R&D in Information and Communication Technologies in Lithuania Saulius Maskeliūnas Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Akademijos 4, Vilnius LT-2021

R&D in Information and Communication Technologies

in Lithuania

Saulius MaskeliūnasInstitute of Mathematics and Informatics

Akademijos 4, Vilnius LT-2021

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Content

1. European factor

2. Lithuanian ICT Sector

3. R&D peculiarities in Lithuania

4. Lithuanian R&D in ICT

5. Conclusions

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1. European factor

Socioeconomic changes in

Central and Eastern Europe

have clearly positive impact

on the ICT R&D community: • availability of EU structural funds, • participation in FP6 projects, • the “push” of Lisbon strategy

strengthen Lithuanian ICT R&D capacities.

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2. Lithuanian ICT Sector

• It is mostly private. In 2004 consisted of around 1000+ ICT companies employing around 30.000 people (most important ones belong to Infobalt Association).

• Historically most of the IT companies have been established based on State and University computing centres, & big enterprises that evolved in 1988-1996.

• Mostly these are small-sized companies with 2-20 programmers, very few have over 100 employed specialists.

D. Vitkute-Adzgauskiene, R. Sablinskas, ALIPRO National Report - Lithuania: Overview of national research programmes on mobile telecommunications in Lithuania. ALIPRO Project Consortium, September 2005, 106 p. http://alipro.eurescom.de/documents/reports/ALIPRO_NR_LT_en.pdf

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http://www.eito.org/download/EITO Update 2006 - ICT market October 2006.pdf

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Comparison of key ICT indicators

National Lisbon Strategy Implementation Programme (2005-2008). Approved by Res. No. 1270, Nov. 22, 2005 of the Government http://www.ukmin.lt/en/strat_prog/lisbon/doc/Lisabona-angl..doc

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Lithuanian ICT: strengths

• Well-developed universities producing over 1000 specialists in ICT annually

• Well-trained & low-cost human resources available

• Modern telecom infrastructure with a digitalisation ratio of 100% and mobile penetration of 95%

International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO, Information and Communications Technology Country Profile: Lithuania. Geneva, October 2002http://www.ebiz.lt/files/WTO_ITT_PROFILE___LIETUVA__galutinis_darbinis1.doc

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Lithuanian ICT: weaknesses

• Vague long-term vision for ICT development including action plans or prioritization of funds

• Public-private partnership weak & cooperation among economic entities under-developed

• Not much of incentives for R&D by business

• Lack of ICT access development in rural areas


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Lithuanian ICT: opportunities

• Availability of EU Structural Funds to provide support

• FP7 projects based on National Technology Platforms (Networked European Software and Services Initiative Platform, Networked and Electronics Media, etc.)

• Extending ICT “Outsource to Lithuania” activities

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Lithuanian ICT: threats

• Intellectual outflow to weaken intellectual potential

• Becoming a centre of high cost production because of alignment to the EU

• Inconsistent policies, lack of coordination

• Non sufficient financement of Universities, increasing lack of lecturers


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Success stories in Lithuanian ICT

• The Lithuanian mobile network service providers are especially active in the ICT sector. Mobile net-work penetration rate is one of highest in the world.

• The Rural Area Broadband Interconnection to Network (RAIN) programme financed by the EU Structural Funds is in process of implementation:

• a total of 410 local administrations and their inhabitants are to be joined by a single broadband network

• fibre-optic cables of 3.000 km in total length are to connect rural areas;

• not less than 100 megabit per second throughput for each node

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http://www.primeinvestment.lt/files/ICTnews_06oct.pdf

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3. R&D peculiarities in LithuaniaOverall expenditures on R&D 2004 in total were 472,7

mln Lt (i.e. 137 mln €): • 63,1 % - from governmental sources, • 19,9 % - from business, • 10,7 % - from foreign investments, • 6 % - from higher education, • 0,3 % - from private non-commercial enterprises

(D. Bubliene, R&D in Lithuania. Presentation at 79th meeting of the JRC Board of Governors and Round Table Discussion, Vilnius, June 2006 http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/jrc/ENG/Round_table/presentations.htm )

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D was 0.76% on 2004; it is expected: 2% in 2010.

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EIS: Summary Innovation Index and trends

http://trendchart.cordis.lu/scoreboards/scoreboard2005/executive_summary.cfm

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EU countries according to Summary Innovation Index (SII)

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

SK PL MT EL LV CY CZ PT LT NO IT SI HU UK FR LU SE EU15 DK US

Years to catch up Years to fall down

Source: European Innovation Scoreboard ‘2005

IMI 17European Innovation Scoreboard: Categories of innovation indicators – 2005

26 EIS innovation indicators have been classified into five categories to better capture the various aspects of the innovation process. These five categories cover different dimensions of innovation performance with a limited set of indicators.

• Innovation drivers measure the structural conditions required for innovation potential,

• Knowledge creation measures the investments in R&D activities,

• Innovation & entrepreneurship measures the efforts towards innovation at the firm level,

• Application measures the performance expressed in terms of labour and business activities and their value added in innovative sectors, and

• Intellectual property measures the achieved results in terms of successful know-how.

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26 EIS innovation indicators have been classified into five categories to better capture the various aspects of the innovation process. These five categories cover different dimensions of innovation performance with a limited set of indicators.

• Innovation drivers measure the structural conditions required for innovation potential,

• Knowledge creation measures the investments in R&D activities,

• Innovation & entrepreneurship measures the efforts towards innovation at the firm level,

• Application measures the performance expressed in terms of labour and business activities and their value added in innovative sectors, and

• Intellectual property measures the achieved results in terms of successful know-how.

Innovation performance relative to EU average

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Comparison of key R&D indicators

Source: National Lisbon Strategy Implementation Programme (2005-2008). Approved by Res. No. 1270, Nov. 22, 2005 of the Government

http://www.ukmin.lt/en/strat_prog/lisbon/doc/Lisabona-angl..doc

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EU25 vs. National trends in European Innovation Scoreboard indicators (1)

http://trendchart.cordis.lu/reports/documents/Country_Report_Lithuania_2005.pdf

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EU25 vs. National trends in European Innovation Scoreboard indicators (2)

http://trendchart.cordis.lu/reports/documents/Country_Report_Lithuania_2005.pdf

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Academic R&D in Lithuania• Coordination of the main activities in R&D is accomplished

by governmental decrees. The policy of research is formed and implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science in collaboration with the Science Council of Lithuania. The Science Council of Lithuania is the main scientific expert (by the Parliament and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania) on issues of organizing and financing of research and higher education.

• Lithuanian academic R&D system consists of 21 universities (15 public and 6 private), 28 non-university colleges, 17 state research institutes, 18 university research institutes, and 7 state research establishments

E. Butkus. Basic Research in Lithuania: a view from the Science Council. Presentation at the Seminar on FP7 Specific Programme IDEAS, Nov. 17, 2006 http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/Info_d_pranesimai/2006-11-17/3.ppt

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National Innovation System SWOT overview - Strengths

• Growing economy, favourable and stable macroeconomic conditions for innovation• Recognised need for knowledge based innovation in policy and business communities• Relatively favourable educational level, high share of S&T graduates (Skilled IT,

electronics and nuclear engineers)• Growing number of postgraduate S&T researchers• Developed network of scientific and Professional training institutions• Established universities and colleges with good track records• Track record in leading edge scientific disciplines (biotechnology, laser technology,

some areas of medicine, etc.).• Established framework of business and innovation support organisations, including

incubators, Technology Parks and innovation centres, which also serve as intermediaries between the R&D and business sectors

• Companies willing to cooperate in innovation development• Development of innovation policy since 2000 – main policy documents cover major

innovation related areas• More funding for RTD, also in the business sector• Use of EU Structural Funds to strengthen the innovation support system and direct

support for innovations developed jointly by the business sector and R&D institutions• Upgrade of R&D base and development educational programmes for highly skilled

empowerment for innovation

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National Innovation System SWOT overview - Weaknesses

