Put innovation on the agenda

Dennie Quill, Gleaner Columnist

I enjoy freshly brewed coffee - with condensed milk. Health considerations notwithstanding, that is, to me, one of the finest combinations that life offers.

This column is not really about coffee, nor is it about condensed milk. It should be seen more as an ode to innovation. In keeping with my healthy lifestyle, I have been buying skimmed condensed milk to add to my coffee.

Last weekend I came across skimmed condensed milk with a cap attached. Wow, I thought, as I grabbed a few cans. I realised at that moment that this is something I had been waiting for. And I wondered aloud, "Why didn't I think of this?" Yes, we have used the milk dispenser, but as you well know, when it is refrigerated the flow is extremely slow. It's by no means a breakthrough product, but with this neat cap one can simply pour, cap and go.

I have always been fascinated by innovation and technology. I don't believe, like the American patent expert Charles Duell, that "everything that can be invented has been invented". I also don't agree with critics who say modern-day modifications do not change basic innovation, and that we are merely adding to what was already there.

If I were asked what Jamaica needs most at this time, I would say we need some kind of stimulus to unlock the imagination of key researchers in order to foster a flowering of innovation across the country.

Who is the person in Government with the vision to promote innovation? Additionally, where are the tools to create a culture and environment that embrace innovation? The starting point must be the new Cabinet recently announced by Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Er ... who is the minister with responsibility for research and development?

Universities promoting critical thinking and challenging traditional models - as they are known to do - are usually hotbeds of innovation and research. Each year, for example, the University of the West Indies (UWI), the island's premier tertiary institution, stages research day, in which they put on show various new ideas developed by faculty. Even though these displays have helped to cement UWI's reputation as the premier institution of higher learning, some critics have described these as mostly small, incremental steps, and have called for more radical ideas to add more value and maintain the competitive edge.

Take an institution like the University of Technology (UTech). It seems like the 'Tech' is not as relevant today as it was in the past. From all appearances, UTech appears to have veered from its original mandate to provide sound technical education, and this may explain the university's need to establish a faculty of law.

It must be recognised that innovation is what keeps a country competitive. So how well does our private sector rank with other countries on the innovation highway? I can think of many products and services that could benefit from being revamped and injected with a bright spark. We have to get to the place where employees recognise that they are not only being paid for their time, but their brains also.

If we encourage and support our researchers and scientists, they will lift the entire nation. By stoking the fire of innovation, we could make Jamaica a manufacturing country once more. It is then that we may be able to provide more jobs for the growing army of unemployed persons seen roaming the country these days.

Dennie Quill is a veteran media practitioner. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.