Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The contributions of existing and emerging technologies to the industrialization of developing countries Benjamin Lamptey, PhD (Meteorologist) Regional maritime University, Accra Ghana

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The theme for the workshop is "Innovation for Africa's Industrial development"

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Acknowledgments I acknowledge all the different sources where I obtained various materials.

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Outline Why Industrialization Why use Technology Some examples of Technological efforts Key issues The way forward

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Rich versus Poor Countries (I) Degree of access to, and use of, industrial technology in a broad sense, separates the rich and the poor Rich nations (with few exceptions) are highly industrialized while poor nations (with few exceptions) are lacking in industrial technology Many poor nations have an abundance of resources, while wealthy and technically advanced Japan has very few natural resources Apparently industrialization is more important to development than natural resources

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Rich versus Poor Countries (II) The term “developed” as used of a country or economy is interchangeable with “industrialized” A clear implication is that, the terms “underdeveloped,” or “developing” are synonymous with “less industrialized” Industrialized countries are more powerful military wise

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Why Industrialize? Your guess is as good as mine

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Why use technology (some perceptions) Do more work in a short amount of time Facilitates repetitive work - automate routine work Promotes efficiency and effectiveness –Support and enhance staff’s effectiveness More cost-effective Help us get out of poverty?

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Technology and disciplines Technology and Society Technology and Education Technology and Industry (Business) –Industrialization is linked to business –SMEs are key to developing economies –Automation of processes, HPC Technology and Science –GPS,Satellites, Radars, –Supercomputers(and HPC), Automatic Weather Stations –Grid Computing, Cloud Computing

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Some Technology efforts (I) University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (USA) Africa Initiative Radar network in West Africa ( –Issue: Does the capacity exist in the Met Services to use and maintain these radars? How can the capacity issue be addressed in a sustainable way? African governments must be ready to offer support

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Some Technology efforts (II) AfricaArray refers to scientists working on arrays of continent-wide linked projects; arrays of shared training programmes and observational networks; and above all, a common vision that Africa will build and retain capacity in an array of technical and scientific fields (

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Some Technology efforts (III) Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT - High Performance Computing Infrastructure meant for West Africa –Issues: Are scientists within the region making maximum use of this facility; How can the facility be improved? GPS network in Ghana –Pilot phase (5) : –Next phase - whole country –Issues: Mainly to be used by cartographers (e.g. from Land Survey Department); Does the meteorologist in Ghana Meteorological Agency even know they can benefit from observations such as IWV?

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Effective Use of Technology Lesson: Implementing technology for technology sake without regard to how the technology will be used, has failed!!! By using technology effectively, it is possible to do more with less resources and compete in a larger playing field

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Key Issues What are the existing technologies? How effective are we using the existing technologies? - capacity base, appropriateness, etc How do we improve and sustain capacity (both human and infrastructural) for existing technologies? How appropriate are emerging technologies? Do we have the capacity (both human and infrastructural) for emerging technologies?

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The way forward (I) Need to assess technology needs (current and future) of business, institution, etc –Research Existing and Future Conditions –Establish General Direction - Vision –Conduct Needs Assessment Foster stronger links between Academia and Industry at the national and continental levels –Both academia and industry must agree on appropriateness of emerging technologies –Academia to train students for the current and future technological trends in industry

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The way forward (II) Organize very focused periodic workshops that bring together experts from academia and Industry at the national level; For example –Mathematical Problems in Industry (MPI):MPI is a problem solving workshop that attracts leading applied mathematicians and scientists from universities, industry, and national laboratories. During the workshop, engineers and scientists from industry interact with the academic participants on problems of interest to their companies

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The way forward (III) Have a structure to facilitate transition from existing to emerging technologies and to train the next generation - linkage with academia Have a structure to promote private sector involvement. E.g. tax relief policy

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 The way forward (IV) Identify which industry could be a “starter” industry –The textile industry was the first to be highly mechanized in England –The textile industry remains “starter” in Indonesia –The Palm Oil industry was the “starter” in Malaysia –ICT was the “starter” in India

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Conclusion The contribution of technology to industrialization is enormous if used effectively For a particular institution, the contribution can be quantified in monetary terms if say the income status before and after the introduction of a particular technology are compared

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Thank you for your attention

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Conducting Needs Assessment (I) Tech needs assessment is more effective when the analysis is based on business goals and available resources –Available resources: Existing hardware and software capacity to acquire funds for infrastructure building to provide on-going professional development programs for those that will be using the new technology A needs assessment may occur at various levels of the organizational structure. A decision should be made, based on goals and resources

Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST-II), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2-5 May 2011 Conducting Needs Assessment (II) A decision should be made, based on goals and resources, as to the extent to which technology will be infused into the daily operations of the business