Science is the key to Thailand’s economic advancement

Over 190 guests gave talks at the gathering over three days as the gathering seeks to address some of the most pressing issues facing the scientific world. The forum is dubbed as the largest gathering of high-profile scientists in the world and this year is the first that it has been held in the Middle East.
Delegates grappled with issues such as the brain drain of scientific talent from the region, how refugee scientists can fulfil their potential and the role of women scientists in the Middle East.
The forum, which was attended by a number of Nobel laureates and many world leaders, is chaired by Jordan’s Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, who announced earlier this year in Nature Magazine that the WSF would help to “start a movement that will leave a lasting legacy for our nation and our people.”
While I was the only prominent scientist from Thailand who mingled with the creme de la creme of the science world, my favourite encounter had to be with the Japanese-American theoretical physicist and futurist, Professor Michio Kaku talking about three relations between “science and peace.”
“Firstly, science dampens the fire generating wars. Throughout the history for the most parts are the wars were waged to secure wealth and natural resources. That is where science comes in. For centuries, Europeans were slaughtered and invaded each other. Europe was a hotbed of wars and revolutions and chaos. Today, most European nations are prosperous and are at peace. Therefore, one of the cures for wars is to have prosperity,” he said. 
“Secondly, science promotes peace because science promotes understandings between people. The law of science is not owned by any one nation. For instance, all of human knowledge including science can be accessed by anyone including the poorest among us via a push of a button. That knowledge, in return, promotes democracy and it empowers the powerless. Thirdly, science makes possible even poor countries to leapfrog into the future.”
From my perspective, the road to a prosperous future for developing nations including Thailand in order to become developed nations has rarely been a smooth one. It has been paved with obstacles from both natural and man-made. 
For instance, climate change is in filling with copious generations of greenhouse gasses from large industrialized nations. But who has suffered the most? The answer is the poor nations are the ones who cannot deal with rising sea levels, floods, hurricanes, fires, etc.The only workable solution is to promote education at every level.
History has shown that in one generation, science can lift the nations out of poverty into abundance such as Germany, Singapore, Japan and China.Therefore, it is important to emphasize our greatest asset is our people especially when they can unleash their full potential. 
When I was young there was a saying that the main problem of most countries is they have too many poor people draining on their societies. However, we currently need to realize that educated people are the most prized possession of all. Hence, the leaders in 21st century will be those leaders with nations with an educated population. We are truly entering a new era in human history where science can lift up millions of people and entering a new world where wars are gradually obsolete. Lastly, I want to post 3 main questions to help stipulate ideas to our related parties helping to embrace future generations as follows: 1) Can we inspire young people enough to see initiatives to create a new society? 2) Can we energize young people enough to build a better and prosperity? 3) Can we give young people enough the tools by which they can fulfill their dreams to create a better and bright future?In conclusion,Thailand is at risk of falling behind other Asean nations, especially Vietnam and Malaysia. However, many new government’s initiatives such as Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECI), high-speed railway, Carnegie Mellon-KMITL (CMKL) University, and Startup Thailand have been rolled out to help fulfil Thailand’s future. I want to see these initiatives to be in a long-haul without interruptions as I believe the future belongs to the educated, the curious, and the dreamers who want to build one of the greatest nations in the world. In Thailand, I see those young people who are being energised and inspired because they realised that science is their future. In other words, I see young people seizing the initiatives and I foresee the bright and better future for Thailand.

WIBOOL PIYAWATTANAMETHA is director at Advanced Imaging Research Centre, Departments of Biomedical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL).