Morrison has big plans forscience, technology commission
Published:Friday | May 9, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
PROFESSOR ERROL Morrison has said the recent report at the University of Technology (UTech) which cast aspersions on his leadership of the institution should not be seen as the reason he has been seconded to the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST).
Morrison will join the commission on June 1 and will serve as national director general, a position which he said he is deeply honoured to take up.
Morrison has been forced to defend his actions as president following a damning report by a special committee that enquired into claims of bad governance and financial irregularities.
"We have been in discussion about this for some time," Morrison told The Gleaner, while noting that he spearheaded the innovations awards in 2012. "It was even before then that I was in discussion with the minister as to how the role of science and technology can be beefed up in the tremendous thrust for this country's development by 2030."
"What has happened at UTech, some of that fall-out is pure by-the-way. I see it as of no consequence as far as I am concerned," he added.
Morrison is being replaced at UTech by former education minister, Ambassador Burchell Whiteman.
Portfolio minister, Phillip Paulwell, said in the House of Representatives that science and technology are the main drivers for innovation, entrepreneurship and wealth creation. The minister said it is time, Jamaica has a conversation about the role of science and technology in development.
USE of existing technologies
Morrison told The Gleaner that critical to his work will be public education as well as seeking to ensure greater use of existing technologies, studies and apparatus.
"It is not the scientist in the white coat. It is using tacit knowledge that is already there, how you are going to convert that knowledge base into income generation," he told The Gleaner.
According to Morrison, his role will be to help Jamaicans to utilise technology such as cellular phones to make money or to improve their farming or marketing practices.
"We have to take the information to the people... we will have to be doing like a campaign," he added.
But the soon-to-be head of the science commission conceded that the "highfalutin science as it occurs in the laboratories must go on and must be encouraged".
"My role will have to be to encourage the research that is going to direct itself to the country's problems, not just esoteric, interest-driven research. It must be research that is related to national development, and that is where we will place the emphasis," he added.
The accomplished scientist and administrator also said he will be focusing his attention on getting greater efficiencies through the use of government resources such as laboratories and apparatus, saying he will have to take a look at how to rationalise them.
"There are aspects of duplication where we could probably utilise equipment more efficiently and timetable them better, so that they are not sitting fallow for weeks and months, where we can utilise personnel better to get economies of scale, so that people can now work in a concerted way and bring solutions to the table," Morrison said.