Off to Hongkong for the 6th ASIALICS 77.0

I am off today for Hongkong to attend the 6th Conference of the Asian Network for Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems (ASIALICS) at the HKUST. Click here for the ASIALICS conference website.

The ASIALICS is the regional conference of GLOBELICS organized by Professor Bengkt-Ake Lundvall who I featured In Post #17.

For Professor Lundvall, a National Innovation Systems works best in a growing environment (high resource mobilization) where there is a continuous interaction between science and technology infrastructure (STI-learning) and learning by doing (DUI – doing, using and interacting). His theory explains the economic success of Japan, Korea and China and also the hallowing out of industry in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, we protected local industry and at the same time incentivized export-oriented companies in EPZ’s and customs-bonded warehouse. This resulted into a dual economy, as highlighted by Dr. Cororaton (Post #12 – #13) cutting the link between R&D infrastructure in universities and the government (the STI) from the DUI or learning-by-doing in manufacturing and industry. Eventually, our industry fell back competitively even as costs increased and was hallowed out in sequence to Japan, Korea and now China.

There is a chance for us to recover in our present successful post-industrial sectors where no duality yet exists. I hope we will learn from the experience of the last fifty years.

Today, I am off to Hongkong to learn and emulate from my innovation co-practitioners in Asia. There are three presentors from the Philippines, Harvey T. Ong, Raymond Habaradas and Aida L. Velasco, all of De la Salle University.

I will share with you my learnings on my return.