EDITORIAL
As a country, Sri Lanka has
been striving to rise to the
status of a developed country
for many generations. The
main reason for this is that we
are at a low level in terms of
technology, which is a major
benchmark of a country’s
development. Technology has
solutions to many longstanding
challenges of a country.
Therefore the development, the
stagnation or the deterioration
of a country depends entirely
on innovation and technology.
A common problem we have
faced over the past years is that
knowledge gained by students
is confined to exams instead of
solving problems in the world.
But at present, Sri Lanka has
been able to witness the great
signs of technological advancement
by reaching a place where
not only have we been able to
produce supercars that reign
the earth, but also the satellites
that cross space.
But why are we still lagging
behind in the technological
race? We are still unable to find
solutions to the barriers we
face in the process of making
an innovative idea an efficient
and profitable product. We
have simply neglected the fact
that small scale inventions you
see today could have greater
benefits to the country in the
future if the concept is developed
properly. Only a handful
of Sri Lankan inventions have
managed to reach the international
level while many of
them have faded away without
been recognized at least locally
and contributing the least to
the development of the country
due to lack of necessary
financial strength and industrial
support. Therefore, it is
clear that the main reason for
the slow motion of technological
advancement we experience
today is the failure of providing
financial and other support
services, rather than lack of
technological innovations.
Many developed countries
spend a high percentage of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
on research and development.
Compared to those countries,
Sri Lanka spends a very low percentage
of the GDP on research
and development. Besides, the
firms in such countries invest
more on innovation than the
firms in developing countries
like ours. Although a country
needs to invest a little to help
innovators, we have not been
able to fulfill even that little
help.
Therefore, sustainable investment
opportunities can be
provided for further development
of inventions by spending
a significant percentage of GDP
on education, innovation,
research and development
and by encouraging the firms
to invest more on inventions.
Other than that, to convert
small scale inventions into
large scale productions, we
should enhance the collaboration
between industries and
educational institutes. And
by helping and giving proper
recognition to the current
inventors, we can create a more
enthusiastic future generation.
When observing developed
countries such as Finland,
South Korea, Israel, Sweden and
Japan which play a major role
in deciding the world’s future,
it is clear that facts like land
size, population, past events or
disasters and limited resources
WHY ARE
WE STILL
LAGGING
BEHIND IN
THE
TECHNOLOGICAL
RACE ?
do not impede in achieving
technological advancement
of a country. In Sri Lanka, we
have enough human resources
and they are well educated. We
live in a peaceful county, which
is rich with natural resources.
Therefore, we as a country have
much greater potential than
any other country. What we
need is a little investment and
faith in what we do.
Ultimately, whether you are an
inventor, an investor or whatever
position you are in, you
have a unique ability and a
responsibility to contribute to
the development of technology
in Sri Lanka for a better
tomorrow. It’s time for all of us
to fulfill our duties as citizens,
to rise together as a nation and
bring our country’s name to
the frontier of the world’s never-ending
technological race
so that we can hope to become
a developed country, at least in
the time of our next generation.
SAJINI ISHANTHI
GAUGE Magazine
University of Peradeniya
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