http://www.theanalyticalscientist.comis a lack of coordination among the analytical scientists in the
country, particularly those belonging to the academic sector. By
coordinating a collective opinion, we would be better able develop
solutions to pressing problems.
The biggest challenge for researchers in Chile is funding. The
budget for science, technology and innovation in Chile represents
only 0.38 percent of GDP (compared with 1.17 percent in Brazil
and 2.74 percent in the USA) – a figure that has remained
relatively static since 2011.
Funding must increase, if Chile is to achieve its goal of moving
the economy away from the export of natural resources to one that
develops competitive advantages through innovation. In 2018,
the main science-funding program (FONDECYT) approved
38 projects out of a total of 138 submissions in chemistry, with
about 8 projects related to separation sciences.
Industry funding is similarly scarce. Though the government
has instituted some policies to encourage industry collaborations
with academics, they have been largely weighted in favor of
short-term projects that benefit companies, rather than longer-
term partnerships with more scientific value. Of the 18 PhD
theses supervised in my lab, only three have been developed in
collaboration with the commercial sector. Clearly, we need to
strengthen these relationships.
Thankfully, the President appointed the first Minister of
Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation in December
2018, and we hope that the newly created ministry will be given
the resources to fulfil the expectations of the scientific community.Pablo Richter is a Professor of Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemical and
Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.