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Highlights of Indo-Japan Symposium on Recognizing the need for learning through collaborative efforts of the two leading countries of Asia – India and Japan, Department of Management Studies (DMS), Indian Institute of Technology (IITD), Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management's "School of Technology and Innovation Management" (GIFT-STIM), organized a symposium in association with Mombusho Scholars Association of India (MOSAI) and Association of International Education Japan (AIEJ). The symposium was organized on 6th November 2002 in the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, INDIA. The Symposium was supported by Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. The key objective of the symposium was to provide the participants insights into conceptual and practical aspects of the role of technology and innovation management for technology capability building and competitiveness. Sharing and interpreting experiences of diverse participants helped in understanding the issues and challenges in technology capability building. Thought leaders from India and Japan on the subject provided perspectives on the theme. Reflecting on his visits to Japan, Prof. R.S. Sirohi, Director IIT Delhi praised the basic values of the Japanese people such as urge for perfection, eye for detail and human relations that result into superior performance in many areas, including technology capability building, through superior teamwork. Prof. Rajat Baisya, Head DMS, stressed the need for focus on firm level technology capability building for competitiveness. Mr. Miyahara, Director General of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), emphasized that Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SME's) played critical role in enhancing competitiveness of Japan in 1950s and 1960s by focusing on quality and consistency. Many of today's technology giants of Japan such as Sony and Toyota were born small, but developed capabilities for sustainable growth through superior management of technology and innovation. He indicated that Indo-Japan collaborations in many industries such as two-wheeler have been quite successful, as indicated by India becoming a largest producer with high local content. He attributed the current problems of Japan to weakening spirit of entrepreneurship. He also highlighted role of Jetro for trade facilitation and new free internet-based service. Concepts and issues of technology capability building and competitiveness were discussed in the symposium. Even after decade of liberalization in India, the share of govt. in R&D investment has increased and the share of private sector has shrunk. The major investment in R&D is by the govt. Most of the govt. spending on R&D goes into the research in basic, applied sciences and experimental development. The R&D investment by companies in India is much lower than the world's average. With meager investments in research, development of new capabilities in the dynamic world is very difficult. Professionals appreciated that companies need to invest systematically in human resources and technology to build technology capability to enhance their long term competitiveness. Current performance of India in technology capability building is rarely analyzed, evaluated and discussed. Select facts indicate that performance and progress is quite unsatisfactory by many global benchmarks. The situation at the three levels, viz., country, industry and individual/ team level, have been analyzed. Despite limited resources, the investments in technology by India have been much larger than that by the Indian industries, though the opportunity for the industry is enormous. At the industry level, the technology capability building has been weak and slow. At the firm level, the awareness (of concepts, indicators and processes) as well as openness (interest, learning and confidence) is weak and processes of building technology is also slow. Innovation is not appreciated and accepted widely. Also, there is lack of development and encouragement of domestic industry/ company. Companies go on investing in buying new technologies but the process and ability to leverage technology is still fuzzy. The companies need to follow a collaborative approach to excel in the global arena and develop capabilities for innovation. Collaborations are needed at all the three levels: country, industry and corporate/ individual level. Joint research helps in diversifying costs and risks associated with research. Finding niche areas suiting ones capabilities will enhance firms competitiveness. Self-confidence building attitude and dreaming high with proper focus on problem-solving can help find solution for corporate and individuals. Emphasis on low cost, high use innovations for the masses through grassroot innovations helps in building self-confidence of the masses and poor in India. The need to develop self-confidence about having technological capabilities was stressed by corporate leaders. The changing paradigm of competition should not be neglected. Market – oriented research helps in developing new product and killer applications. For further information, please contact: |
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