Cooperation Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, certain directions which the institutions can undertake for commercial benefit have been described. In taking up such activities, the institutions would need to work with user organizations, manufacturers, financial bodies. Certain activities will, however, have to be undertaken within the institutions themselves.

User Development Programs (especially for medium-sized users) will serve to increase awareness of the benefits and increased of competence in incorporating instrumentation into their working. This is best dome in cooperation with Associations of particular segments of industry in the form of practical workshops, short courses, technicians training sessions on a pay a you go basis.

Awareness and competence in medium-sized users will lead to a boost in demand for incorporation of instrumentation, for thus, the institutions should be able to offer instrumentation systems design, integration and installation services at terms affordable by medium-sized users.

To the manufacturers, the services may range from indigenization of imported products to upgradation of designs of current models using more advanced techniques. With confidence built up due to successful; cooperation in these simpler tasks, sponsored product development, joint productionising can be undertaken. Where totally new concepts need to be explored, the possibility of drawing in venture finance (via TDICI) should be examined. Selection of products to de this has been attempted in this report and a short list to choose from has been provided.

Programs that the institutions could initiate on their own can be those involving anticipatory research where no immediate sponsor is evident but can be attracted after the research achieves a visible level of achievement. Ideas to be explored could be in the realm of new sensors, virtual instrumentation, marine instrumentation and monitoring equipments (usually needed by the state) for energy conservation, environment, pollution, narcotics, explosives and so on.

For special apparatus which may be available from abroad at very high costs (electron microscope and its derivatives, field emission devices, ion implanters, molecular beam apparatus, etc.) the local demand would be small but could save a lot of foreign exchange. A mission approach will be where the multidisciplinary skills of institutions will need to e deployed and coordinated not only to do research in these areas but to build the actual final product for continuous use and sell the same against orders to customers who wish to have a more economical device.

To put itself in a position to undertake these undoubtedly substantial challenges, each institution will have to be through a stage of transformation and restructuring. There will have to be a change of its won vision, objectives, organization, and operation. Hitherto non-available functions of productionisation, documentation, servicing, marketing and finance will need to be created. It would be sensible to redeploy people with these talents from the existing staff to the maximum extent. If necessary, training and retraining may need to be provided. To top it all, a strong dose of “Technology Management” will need to be injected.