Papua New Guinea's Department of National Planning and Monitoring has reaffirmed the government's commitment to positioning science, research and innovation at the centre of the country's development agenda, as the 8th National Science, Research and Technology Conference closed in Goroka on Thursday.
Floyd Lala, Assistant Secretary for the EU Branch within the department's Development Cooperation Management Division, delivered the closing address at the University of Goroka on behalf of DNPM Secretary Koney Samuel. The week-long conference, which opened on 22 September, had begun with a virtual keynote from the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Kinoka Feo.
Held under the theme "Harnessing Research, Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in Papua New Guinea," the conference brought together presentations spanning STEM education, the transformation of knowledge into economic wealth, biodiversity and conservation, climate change and food security, and the ethics of artificial intelligence in higher education.
In his closing remarks, delivered on the secretary's behalf, Lala challenged scientists, researchers, innovators and policymakers to close the gap between research findings and tangible national development outcomes. "The next ten years must be a decade of real and pragmatic change. Science and research must proactively participate in that transformation," Samuel said in the address.
The address identified three priorities to emerge from the conference: deepening collaboration between government, universities and the scientific community; establishing sustainable funding mechanisms to support research, innovation and commercialisation; and developing a modern national research repository to preserve the country's scientific knowledge for future generations.
Lala also renewed the secretary's call for the establishment of a PNG Science Association, intended to strengthen the connection between research and both policy and development planning.
The department congratulated the University of Goroka, the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, the PNG Research, Science, Technology and Innovation Council, the organising committee, and all presenters and participants for the conference's success, and said it looked forward to seeing its recommendations translated into practical action.