MINSK, 5 August (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has outlined the key areas for the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) that require special attention during a working group meeting analyzing its performance, BelTA reports.
The head of state inquired what actions had been taken and what additional measures have been planned to resolve the problems identified by the working group.
The president identified three priority areas for the NASB: practice-oriented research, implementation of innovations in economy and social sector, import substitution and export of scientific and technical products.
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that practice-oriented research means effective cooperation between science and industry, agriculture, healthcare, transport and other sectors. “Another crucial aspect is whether industry practitioners actually perceive science as the foundation for their development. Just how effective is their collaboration with researchers?” he asked.
When discussing innovations in the economy and social sector, the president asked what is hindering the growth of science intensity in GDP.
"And third - import substitution and export of scientific and technical products. To what extent is our Academy involved in solving these tasks?" Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
The head of state stressed that reports should provide a real picture of the situation in national science, especially at the Academy. It is important to hear what measures have been taken to improve performance and what proposals have been made for its future work.
"The results of today's meeting will determine what organizational, possibly personnel and other decisions will be made. As you well know, in the scientific field it is customary that all major decisions are made collectively, which is exactly what we're doing," the president said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko assured that the approaches approved at the meeting will translate into specific measures this autumn, which will be discussed and approved at a meeting with the scientific community.
"We definitely need to discuss the issues of scientific development (and the future of our science) with the scientific community. This is exactly what we will do in the near future, certainly this year," Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
The head of the working group, Vasily Gerasimov, Chairman of the State Control Committee (SCC), reported that the group organized the work in two stages. At first they examined the results of the Academy of Sciences' work regarding the practice-oriented research and the implementation of innovations in economic sectors, including the production of import-substituting goods. The second stage analyzed the effectiveness of the Academy's organizational structure.
The working group identified several shortcomings that Vasily Gerasimov outlined in his report. Specifically, it was noted that not all scientific fields contribute sufficiently to production development and exports. According to Vasily Gerasimov, the methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of scientific and technical programs also requires improvement.
