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Published on March 25, 2008

Thailand is making progress on inventions, with the number of patent applications filed by research centres increasing 75 per cent last year, thanks to the three-year "Fast Forward" plan to accelerate research and development for innovations.

Assoc Professor Sakarindr Bhumiratana, president of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), said last week that the agency and the

various centres under its supervision had significantly increased the number of inventions filed for patents last year.

The NSTDA has five agencies under its wing: the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec), the National Metal and Materials Technology Centre, the National Electronics

and Computer Technology Centre, the National Nanotechnology Centre and the Technology Management Centre

The Fast Forward plan, which kicked off last year, aims to accelerate the pace of innovation and get Thai scientists directly involved in the needs of industry, agriculture and healthcare.

The NSTDA alone filed 92 patents last year compared to 52 in 2006. It expects to file 110 applications this year.

"Scientists from the NSTDA and other partner institutions are currently working on 1,070 projects, and 54 of them have had patents issued and been commercially developed," Sakarindr said.

In its latest innovation, the NSTDA aims to participate in a space experiment in 2010 in partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The zero-gravity experiment will contribute to developing better and more productive strains of rice. The knowledge gained can be applied to help Thai farmers.

Suriyan Cha-oom, a Biotec researcher in charge of the project, said it would also be the first time that rice plants grown from tissue culture would be grown in space. Thai scientists will test four varieties of rice from the Pathum Thani Rice Research Centre: Pathum Thani 1, Khao Dok Mali 105, KK 6, and Japanese rice.

The Nation