Editorial: Scientists need to change message

It is a sad day when scientists advise young people not to follow in their footsteps. These are people who, drawing on past and present triumphs, should be firing the imagination with dreams of what their calling can deliver to society. Instead a survey of 103 New Zealand scientists found more than half of them would advise the young to steer clear of scientific and engineering careers in this country.

Contrast that with Science Minister Pete Hodgson's speech to the world research and development conference in Wellington last week in which he called for the creation of a knowledge-based society that recognises and rewards innovation.

He told the conference we should value both elitism and entrepreneurship in science. Those sentiments are strong pointers to the part that science must play in New Zealand's future and the standing that scientists must have in our community.

The country is off to a poor start if many of our scientists suffer from a form of low professional self-esteem. The most unfortunate aspect is that they are allowing their personal situations to blight the thinking of the generation that could follow them.

The atmosphere inside our Crown Research Institutes, where negative attitudes towards scientific careers have doubled since the last survey in 1996, is a problem.

Changes of policy and emphasis have had an impact on scientific staff within the CRIs, particularly on those who joined the state scientific community with expectations that have not been met or which are no longer being satisfied. In the wider scientific community there is a growing belief that change has not led to better conditions or innovative research opportunities. None of this is the fault of science.

We hear the argument that scientists are being forced into applied research and that the pursuit of "pure science" is falling victim to market forces. It is a high-minded term that is as ill-defined as it is emotionally loaded. Few scientists today would, in fact, see their role as esoteric investigators with no purpose other than intellectual stimulation. The majority seek answers to problems, solutions that will ultimately have benefits.

For them to do so, there needs to be a "blue skies" approach to some of their endeavours. There needs to be recognition that they must have the freedom to explore before their discoveries move to applied research and development. If that is not occurring - and 15 per cent of the survey felt too much emphasis was being put on funding commercial research - they must regain their freedom.

Tomorrow's scientists need to be aware that the freedom to explore already exists in this country. Many of our scientists engage in "blue skies" projects that both satisfy their intellectual needs and, in many cases, bear commercial fruit. Our universities engage in a bewildering array of basic research projects and the fact that some now have commercial arms to exploit discoveries is no more than common sense.

The private sector, too, is no stranger to the "blue skies" concept. Genesis Research and Development, for example, is an Auckland-based company whose medical discoveries are translating into international partnerships. This year that company increased its research budget by 58 per cent to $18.9 million. More than 90 per cent of its staff of 124 are directly involved in R&D and the core of its business is genomics, a science younger than computers.

The scientific community should concentrate its effort on the message that the level of R&D spending in this country - we spend half the developed country average - needs to dramatically increase if we are to realise our ambition to become a knowledge-based society. A positive response to that call by both the Government and private enterprise will create a demand for more scientists. That demand will not be met unless school pupils are encouraged to pursue scientific and technical degrees.

Science must be painted as both exciting and rewarding. The former is a matter of perception that can be changed by the right attitude. The latter will be self-fulfilling if New Zealand sees technology as the antidote to its declining position on the international table of prosperity.