KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

The Asia-Pacific Science and Technology (S&T) Management Seminars, originally named "The Asia-Pacific Research and Development (R&D) Management Seminar" in 1995, was initiated with the purpose of improving the management skills of R&D managers and policymakers in the region. Since then the seminars have been heldannually. At the fourth seminar in Kuala Lumpur, it was decided by common consent to broaden thescope of the seminars from R&D Management to also encompass S&T Management, including promotional systems and and policies. THe first seminar was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Since then, seminars have been held annually in various locations: the second was in Singapore, the third in Manila, the Philippines, the fourth in Kuala Lumpru, Malaysia, and the fifth seminar in February, 2000 in Fukuoka, Japan. The sixth seminar, from the 7th to the 9th of November 2000, was held in Hanoi with the cooperation of the Government of Vietnam. It is meaningful that the last seminar in the 20th century took place in one of the youngest and the most vital countries in the Asia-Pacific region. "National Innovation Systems (NIS) - How to Maintain Sustainable Growth of the Asia-Pacific Region -" was the title of the 6th seminar. "NIS" is considered one of the most important and strategic concepts for the Asia-Pacific region, aiming at achieving sustainable economic growth in the 21st century. The region's broad diversity extends, for example, across economic scale and historical, cultural and social background. This fact clearly indicates that one of the key issues is how each country or region may fulfill its complimentary functions in the region in the context of globalization of economies. The expected functions are strongly connected with the National Innovation Systems of each country or region. In the past 5 seminars, we have discussed specific themes such as re-activation of traditional industries, promotion of new businesses and creation of eco-businesses. This 6th seminar was an opportunity for discussing how to construct mutually useful and interactive relations among countries or regions in order to promote innovation for further sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. Keynote speeches were presented by Professor NIWA (Graduate School of Policy Studies, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Japan) titled "Structural Understanding of National Innovation Activities" and Dr. Le Dienh Tien, (National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies, MOSTE Vietnam) titled "Applying the NIS Approach in Vietnam's Context: Prospective Potential for Vietnam's Sustainable Growth". Following the two keynote speeches, 12 Papers were introduced and discussed in the following three sessions. (1) Systems for Food Industry (2) Systems for Transportation Industry (3) Systems for Housing Industry Six papers focused on Systems for the Housing Industry as there is currently considerable interest in the Housing industry in the Asia-Pacific Region. The sponsor, Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JSP) and the organizer, Japan International Science and Technology Exchange Center (JISTEC) would like to express their gratitude for the cooperation of the cosponsor, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Vietnam (MOSTE). We also wish to express our sincere appreciation to all the speakers, chairpersons, and participants for their valuable contributions.