IN A WEEK in which Ireland's evolution into a "smart" or "knowledge" economy seemed little more than an increasingly distant pipedream, seeds of hope were being sown by a new generation. Those who advocate this transformation into an innovation-focused society will have been heartened by what they witnessed at the 45th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS.
The 500 student projects - on display until close of business this afternoon - represent unbridled creativity and a veritable cauldron of ideas and enthusiasm linked inextricably to discovery and research.
President Mary McAleese, on the opening day of the event, rightly described the participating students as the "seed corn" of our economic future. The youngsters assembled before her will become the entrepreneurs, the teachers and business people who will help build a smart economy.
Against a background of remorselessly negative employment news - a massive rise in the numbers signing on the Live Register; 1,900 job losses at Dell in Limerick; and a litany of other blows to Ireland's traditional industrial base - the endeavour of these young scientists demonstrated that Ireland can move up the economic value chain. Such a change would edge us away from an apparently technologically-driven economy to a genuinely research-based one where we would design the computers, make the pharmaceutical or biological discoveries and exploit the research findings. The associated gains would include high pay and high technology jobs, as well as revenue streams that would repay the investment made by the State to achieve them.
But despite the rich human potential in evidence at the RDS, the structural transformation that is required to build on it is neither automatic nor guaranteed. Responsibility rests with the Government to provide the investment in education and research that will foster its development. Progress so far has been too slow and we are starting to pay a heavy price as the global economic downturn bites.
Yet, on the day that Dell confirmed job cuts, there was some good news. The Minister for Education and Science announced, with little fanfare, that a fresh €300 million in exchequer funds would be put into scientific research. This is the kind of investment that will build new university labs and buy research equipment which will support home-grown innovation. Some of those involved in this work may ultimately trace their first engagement with science to the RDS this week.