Aspiring Heights
01 May 2008
South East Asia is an exciting place for the chemical sciences, with many countries showing potential for strong growth. The RSC has been working in the region for some years, notably with Singapore. It has held a number of meetings in the country and has signed an international cooperation agreement with the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry.
The RSC is now making connections in more South East Asian countries, with its aim of helping to develop international links between scientists and support the development of chemistry. One country that shows great promise is Thailand, which has had strong economic growth and is investing in science and technology (see box below, 'Science growth in Thailand').
Earlier this year, the RSC helped organise a meeting in Thailand that featured a mix of speakers from Thailand, the UK and Singapore. The symposium in contemporary organic chemistry was held at the National Science and Technology Development Agency in Bangkok. Not only was the meeting well attended, with over 180 delegates, but there was ample opportunity for making new contacts.
Sirirurg Songsivilai, assistant president and head of the Biotechnology Centre at the NSTDA, played host to the meeting. He hope its success will lead to further collaborations: "The participation of Thai, UK and Singaporean scientists in this workshop, especially in the informal sessions, exceeded our expectation. NSTDA appreciates the leading role of RSC and is very happy to co-host subsequent and future activities."
Making contacts
Four speakers from the UK attended the symposium. During the course of the same trip, they also attended a meeting in Singapore. These meetings have already proved fruitful for some of the speakers, and new collaborations are being explored.
Mike Willis from Oxford University was impressed with the enthusiasm of the delegates and the popularity of the event, while Chris Abell, from Cambridge University, found the trip very rewarding: "My impressions were very positive about both visits. I plan to route myself through Bangkok or Singapore on future trips to Australia to build on relations with groups in both places."
Working with the British High Commission
The British Government is keen for the UK to develop stronger science links in the region and the RSC has been working with the British High Commission (BHC) in Singapore on this goal.
As Alejandra Palermo, Special Projects Manager at the RSC, explains, Thailand was identified as a new partner some years back: " In 2006, RSC staff attended a conference to discuss building science and technology capacity with South East Asian partners. The aim was to identify good practices and build upon lessons learned.
"One conclusion was that there should be regional-themed workshops held outside Singapore and the UK, with the intention of fostering interaction among researchers from UK, Singapore and the host country.
"The Thailand meeting this year was a key event to emerge from the discussions. It was hugely appreciated by the BHC in Singapore who expressed a keen desire to see more such events in the future."
The RSC hopes to build on the symposium and organise further collaborations in Thailand.
Science Growth in Thailand
Thailand is undergoing a period of strong economic growth. Over the past decade, real increases in GNP have reached as much as 10% per annum, and current growth is expected to be at least 8%. Consequently, Thailand faces a need for more engineers and scientists. It is responding by building more universities, both public and private, and expanding programmes in existing institutions of higher education. The government is also increasing financial support for research infrastructure.
Major achievements by indigenous research exist in both basic and clinical aspects of tropical diseases such as malaria, genetic abnormalities in structure and production of haemoglobin, and the physiology and immunology of malnutrition. According to the Science Citation Index, some Thai papers on these topics are among the most cited from the developing world. While medical science is the strongest research area at international level, Thailand also has considerable R&D achievements in agriculture, engineering and other fields, mostly at adaptive or trouble-shooting levels.
Recently, the Chulabhorn Research Institute, under the directorship of Princess Chulabhorn HonFRSC, a chemistry professor with wide-ranging research interests, was established with government support. Its emphasis is on research in natural products, life sciences, environment and toxicology.
