Eye on Mexico: Public support for science is high, but transition to a research-based economy remains the challenge

The National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT) of Mexico defines national research and technology policies in the country. It creates an infrastructure for science and technology in the universities and research institutes; improves the quality, competitiveness and innovations of Mexican companies; and promotes the generation of highly skilled human resources. CONACyT has also put in place a certification process to rank academic scientific research, technology development, and human resource generation. This certification process comprises the National System of Researchers (SNI), which classifies scientists at three different ranks. To be included in Level 1, the individual must author a minimum of seven articles in peer-reviewed international scientific publications. Level 2 and Level 3 require authoring a larger number of scientific publications, supervising master’s degree and Ph.D. theses, publishing books, and mentoring other researchers or research groups.

Postgraduate programs are certified through CONACyT’s National Register of High Quality Postgraduate Programs (PNPC). PNPC ranks postgraduate programs depending on the quality of the scientific staff, which is linked to the SNI level. The rank also depends on the quality of the laboratories and academic facilities in general. In this context, the research and academic activities in Mexico — spanning social sciences and humanities to natural sciences — are developed by public universities and research institutes. The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) has 40% of the SNI scientists, followed by the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), and the Centro de Investigación en Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV), all of them located in Mexico City. The 27 public research institutes located around the country, and administered by CONACyT, follow after the four aforementioned institutions. Private universities and companies participate in research activities as well.

The Mexican federal government invests 0.38% of GDP to support research and technology policies, which is below the average value of 2.3% reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. For 2012, the budget is projected to be just 0.20% of GDP. This government funding is about 85% of total funding, the rest coming from private industry and contracts with government or public entities, like the national oil company, PEMEX, the Mexican Army, or companies like Intel, IBM and General Motors. In the above described financial context and distribution of human resources and research facilities, UNAM — with three Nobel Laureates among its alumni: Alfonso García Robles (Peace), Octavio Paz (Literature), and Mario Molina (Chemistry) — is the research and academic institution with the largest impact on public opinion in Mexico.

An opinion poll conducted by the Mexican National Institute for Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) shows 16% of men and 21% of women between the ages of 18 and 29 would like to be a scientist. For older people, the interest in being a scientist decreases drastically to less than 5%. The public perception of science can be better understood if we consider that 82% of men and 76% of women watch television one to eight hours a day, and almost half the programs watched are dedicated to science and technology. In the last few years, some national newspapers launched sections dedicated to science and technology where scientists, from different disciplines and institutions, communicate their main results. How the public views science and technology is also influenced by the public’s perception of the impact of science and technology on daily life. In a study showing the scientific discipline people would choose as a career, the top choices were medicine and public health, information technology and related areas, and ecology (see Figure 2).

The Mexican public correlates a strong scientific base with a healthy economy: 80% of men and 75% of women believe basic science has a large impact on industry, and 79% of men and 77% of women believe technology development depends on basic science. In juxtaposition, an average of 70% of men and women believe some diseases can be cured without the use of scientific methods. From a political angle, 57% of men and 61% of women believe scientific expenditure reflects the personal interest of scientists, but not what society requires.

In general, 75% of the population between the ages of 18 and 28 believes the Mexican government should get more involved in research and development, supporting medicine and public health, reducing pollution, improving the education system, increasing the budget for science and technology, and providing society with informatics technology. CONACyT has introduced a program prioritizing research proposals focused on renewable energies, ecology, and pollution management. And the federal government has, for the past 11 years, given tax incentives to companies that invest in joint research collaboration with academia. It also provides additional funds from departments such as energy, health, and defense for such collaborations. However, the results have been limited, with few successful spinoffs. The challenge remains to create a stronger linkage between traditional basic science and technology in Mexico to the industrial sector as in developed countries.

In my opinion, most Mexican companies are oriented towards low-tech production and commercialization of imported goods, while the government is steering the research community, through the evaluation process, towards an international qualification level, which is not correlated with the country’s current industrial needs. This disconnect is hindering the transition toward a more technology-oriented base economy. There is an urgent need to build confidence in the joint university-industry relationship and to reorient high-skilled human resources to meet Mexico’s industrial and technology needs.

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(1) CONACyT, www.conacyt.mx. (2) México, Cuarto Informe del Gobierno Federal de México. Capítulo 2 Economía Competitiva y Generadora de Empleos, Septiembre 1, 2010. p. 214. (3) “Perspectivas OCDE: México Políticas Clave para un Desarrollo Sostenible,” Octubre 2010. www.oecd.org. 2010.10_Mexico_Brochure_ES.indd. (4) INEGI, www.inegi.gob.mx. Encuesta sobre la percepción pública de la ciencia y la tecnología, 2009.

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Contributor: 

Edmundo A. Gutiérrez-D.

Title: 

Professor, Department of Electronics

Affiliation: 

National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics, Mexico

Edmundo A. Gutiérrez-D. is currently a Professor in the Department of Electronics of the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics in Puebla, Mexico. He obtained a Ph.D. in Applied Sciences from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, in 1993. He has worked as a technology developer and researcher in the private sector for Motorola and Intel. His expertise is in semiconductor electronic device physics and materials, where he has published more than 100 scientific articles and supervised 13 Ph.D. theses.