DOST festival a clarion call for more PH researchers

MANILA, Philippines — With the country having very few researchers unlike its neighbors in the region, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) plans to encourage more students to pursue the field of research, starting with a festival aimed at enticing the youth to the various disciplines in science. Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the Philippines has only 174 full-time researchers per 1 million people. “We are already behind countries within Southeast Asia alone, where Singapore has 6,730 researchers per million population while Malaysia has more than 2,200 researchers per million population,” he said at a press briefing on Thursday. With the current number of Filipino researchers less than half of DOST’s “reference point” of 380, Solidum said the agency hopes to surpass that figure. The DOST chief said institutions under the Commission on Higher Education could consider reorienting education on research toward the commercialization of that expertise. “The more you commercialize, the more income [for] the university, and the more jobs and opportunities for researchers to spin off companies. Then more researchers will go there,” Solidum said. Science festival The DOST said it targets young and budding scientists and inventors to pursue careers in various fields of science, as it prepares for the first-ever National Youth Science, Technology, and Innovation Festival from Oct. 25 to Oct. 28 at the Philippine International Convention Center. The festival, which encourages the participation of high school and college students and out-of-school youths, will feature science and technology competitions, exhibits, forums and seminars, technology demonstrations, and workshops, among others. Some discussions in this event will tackle artificial intelligence and its application in vaccine production and its impact on science communication, academic research, and scientific publication, among other endeavors. A “nuclear career talk” will also be held, where student leaders could learn more about nuclear science through such activities as radioactivity monitoring and other demonstrations. Interested participants may register for free at nystif.dost.gov.ph. READ: Tolentino to DOST: Why science fairs, contests for students not promoted well? READ: PH’s Grade 4 students lowest in math, science around the world — int’l study READ: Grades 1-12 private school learners flunk math, science assessment Survey, findings The DOST chief said he was optimistic that the festival would inspire the youth to pursue science and technology-related courses, despite the not-too-encouraging data so far. Solidum himself cited a survey by the Department of Education which showed that only 23 Read more at: inquirer

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