• Lack of horizontal coordination between the responsible ministries, bilateral approach (Ministries of Economy, Science and Education)

• Weak cooperation between R&D and business communities• Innovation policy centralised at the national level, weak interrelation with regional

policies The coordination structure is in place (S&T and Innovation Commission) but its influence is relatively weak

• No evaluation culture; ad–hoc policy making processes• Innovation policy adopted from western modes and not relevant to current industrial

structure (low value added, traditional sectors, blue colour work)• Limited administrative capacity for policy design and implementation• Low level of life long learning, high but obsolete qualifications of the labour force• Low business investment in on-the-job training• State supports only one higher education course per person• Low labour force productivity by EU standards• Low value added innovations, mainly market and customer oriented• Weak R&D sector input in innovation process• Weak links between R&D, business and politics• Existing business support infrastructure oriented towards phase 1 growth, no business

support for 2nd phase growth • Lack of venture capital schemes for new businesses

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National Innovation System SWOT overview - Opportunities

• EU Structural funds and other EU programmes offer broad networking opportunities and increasing funding for innovation

• Lisbon targets are pushing national policy makers to focus on R&D and innovation in business

• EU integration and the development of free economic zones open up new markets and new opportunities for attracting investments

• The traditional relationship with Russia/the CIS is an opportunity to establish new links to exploit EU markets and attract investment from the CIS.

• Mobility of workforce within EU; inverse brain drain• Potential for using the lower cost base to establish Lithuania as an R&D

base• Developing traditional industries with strong skills (furniture, textiles,

clothing, fabrication, etc.)• New applications may result from cross-disciplinary research• Commercialisation of know-how of R&D institutes• Access to new technological and commercial opportunities via

European R&D collaboration and strategic partnerships

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National Innovation System SWOT overview - Threats

• Other emerging economies in the region (Latvia and Estonia) target the same markets with similar offerings

• Recession of EU and global economies• Unstable CIS and Russian economies, implications for exports and

imports of raw materials• Changing demographic profile (ageing society)• ‘Brain drain’ due to lack of opportunities at home and new opportunities

in the EU, loss of qualified labour force• High cost of accessing new and emerging technologies, including

software• Loss of unprotected intellectual property• Low end position in the value chain of highly knowledge intensive

products and technologies in the international context• Low wages limit recruitment of new talent abroad• Adoption of Science and Technology Park concept based on foreign

models may not meet the specific Lithuanian context (this is still too early to evaluate)

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Reasons of R&D problematic status• Lack of diverse instruments supporting R&D which are

available in advanced countries• The system of science and study does not sufficiently

react to the state needs for long-term development• Business investments to R&D are small and the

promotion to do it is insufficient (Lithuanian Computer Society, Infobalt Association, Knowledge Economy Forum are helping to solve this problem)

• Cooperation of research and business is problematic because the amount of entrepreneurs in Lithuania is small.

• Higher schools and institutions of scientific research generate not much new innovative companies

• Aging of researchers and brain drain

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Support to innovation

• K. Gečas, D. Vijeikis. Towards Innovation Policy in Lithuania: RIS LITHUANIA - INNPULSE. European innovation strategies, Vilnius, 1 Dec. 2005 http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/2005-12-01/Pranesimai/9_RIS%20LIETUVA-INNPULSE%202005%2012%2001.ppt

Innovative companies

Innovation policy

Innovation infrastructure

• Policymaking (Lith Govt, Min of Econ)• Innovation in Business Programme, 2000, • Science, Technology and Innovation Development Commission (2202, 2005), • …

• Indirect support (support services)• State budget, 2000+• PHARE, in 2004-2005• ERDF, beginning with 2004

• Direct support (grant schemes)• State budget• PHARE, in 2004-2005• ERDF, beginning with 2004

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Innovation Support Services• Lithuanian Innovation Centre,

with 5 representatives across Lithuania• Science and Technology Parks:

• Vilnius• North Town Technology Park• Science and Technology Park• Visoriai IT Park

