The 2nd ASTN Round Table Meeting organized by STPI and KISTEP on July 9th, 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan
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President ECOSF Prof. Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro as one of the Founder Members of ASTN participated in the 2nd Asian STI Think Tanks Network (ASTN) Round Table Meeting. The Round Table Meeting was organized by Science & Technology Policy Research and Information Centre (STPI) & Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) on July 9th, 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan. ECOSF became the founder member of this Network during its launch in 2015, which was established to provide a cooperating platform for institutes in Asia specializing in policy, research and education for science, technology and innovation (STI) for sharing and exchanging unique knowledge and experiences to enhance STI capacity of the region. This round table meeting was convened on the eve of the 4th Asian Innovation Forum (AIF) to share the insights, review and discuss the achievements and prospects of the future AIF. A total of twenty institutes from across the Asia representing S&T policymaking, research and education are members of the ASTN. Four new members joined this network during the meeting.
The roundtable meeting was opened by Dr. Yuh-Jzer Joung, Director General STPI and delivered his welcome remarks and appreciated all the partner institutions for their participation. Dr. Joung emphasized that in order to promote STI development for better Asia, the ASTN network has to play its vital role in discussing and identifying the emerging issues and challenges in STI, seek opportunities for knowledge and research exchange, and strengthen communication and collaboration among member institutes. On behalf of KISTEP, Dr. Se-In Park Policy Advisor also delivered his welcome remarks. Dr. Park encouraged the representatives to put forward practical ideas and suggestions for greater interaction among the participating ASTN institutions and ways to improve the effectiveness and impact of this initiative.
Prof. Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro congratulated KISTEP and STPI for organizing the ASTN Roundtable Meeting and 4th AIF. Prof. Soomro expressed his interest to work closely with KISTEP and STPI for strengthening the STI sector in the region. Prof. Soomro briefly introduced the roles and objective of ECOSF and shed light on various initiatives undertaken by the Foundation to promote cooperation among scientific community of the ECO region and beyond, help build the capacity and science popularization programs. He also highlighted some of the flagship programs of the Foundation, such as promotion of Inquiry Based Science Education and Engineering Qualification and Accreditation and Standardization etc.
During the meeting, four new Institutes joined the Network and whereby a MoU signing ceremony was held. The four new partner institutions who joined the ASTN which are as under:
- Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, Taiwan
- National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia
- National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies, Vietnam
Later during the meeting, each representative of member institution of the ASTN was invited to briefly introduce their associated institution.
Subsequently, the participants were invited to contribute to the discussion on possible areas and mechanisms to foster collaboration between the member institutes. During the discussion, Prof. Dr. Soomro appreciated the idea of exchange of scientists and technologies amongst the member organziations. This would provide an opportunity to promote collective wisdom and open up more avenues of cooperation and collaboration in STI, he added. He also proposed to develop the criteria for induction of new members in the future ASTN and the AIF. Representative of other member institutes also contributed to the discussion and proposed the recommendations as to how to effectively utilize this network in order to promote STI capacity building among the other member institutes.
