ifkt


Knowledge Industries Offer Multi-Million Dollar Business Opportunities in Kerala for Large Industrial Firms and Business Corporations
Dr. Raju M. Mathew
President &CEO, IFKT
P.B. No 10, Calicut University
Kerala-673635, India

(This article is a recent release to the press)

Knowledge

Knowledge is as old as humanity and all societies with long traditions have recognized the strategic value of knowledge. The Vedas and Upanishads originated in India between three thousand to five thousand years ago have clearly stated that Knowledge is wealth and power. So also are the case with the Bible, the Koran and the teaching of Buddha. Knowledge is the basis of the development of brainpower. Knowledge acts as a catalyst for thinking, innovation and creation of new insights and visions and above all physical activities.

Here knowledge is treated as a totality with well defined structure and functions put under different domains or compartments rather than as mere abstract and indefinable. In operational sense, knowledge is treated as domain knowledge which is well organized preserved and imparted under various well identified branches of disciplines. Each domain consists of several sectors and each sector may be treated as a world of its own though it is the integral part of the domain.

IT and Education

Humanity has invested a lot of resources, time and energy for the preservation, protection and learning of the existing knowledge and also the creation of new knowledge and their application As a result, education has emerged as the biggest social enterprise directly concerned with imparting of the existing knowledge and creation new knowledge and their application. All professional services are based on putting knowledge into practice.

In spite of all major advances in Science and Technology, including Information and Communication Technologies, men are totally inefficient in learning the existing knowledge, creating new knowledge and using the knowledge acquired.

The total stock of knowledge gained by a scholar in his entire life is pathetically meager and no way comparable in terms of cost or investment of time, energy and money. Knowledge has not yet reached in the lives of over eighty per cent of the world population. As a result, over ninety per cent of the knowledge so far produced by the humanity has been kept idle.

Knowledge Products for the Masses

Any major advancement of humanity could be possible only by making large volume of knowledge accessible and usable to everybody according to his knowledge capturing and handling abilities and requirements. In other words, any form of knowledge, scattered in hundreds of domains at different levels must be made as easily accessible and usable products, packages and services for the masses rather than limiting knowledge for the selected few or elites. Democratization of knowledge would result in a thousand fold advancements of humanity quite unimaginable. This is made possible only with the emergence of knowledge industries to produce and market knowledge packages and services for the masses.

Knowmatics and Knowledge Technology

Knowledge Industry would be a reality only with the development of Knowledge Technology to process knowledge. Which in turn be possible only by creating a Science of Knowledge, called Knowmatics, with strong theoretical and methodological foundations. Knowmatics is the basic science of Knowledge Technology, concerned with study of the structure, representation, communication and updating of knowledge by using mathematical and software engineering tools and techniques. Knowmatics as a basic science could be developed by a team of experts drawn from Epistemology, Cognitive Science, Cybernetics, Semiotics, Linguistics, Communication Science and Technology, Information Science and Technology, Mathematics and Software Engineering.

Knowledge Industries

Knowledge Industries are designed to bring the entire knowledge scattered in hundreds of domains and disciplines into a unified system and to provide knowledge products and services to the entire mankind at affordable cost and easily understandable format. In other words, knowledge is made as a product for mass consumption ands thereby the optimal utilization of knowledge for the unimaginable development of education and culture and scientific research and increasing application of knowledge in the diverse human activities and production processes. Since knowledge is ever growing, there is a need for bringing out value-added and innovative knowledge products on regular bases.

Industry Initiatives

The bright side of the development of Knowledge Industries is that some of major industrial firms have shown interest for conducting R & D activities for the development Knowledge Technology by making a sizable investment and thereafter investing multi-million dollar for the Knowledge Industries in Kerala by taking into account the vast untapped brainpower and knowledge bases and the high digital connectivity and IT literacy of Kerala. Several rounds of discussions have been made with the leaders of IFKT and it is expected to take a final decision shortly.

Knowledge Industries Destination

Kerala is the most suitable place for the development of Knowledge Industries mainly due to the brainpower and knowledge bases of its people besides high IT literacy and digital connectivity even at the remotest villages. The geographical and physiographical conditions of the land drive away the people from traditional agriculture and industries. Above all the mind set of the young people have been identified as very much suitable for the Knowledge Processing and thereby the developing Knowledge Industries with innovative knowledge products and services for the global market.

It is quite natural for the high growth and future-oriented companies or corporations to come and invest in Kerala in terms of several millions for the Knowledge Industries and to enter in the multi-billion dollar business in knowledge products and services that have unlimited global markets for several years.

International Forum for Knowmatics and Knowledge Technology (IFKT) :www.ifkt.net would provide the necessary guidance and consultation services for the global business players to develop their own knowledge products and services and to set up their companies and operations for the ever growing global multi-billion dollar market.