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by Dr. Granville Dharmawardena

Both science and technology are generally accepted as very important for socio-economic development. But now it has clear that technology is the key to socio-economic development.

Robert Solow, adviser in economics to late President John F. Kennedy of the USA and Professor of Economics of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, proved that technology is the key factor and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for proving this fact. Science is basically the creator of new knowledge. This function is normally referred to as the ivory tower role of science.

Science also has two other vital roles, which are absolutely essential for socio-economic development. They are the creator of tomorrow's technology and supporter of today's technology. Cambridge Phenomenon is mechanism for siphoning the second two components from the first component and channelling them to fuel socio-economic development.

"Cambridge Phenomenon" was initiated by Charles Darwin's son in 1881 by forming the Cambridge Scientific Instruments Company within the city of Cambridge in close proximity to Cambridge University.

The main business of the company was to manufacture scientific instruments required by the university. Cambridge Phenomenon is the spontaneous emergence of a cluster high technology companies around an institution, which is engaged in scientific research work in the forefront of science along the lines of Silicon Valley.

There are over 300 high technology companies around Cambridge University and the origins of the vast majority of these can be linked to the university. The catalytic role in the Cambridge Phenomenon results from the interplay of ideas between the university and local companies.

Such linkages, it has been found, find more expression through informal social contacts, ease of recruitment, and a "halo" effect which stimulates action and change by example, rather than simply as a result of close physical proximity.

Cambridge Phenomenon is described in the most prestigious international science journal, the Nature (Nature, Vol. 314, April 1985). According to "Nature", Cambridge has many special features, conducive to Cambridge Phenomenon which are unlikely to be repeated in many other areas. Science research in most other universities, therefore, have become limited to knowledge creating activities training their research students solely in knowledge creating science research.

High technology and small companies are seen as two essential routes to job creation and most of the companies around Cambridge University are small ones.

In this manner Cambridge University is contributing its lot to the socio-economic development of the United Kingdom through the Phenomenon initiated by Charles Darwin's son.

Charles Darwin however, represented the other face of Cambridge University, which is better known internationally.

Cambridge University is known the world over as the "Nursery of the Genius". A large fraction of the scientific knowledge of nature, humankind accumulated during the last half millennium emerged from Cambridge University.

Theory of gravity, Newton's laws of motion, theory of evolution, electromagnetic theory, the electron, the proton, the neutron, the model of the atom, the particle accelerator, the mass spectrometer, splitting of the atom, nuclear transmutation, the structure of the DNA molecule, the neutrino, modern quantum mechanics and invito-fertilisation (test tube babies) are some of the important Cambridge University discoveries.

Each one of these discoveries changed our knowledge of the universe in a very profound way and led to wide chains of new industries.

One may refer to this international scientific superman image of Cambridge University as the front door knowledge oriented science activity, and the Cambridge Phenomenon the rear door home based technology and socio-economic development oriented science activity.

Overseas visitors to Cambridge University and those who go there to obtain degrees to advance their own academic careers normally see the front door nursery of the genius activity and it is very rarely that an overseas student sees the rear door activity.

These two activities, the front door academic knowledge creating activity and the rear door activity for using such knowledge for technology generating and supporting activity constitute a very effective engine that fuel socio-economic development.

New industries continuously crop up around Cambridge University, grow up to five years and move away to creating room for new one to crop up.

It is important for Sri Lanka's socio-economic development to build such engines of technology promotion around universities.

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