not pressure them to be at the top of their class or to be first honors. Their incremental progress was more important. Any accomplishment or award earned on their own was enough. I am patiently waiting to see how my children will turn out. A mother is naturally hopeful and I continue to think that my children hold promise.

Similarly, it is hard to measure success in a society in an absolute way. Technological and scientific accomplishments appear to be one good indicator. Using this measure, the Philippines has not fared well over several decades now. We already know the reasons for this. Political events led to the exodus of some of our brightest minds sometime back. Over a long period, our culture and educational system did not sufficiently instill the discipline required for science and mathematics, and also did not encourage curiosity and creativity enough among our youth. Our leaders did not recognize S&T as the engine of economic development and gave it low funding priority. There was no political will to move S&T forward.

Some of us have identified particular weaknesses in our educational and scientific systems. Several have proposed ways to improve our S&T performance as a country. The proposed benchmarks of success are those measured in technologically successful countries: the directions — those identified globally and which have been taken by our neighboring countries — and the thrusts — those in which we may have an innovative or competitive advantage. Many of our ideas are good. The challenge for us is to have these good ideas implemented.

I think there is a silver lining — an "alignment of the stars" — for S&T in the Philippines today. The scientific community has become united in its determination to move S&T forward and we are making some headway. We should not let up in our campaign — our crusade — to improve government support and our own academic performance in S&T. Since we have gained momentum, we must not lose it. Let us thank the private sector, the technopreneurs and technology brokers who have supported us, and hope that they continue to explore and publicize the potential to make good use of some academe-based research.

As in all endeavors, nothing beats leadership by example in science. The benefits of good science leadership are felt through generations. In the university, an exemplary science teacher, thesis adviser, researcher, research mentor, administrator and extension worker can inspire colleagues and students by his vision, dedication, performance and output, and can transform his institute to world-class status. Creating a scientific culture in a country requires a continuity of scientific traditions and the upholding of high scientific standards and practices. Continuity is ensured through the constant mentoring of our youth. And mentoring is best done, not just by words, but by example.

Despite the low rankings in S&T of our universities in worldwide surveys today, I believe we can significantly improve our S&T performance soon. There are, in our midst, science leaders who have led by example — as a dedicated teacher, productive researcher, and effective, visionary science administrator, all in one. These scientists have been recognized for their achievements internationally, and quite notably, their leadership has resulted in an upward, accelerated trend in the number of international peer-reviewed publications, patent approvals, and MS and PhD graduates in their institutes. Gradually, their researches are being explored for useful applications by the private sector.

Indeed, the science is only as good as the scientists behind it. And the more science experts we have, the more competent we will be to produce high quality, innovative and exciting products that enhance our lives; the more prepared we will be to find effective solutions to our food, health and environmental problems. A critical mass of science experts is what our country needs urgently since our current pool of scientists is critically low. The government should provide enough scholarships and financial incentives to attract our graduates to pursue their PhDs and build careers in science. I think this should be at the forefront of our S&T campaign in the next few months.

Many of us spend a great deal of time teaching and doing research in the university. But realizing the urgency to improve the dire state of S&T in our country, some of us have decided to devote extra time for an advocacy to promote S&T.

In late 2005, PAASE (Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering) members initiated efforts that led to what many of us know today as a successful funding outcome. P700 million was allocated in the 2006 supplemental budget for S&T — P500 million for physical infrastructure in the National Science Complex in UP Diliman and P200 million for more R&D projects funded through the DOST. More recently, another P200 million was allocated for MS and PhD scholarships, in addition to a previous allocation through the CHED.

PAASE members had agreed that the single, worthwhile campaign to mount was to increase government funding support for S&T, and the campaign was to be led by local PAASE members. We knew that it would take more than one letter (or a courtesy call to Malacañang) to call the attention of our government officials. In February 2006, we put together documents consisting of a PAASE letter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo drafted by our chairman, a position paper written by six local PAASE members on "S&T in Economic Development," individual letters of support and commitment from 60 PAASE members, 50 capsule proposals on R&D projects prepared by PAASE members, and reprints of 70 STAR Science articles.

The documents were sent to the President and some Cabinet members, and to selected congressmen and senators. We requested appointments to see them. We asked foreign-based PAASE members to join us in these meetings and six of them came home just for this purpose. Congressman Luis Villafuerte responded immediately and became our champion for S&T. Through regular meetings in the succeeding months, we convinced him to include a statement of support for S&T in the President’s SONA in July 2006, to bring us to Malacañang to see the President in August 2006, and to have the President as our special guest in the PAASE conference in February 2007. We are grateful to Congressman Villafuerte who made all these possible.

At Malacañang, our presentation to the President addressed several aspects of the S&T problem and five recommendations were made: 1) creation of a Presidential Coordinating Council for R&D; 2) revival of the MS and PhD science and engineering scholarships program; 3) completion of the National Science Complex in UP Diliman; 4) support for R&D programs that would benefit rural communities, particularly the agriculture and fisheries sectors; and 5) increase in public awareness of science.

The President and our government officials have responded positively to the recent appeal of the Philippine science community. PAASE, being a non-government, multi-institutional, non-profit, and purely voluntary organization, was effective in leading the campaign. At the PAASE conference last month, the President updated us on the five recommendations we had made to her. She announced the release of an additional P200 million for PhD and MS scholarships. She signed Executive Order 604 on the creation of a Presidential Coordinating Council for R&D, which will prioritize and coordinate R&D programs, and monitor and evaluate R&D output. With two slots for representatives from the academe, hopefully, this new body will help ensure the relevance and high quality of the country’s R&D output.

As a teacher and researcher, I can now more confidently tell our students and researchers that finally our country is on the right path in S&T. Soon our government will be able to provide them scholarships for their PhD studies. Soon we will have a good working environment with better infrastructure and equipment. With high-quality scientific output and better publicity for our research, soon the private sector may be enlightened to explore applications of our research.

Gradually, S&T in our country is improving. Like our children, many of our young scientists appreciate our mentoring and the supportive environment that we are striving hard to provide them. Many say they will rise up to the challenge to become productive and self-reliant. Soon our efforts at improving ourselves individually and collectively may bear fruit and we may join the ranks of the S&T achievers of the world.

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Giselle Concepcion is a professor at the Marine Science Institute, UP Diliman, where she teaches graduate courses in marine natural products, marine biochemistry and biotechnology. Her research interests include marine compounds with anti-cancer, anti-infective and anti-pain activity, antibody-targeted therapy, and vaccine development. E-mail her at [email protected]