Cover of the joint report on curiosity-driven and agenda-driven research. Provided by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology.
Young scientists from Korea and Sweden have voiced their opinion that ‘agenda-driven research,’ motivated by latest socio-political targets, is being overly promoted, and that assist for ‘curiosity-driven research,’ which begins with a researcher’s mental curiosity, ought to be expanded over the subsequent 10 years.
The Young Korean Academy of Science and Technology (YKAST) introduced on the 14th that it has printed a particular version of its Next-Generation Report titled ‘Curiosity-Driven and Agenda-Driven Research’ with the Young Academy of Sweden (YAS). A complete of 9 members authored the report, together with six from YKAST, similar to Professor Kwon Soon-kyung of Gyeongsang National University and Professor Kim Sang-woo of Yonsei University, and three from YAS, together with Professor Gabriele Messori of Uppsala University.
Established in 2017, YKAST is a bunch of excellent younger scientists beneath the age of 43. YAS, established in 2011, elects members who’ve demonstrated educational excellence as impartial researchers inside 10 years of acquiring their Ph.D.
The report introduces a latest pattern in research classification that strikes past the normal distinction between ‘primary research’ and ‘utilized research’ to a framework of curiosity-driven versus agenda-driven research. This classification focuses on the researcher’s motivation and the research course of. Curiosity-driven research refers to inquiry that begins from the researcher’s mental curiosity, whereas agenda-driven research goals to unravel social and policy-related agendas.
In the report, the younger scientists said, “Curiosity-driven research is a key pillar of a robust knowledge system. Public investment in research conducted out of intellectual curiosity creates knowledge that market incentives alone cannot produce and that no government strategy can fully predict.”
Korea and Sweden are ranked 2nd and 4th on this planet, respectively, for their research and growth investment-to-GDP ratio, however there are distinct variations of their research funding allocation strategies and research cultures.
Korea has pushed fast industrial growth centered on government-led nationwide strategic applied sciences and mission-oriented research and growth (R&D), whereas Sweden has historically pursued a steadiness between researcher-driven primary and exploratory research and research assist.
A survey of 111 members of YKAST and YAS revealed a consensus amongst younger scientists from each international locations that the present research assist system is considerably skewed in direction of agenda-driven research and that assist for curiosity-driven research ought to be expanded over the subsequent 10 years.
“The balance of the research ecosystem is more important than the total amount of funding,” the authors proposed. “While strategic, goal-oriented research is necessary to solve problems facing society, such as climate change, public health, and the digital transformation, safeguards are also needed for researcher-driven studies that enable scientific breakthroughs and protect academic freedom.”
Regarding the path of worldwide cooperation between the 2 international locations, they emphasised that it ought to begin by connecting researchers with appropriate values and research strategies, moderately than merely aligning nationwide agendas.
This report is the primary collaborative publication by YKAST with a international younger academy since its founding. The full report may be downloaded as an digital doc from the Korean Academy of Science and Technology web site (kast.or.kr).
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