Innovation and technology are the main driving force for Thailand’s economic growth and social progress. They also serve as the only remaining route to ensure the Thai economy’s survival.
The Science Park concept has been materialised through the collaboration between the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Industry.
Thailand Science Park (TSP) has the mission of providing infrastructure for knowledge-based entrepreneurs to be born, grow and prosper sustainably. Also, the TSP aims to serve as an integral incubator for Thai innovations and technologies.
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TSP has a clear strategy of encouraging Thai entrepreneurs to make use of science and technology knowledge to create their intellectual properties, according to Suwipa Wanasathop, executive vice president of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and executive director of Thailand Science Park.
The establishment of TSP, Software Park and Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi) is part of the vision to push for a speedy and stable growth of local innovations.
R&D with open innovations
The national science park’s strategy focuses on building an open innovation ecosystem that helps innovations grow and serve as the foundation for economic and social development.
“Our duty is to encourage the private sector to invest in research and development [R&D] so that the companies have their own intellectual properties. Many companies are developing their innovations internally. However, they can do it faster and better when collaborating with other firms, with state agencies or aligned organisations with capable researchers,” Suwipa said.
They key is to encourage Thai entrepreneurs — large and small alike — and startups to collaborate and grow in this open innovation zone.
TSP offers a friendly ecosystem for open innovations so that Thai entrepreneurs can perform better and faster while prospering.
Thailand’s expenditure in R&D has increased to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product last year, up from less than 1 per cent previously. This is mainly thanks to the tax incentives, up to 300 per cent deduction, resulting from cooperation between TSP, the Finance Ministry and the Revenue Department.
Excellence, networking and increased value
To successfully create an open innovation ecosystem that is stable and sustainable in Thailand, Suwipa sets an action plan with three methods: Being excellent, connecting the dots, and creating new value.
The three methods aim to help Thai business operators transform into innovation driven entrepreneurs (IDE). This is a key performance indicator for Thailand’s national science park. Entrepreneurs that own innovations with sustainable growth are able to create a “spillover effect” — more jobs, business expansion and higher tax payment. Meanwhile, research works with business potential can get financial support for the benefit of the economy and society.
“We have the duty to facilitate creation of a friendly and supportive ecosystem that helps to speed up the work and encourages collaboration with mutual trust. Our focus is on ensuring this science park’s excellence,” Suwipa said.
To build the ideal ecosystem, TSP must excel in services, knowledge/information, and networking of top experts, in addition to management. Those allow TSP to help the companies aligning with the Science Park to develop and grow quickly.
Working with TSP allows easy access to leading researchers for small and medium-size enterprises as well as startups despite their limited funds.
NSTDA has about 2,000 full-time researchers at five national centres covering five major areas — NANOTEC, NECTEC, BIOTEC, MTEC (material sciences) and ENTEC (energy tech).
“The Science Park does the matchmaking. In case, we don’t have [particular] researchers requested, we can connect between the two sides,” the TSP chief said.
TSP has a network of some 120 allies from the private sector comprising large and small companies from inside the country and overseas. Among them are Betagro, Mitr Phol, SCG, PTT, Osotspa, Ajinomoto, Yamamori and Kewpie.
The R&D centre at TSP helps domestic and overseas companies to acquire the best raw materials in Thailand for their products and services. Foreign firms can adapt their technologies to the context of Thailand and other ASEAN countries with the help of local researchers.
Currently, TSP offers the service of material testing and analysis with state-of-the-art equipment. Private companies no longer have to purchase those expensive tools for their own use, such as the ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) for analysing cannabis.
Aiming for excellence in 4 areas
In addition to excellence in management, the Science Park aims to excel in four industries Thailand has been strong at — food and agriculture, health and wellness, logistics and tourism, as well as digital, which is the key for national development.
Regarding the digital industry, Software Park has expedited restructuring with focus on three major systems — automation, robotics and intelligence, or ARI.
In the area of health and wellness, the focus is on assistive medical devices for the elderly and the disabled, as well as herbal medicines, biological products for health, and functional food.
Also, there is collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society in creating digital health entrepreneurs for patients of chronic non-communicable diseases. However, the ongoing Covid-19 situation has increased the demand for tele-medicine and smart hospitals.
Involving food and agriculture, the focus is on raw materials and adding value to foods, as well as developing innovations for Thailand’s food and farming industries.
