NRCT urges more innovation development

Innovation seen as key to driving economic growth, developing society

Thailand should develop innovation further to boost the country’s  competitiveness globally, the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) director Wipharat Dee-ong said on Monday.

She noted that innovation is key to driving economic growth and developing society, saying that the NRCT is taking a leading role in raising innovation competitiveness in terms of education, research and development, and entrepreneur support.

Among 133 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, Thailand climbed from 43rd to 41st, she explained, adding that Thailand’s innovation competitiveness was ranked third in ASEAN.

Thailand’s innovation competitiveness was better than the average competitiveness among 34 upper middle-income economies, she added.

Wipharat noted that Thailand had done well in four of seven criteria under the GII:


Human capital and research: The number of graduates in science and engineering has increased
Infrastructure: Thailand has advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Market sophistication: Thailand has investment potential
Knowledge and technology outputs: Patent and copyright registrations have increased along with advanced technology export growth


Despite the developments in Thailand’s innovation competitiveness, it also has weaknesses in some areas that should be improved to drive towards the future, she said.

(2025/02/04-00:00)