• Kaunas High and Information Technology Park• Klaipeda Science and Technology Park• Šiauliai University ST Park

• Sunrise Valley Initiative• Technopolis Initiative• Kaunas Regional Innovation Centre

• K. Gečas, D. Vijeikis. Towards Innovation Policy in Lithuania: RIS LITHUANIA - INNPULSE. European innovation strategies, Vilnius, 1 Dec. 2005 http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/2005-12-01/Pranesimai/9_RIS%20LIETUVA-INNPULSE%202005%2012%2001.ppt

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Strategic documents of Lithuanian innovation politics• State long-term development strategy• Lithuanian economy development strategy up to year 2015• Long-term R&D development strategy• Lithuanian general programming document for years 2004–2006• Program of Innovations and means in business for years 2003-2006• Program of high-technologies development• Program of implementation of White book of Lithuanian science and

technologies provisions• Priority directions of Lithuanian R&D for years 2002–2006• National Lisbon strategy implementation program• EU structural funds programming document 2007-2013

+ operational programs (under development)

• Lina Domarkienė. Development of Lithuanian innovations in the context of Lisbon strategy. Conf. “European innovation strategies” http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/2005-12-01/Pranesimai/2_Lisabon_Strategy-11-30_su%20tekstu_v05.ppt

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5. Lithuanian ICT R&D

• ICT and Information Society development are among the R&D priorities, approved by the Government of Lithuania, and reflected in the scope of current research programmes.

• But, there is some lack of coordinating institution of ICT R&D in Lithuania:

• Information Society Development Committee under the Government: continues only partially activities of previous Ministry of Communications and Informatics.

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Future prospects

(1) To reorganize the governance and the funding system of R&D

(2) To facilitate the co-operation of science and industry

(3) To renovate the infrastructure of research and studies institutions

(D. Bubliene, R&D in Lithuania. Presentation at 79th meeting of the JRC Board of Governors and Round Table Discussion, Vilnius, June

2006 http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/jrc/ENG/Round_table/presentations.htm )

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(1) To reorganize the governance and the funding system of R&D

• to strengthen tender- and programme-based funding system for research

• to fund the most important developments both in high-level research (Centres of excellence) and in co-operation with research and industry

• to implement a new system of grants for young scientists



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(2) To facilitate the co-operation between science and industry

• to introduce different support instruments for enterprises investing into research

• to promote researchers to get involved into consultancy for industry



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(3) To renovate the infrastructure of research and studies institutions• to concentrate investment into particular

research centres

• to identify the strategic research investment projects

• Sunrise Valley, Visoriai Information Technologies Park in Vilnius, similar entities in Kaunas and Klaipėda regions



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Conclusions• Current situation of Lithuanian Research and Development in

Information and Communication Technologies has various problems, but the future prospects are rather promising.

• (IT STAR declaration http://www.starbus.org/r_d_ws1/r_d_ws1.htm): A stable R&D environment in ICT with appropriate regulations, financing and incentives has to be ensured to keep the best scientists at home and the leading national R&D institutions competitive and integrated within the European network of programs and institutes. Further care should be taken to foster the traditionally good university education and research, to encourage R&D in innovative SMEs. To this end, national governments and the European Commission, in partnership with industry and civil society, need to further refine policies and ensure favorable conditions.

• Bureaucracy burden for R&D enterprises should be alleviated (or at least not be increased further).

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Conclusions

• Successful innovation activity is based on human resource improvement, innovation culture nurturing and extension of enterprise innovation capabilities;

for the extension of R&D and innovations the commertialisation of research results is needed.( From the declaration of „European Innovation Strategies“ Conference, Vilnius, December 1, 2005 http://www.tpa.lt/Renginiai/2005-12-01/ )

Thank You for Your Attention

P.S. Report on this topic:

http://www.mii.lt/files/mii_prep_2007_36.doc slides:

http://www.mii.lt/files/2007_01_19.ppt

Documents

R&D in Information and Communication Technologies in Lithuania Saulius Maskeliūnas Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Akademijos 4, Vilnius LT-2021