2 - Four Case Studies of Science in Asia

Summary

This chapter offers a brief assessment of the scientific research system and higher education sector in four Asian countries: China, India, Singapore and Taiwan. The chapter provides readers with a brief history of each country and an overview of each country's higher education sector. The chapter then focuses on the state of science and technology in each country, with particular emphasis on the state of bioscience research, before ending with the specific challenges each country faces in trying to boost their standing in the global scientific field. In all four cases, the strong role of the state in channelling immense resources towards the sciences is highlighted. In the case of China and Singapore, the heavy investment made by both countries' governments in transforming many of their national universities into "world-class" research universities is noted. Taiwan's ongoing vulnerability because of its geopolitical position vis-a-vis China is also discussed. India is noted as the country with the least advanced research infrastructure of the four, but also the youngest population with growing numbers of students interested in the sciences. Singapore's small size is discussed as its key weakness.