Not sure whether this has been posted before, let me know. So here we go:

Right now, i'm doing a master degree research on industrial catalyst. The other day, caught a debate in a R&D forum; the speakers, Dr. Barjoyai and Dr. Kodi (in case anyone knows them) mentioned about the direction of research in our country. Both men stressed on discovering your core technology and the fundamentals of your research.

Their statement led me to think; which side is more important, the fundamental or commercialized research?

I know many would say strike a balance, but at the moment, i'm torn between both. The more i am into the research and literature reviews, the more i feel you need to take a side. If not, you'd never complete any research nor publish anything!

So fellow forumers, what's your take?

Thanks for the reply.

I know it's silly, but at some point in life there isn't a choice. Take for instance, if i were to conduct a research, i would need fundings. In most cases, funders/financiers will demand for results (e.g. potential profit) from your project.

Like you've mentioned, researchers should be given the freedom to conduct fundamental researches which will benefit the society. However, when it comes to funding, it's dollar sense that people need justification before providing the funds for you, considering that how our cost-return economy is run.

And my point is, should researchers based/put weightage on commercial side of research?

There are no rights and wrongs in this issue. I would love to hear from you guys and have a healthy discussion.

Yeah agreed. However, some designs can be completed in a short time, if you're good at it.

For researches, the most minimum time to complete a project is a year, on average two years. How to survive on bread and water for that period?

The statement above explains alot.

That is why this discussion is an open ended, Angela. No one can judge which research is more important.

I was hoping for a continuous discussion on this hot topic, but the response was lukewarm. Anyhow, thanks Rahizan and Angela for the feedbacks.