Scientific Innovative Research as Wheel for Sustainable Economy and Digital Competitiveness

With the global trends through technological innovations, digital economy has continued to defined the scope of economic vibrancy and competitiveness.

 

As digital technology evolves, the modern economy is being transformed by innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things, Blockchain, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Mobile, Big Data, Machine Learning, Robots, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles aka Drones, Cloud Computing, Fintech and so on.

These powerful technologies are, autonomously or in convergence, instigating improved productivity and business innovation, which in turn are leading to increased employment opportunities, creation of wealth, and formation of greater value and growth in the economy.

Owing to the advent of digital age, digital economy has began to define global competitiveness.

In the digital economy, governments of nations are also enabled with technologies that help them analyse public policies and improve governance as they deliver better public services to citizens more efficiently.

As countries of the world are leaping far and fast ahead of others in transforming into digital economies, there can be no digital economy without research.

These were the words of the the Director, World Bank Sponsored Africa Centre Centre of in ICT-Driven Knowledge Park and Immediate Past Dean, Faculty of Technology Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, Professor Sola Aderounmu.

According to him, due to its acclaimed significance for socio-economic development, research commands great attention among smart nations.

While urging the Federal Government to prioritize research funding in order to promote digital economy in the country, Aderounmu said there is no disputing the assertion that research is quite imperative in driving innovation in any sphere of life.

“That is why, as claimed in the UNESCO Institute for Statistics report, “global spending on Research & Development (R&D) has reached a record high of almost US$1.7 trillion.”

Aderounmu, who doubles as the immediate past president of Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) posited that research helps to deepen the innovation capabilities of nations, while aiding their sustainable prosperity and global competitiveness in the digital economy.

It is the reason that developing economies that want to evolve their own digital economies need to provide requisite funding to citizens and institutions with inventive scientific ideas to undertake research and development activities that can yield innovative products to benefit society, he stated.

Speaking on this, he said the role of research in digital economy cannot be overemphasized in that it enables innovation.

“Innovations are what drive the digital economy, but innovations are themselves fuelled by research” Aderounmu highlighted.

Furthermore he stressed that, it is projected the race to greater digitalisation of world economies will get more frenetic, with the second wave of the pandemic forcing most nations to intensify ecommerce, virtual schooling and remote work as they re-impose national lockdowns and closures of businesses and institutions of learning

According to him, there is no disputing the assertion that research is quite imperative in driving innovation in any sphere of life.

“Just as there can be no progress or development without innovation, there is no innovation without research. Most, if not all, innovative technologies in history till date are products of research. In the digital economy, research is even more organically indispensable because innovations are what drive, grow and sustain economic digitalisation.

“As rated in a 2020 Harvard Business Review report on economies showing the most digital progress, the fastest growing digital economies in the world include South Korea, Singapore, United States, China, Estonia, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.

“Other countries are also trying to advance their digital capabilities due to the disruptive pressures of the current COVID-19 pandemic that has afflicted the global economy with contraction and recession” he disclosed.

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Going back in history of global technology evolution, Aderounmu emphasized, research and innovation have often flourished as organisations, universities and governments cooperate and collaborate to transform new technological insights into commercial innovations or inventions.

As nations and governments strive to build or grow their own digital economies, they must pay priority attention and provide massive funding to Research & Development activities and projects in the academia and tech industry, Aderounmu urged.

“The implementation of a digital economy strategy must be a deliberate government policy that is well thought out and structured. Governments of developing economies such as we have in Africa need to take the right steps towards the actualisation of a modern digital economy strategy.

“More innovation hubs and technology parks must be established and well-funded to expand research capabilities”, he noted.

Speaking further, he said there is a critical need for deepening the strategic partnership between the academia and entrepreneurial industry, so as to ensure that research efforts yield rewarding outcomes that benefit society and advance the digital economy.

What is more, the collaboration between the academia and industry can also explore curriculum planning for institutions of higher learning in order to evolve the right ICT programmes that will help realise the skills requirements of the future.

Aside prioritising and funding research, developing countries can also build a robust digital economy by promoting digital skills uptake among citizens, minimising capacity constraints, investing in wholesome ICT ecosystems, providing up-to-date digital infrastructure, facilitating easier digital access, strengthening regulatory frameworks that nurture and protect competition, and implementing policies for stimulating sustainable innovation, Aderounmu noted.