Science, Technology and Innovation Competitiveness
The latest World Competitiveness Rankings released in 2020 place Thailand overall in the 29th position. Published annually by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the World Competitiveness Yearbook benchmarks the performance of 63 countries based on a number of criteria measuring different facets of competitiveness, including scientific infrastructure and education.
In terms of scientific infrastructure competitiveness, Thailand fell by one rank to 39th from the previous year. While Thailand’s scores in most criteria have improved from the previous year, other countries have fared better. The IMD ranking in scientific infrastructure is based on 22 criteria, and Thailand’s performance in some of these criteria are as follows.
- Total R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP increased from 1% to 1.11%. The ranking remains unchanged at 37th (Figure 1).
- Total R&D personnel per capita increased from 20.9 to 24.0 FTE, per 10,000 people. The ranking, however, has decreased by one place, to 40th (Figure 2).
- Patent applications per capita has improved from 2.43 to 2.54 applications filed, per 100,000 inhabitants. The ranking remains unchanged at 54th (Figure 3).
Among ASEAN member countries, Thailand’s performance falls behind Singapore and Malaysia in the R&D expenditure and personnel criteria. Thailand has set a goal to be in the top 30 ranking of the IMD scientific infrastructure competitiveness, with total R&D expenditure at 2% of GDP and total R&D personnel at 30 FTE per 10,000 people by 2027.
Though the patent applications per capita slightly increased from the previous year, this number is still far behind the world average at 83.39, and Singapore’s 131.50. Apart from the number of patents, analyzing patents by technology shows each country’s areas of strength or specialization, and thus can lead to an understanding of economic activity and potential of each country. Table 1. shows the top three technology fields of patent applications in selected ASEAN countries.
The above data show that Thailand has placed emphasis on increasing its R&D inputs, i.e., expenditure and personnel, which will eventually lead to the rise in R&D output, such as innovation capability. As the country is setting challenging goals for its R&D inputs and making significant improvement in R&D budget allocation, these attempts will contribute positively to its long-term R&D development.
Figure 1. Total expenditure on R&D (%GDP)
Source: IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2020
Figure 2. Total R&D personnel per 10,000 capita (FTE)
Source: IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2020
Figure 3. Patent applications per 10,000 capita
Source: IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2020
Table 1. Top three technology fields of patent applications
Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 2020
Higher Education Competitiveness
Thailand’s education competitiveness ranking moved up one spot to 55th in 2020. The IMD ranking in education is based on 20 criteria and Thailand’s performance in some of these criteria are as follows:
- The score of university education meeting the needs of a competitive economy improves from 5.52 to 5.96. The ranking moves up 6 spots to 37th (Figure 4).
- University education index moves up from 50th to 49th.
For several consecutive years, Thailand has scored the lowest among ASEAN countries in terms of the university education meeting the needs of a competitive economy, indicating the inability of its higher education to meet the demand of industries. The university education index derives from the Times Higher Education (THE) university rankings. Globally, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 lists 1,527 universities and the top three universities are the University of Oxford, Stanford University and Harvard University, respectively. Within the ASEAN region, two universities in Singapore are listed in the top 100, whereas none of the 17 Thai universities participating in the ranking appeared in the top 100 rankings (Table 2). To improve the THE university ranking, Thai universities will need to improve the quality of their education and research, as well as boosting revenues obtained from industries. It is also imperative for Thailand to reform its higher education system in order to address these issues.
In addition to the World University Rankings, THE also publishes the Impact Rankings which assesses universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Impact Rankings 2020 included 768 universities, and the top three universities are the University of Auckland, the University of Sydney and Western Sydney University, respectively. Within the ASEAN region, the University of Indonesia performs best, ranked 47th. Three universities from Indonesia are featured in the top 100, whereas none of the 19 Thai universities participating in the rankings make the top 100. Singapore – which held the top position of ASEAN universities in the World University Rankings – did not participate in the Impact Rankings 2020.
Overall, Thai education still has plenty of room for improvement in several aspects. The 2021-2027 Higher Education Plan aims to have at least 2 universities listed in the top 200 of World University Rankings, the university education index in the top 40, and a higher education fund established. The goals set in this plan will promote an overall improvement of Thai higher education.
Figure 4. University education
Source: IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2020
Table 2. ASEAN universities in the World University Rankings
Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021
Competitiveness of Academic and Research-related Institutions
The Global Competitiveness Report is an annual report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), ranking countries based on the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 (GCI 4.0). Among the indicators in an innovation pillar of GCI 4.0 is the “Research Institutions Prominence Index”, computed from the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR). SIR is therefore an important criterion for research and higher education policy design, as well as performance assessment.
SIR is the worldwide rankings of academic and research-related institutions. SIR indicators are divided into three groups, which are intended to reflect capabilities in research, innovation and social impact of institutions. In the 2020 SIR World Report, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) comes first in the overall rankings and scores among the top 1% in all three categories, i.e., research rankings, innovation rankings and societal rankings. The United States has the largest number of institutions – 52 institutions – in the top 100. The top performers from Thailand are:
- Mahidol University (554th position): Mahidol University scored in the 20th percentile in the overall rankings, the 19th percentile in the research rankings, the 29th percentile in the innovation rankings and the 9th percentile in the societal rankings.
- Chulalongkorn University (572nd position): Chulalongkorn University scored in the 21st percentile in the overall rankings, the 19th percentile in the research rankings, the 39th percentile in the innovation rankings and the 9th percentile in the societal rankings.
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) (607th position): BIOTEC scored in the 26th percentile in the overall rankings, the 70th percentile in the research rankings, the 12th percentile in the innovation rankings and the 59th percentile in the societal rankings.
Since the SIR World Report was first published in 2009, the rankings of Thai institutes had consistently improved between 2009-2014, remained more or less unchanged between 2014-2017, and has been on the decline since 2018. It is therefore imperative that Thailand urgently strengthens the capability of its academic and research institutes in order to improve both regional and global competitiveness.
Figure 5. Thai institutions in the SCImago Institutions Rankings from 2009 to 2020
Source: SCImago Institutions Rankings 2020