Excellence in logistics and tourism concentrates on creating systems for data management and for efficient workflow.
Digital excellence helps support the three other sectors — in the forms of food tech and health tech, for instance, Suwipa said. Regarding logistics, the focus is on systems that support the business, manage the supply chain for e-commerce, and help ensure health safety for customers in this Covid-19 era.
Expanding network in terms of quantity and quality
The strategy of connecting the dots refers to expanding the existing network and completing the ecosystem through matchmaking between capable players and encouraging more collaboration over open innovations. Meanwhile, more interactions with existing customers are advised.
“We often suggest sources of research funds. We approach tech funds to make sure capable startups get funding. Most importantly, we do marketing tie-in for companies [that join TSP] to increase their exposure,” Suwipa said.
TSP also has set up a network overseas through the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP), which serves as a forum for member countries to exchange knowledge on the development of innovations and technologies. Thailand is holding presidency of the IASP’s Asia-Pacific division.
The association also offers opportunities for customers of national science parks through its various projects regarding marketing and business matching, among others.
Creating new value, which is the final strategy, involves searching for new value and pushing for new industries to be born in Thailand.
“To turn an entrepreneur or a startup into an IDE, we first find out what they still lack and we get them that. We can help with funding,” Suwipa said.
“In the past, we relied on venture capital (VC), which often turned down fledgling startups. So, we now connect with the World Business Angel Forum (WBAF), which offers a collection of “angel funds” from more than 90 countries. Money is not the problem for those Business Angels,” she added.
Those “business angels” offer assistance to startups in the form of expertise, mentoring or matchmaking with prospective customers.
Also, a network of angel funds called Thailand Business Angel Network (TBAN) has been set up through connections with the pioneering startups in order to acquire funding for Thai entrepreneurs.
“These angel funds understand the nature of startups, which normally require at least five years for R&D,” Suwipa said.
Ties with overseas organisations allow access to knowledge and know-how, which benefits the TSP over human resource development.
“You can’t do the job only with hardware, without software. Without people, you can’t create added value,” the agency’s executive director said.
She added that the TSP is also working on protecting intellectual properties and maintaining the quality standard while collaborating with relevant state agencies, such as the Thai Industrial Standards Institute and Food and Drug Administration.
Moreover, the National Science Park provides opportunities for researchers from both the public and private sectors to build on the commercial potential of their research works. This is a Thai equivalent of the minimum viable product (MVP) concept.
“A prototype product based on research is made and presented to an early customer. The goal is to test the market and correct any flaws before they are mass-produced and sold at lower prices,” Suwipa said.
She added that her agency is in talks with the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) and co-investing with the Science Park in setting up an MVP centre, which is equipped with 3D printers and will start operational soon.
The MVP centre is part of important infrastructures linking with other network members including manufacturing factories. It provides researchers with information helpful for developing new products.
EECi, Science Park and Software Park
Thailand’s development of technologies and innovations is separately under the responsibility of EECi, TSP and the Software Park. The three have different strengths but share some connections.
As the Science Park focuses on promoting R&D, EECi aims at building new industries such as those relating to the biobased economy. However, both are connected in that those companies or agencies successfully developing their innovations and technologies at the TSP will need EECi to house their expanded businesses. EECi has the infrastructures and management system required for commercial manufacturing.
The Science Park covers all branches of technology while the Software Park focuses on digital development only.
“Our duty is to build digital connections. Science Park concepts can also be adapted for the Software Park, such as human development and the Angel Fund raising,” Suwipa said. “Digital technologies change rapidly these days. If you don’t adapt, things will be difficult. The focus is now on AI and intelligence system.”
The TSP’s ultimate goal is to create opportunities for the younger generations. When the Science Park’s ecosystem is complete, young Thai people will attain equal chances to access available resources and knowledge. Also, they will be able to fully improve their skills through upskilling and reskilling. In the end, Thailand is expected to escape the “middle income trap”.
“This area is meant for the younger generations. They don’t need to be employees, entrepreneurs or startup owners. People are good at different things,” Suwipa said.
“We want this zone to offer diverse opportunities for young people — an area of open innovations and hopes. Also, if possible, we want to get ready some mechanism other than the existing infrastructure to help foster and incubate new startups in Thailand.”
