Tomorrow U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is partnering with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell and SC Superintendent of Education Mick Zais to host the Empower South Carolina Education Reform Summit in Columbia, SC.
The event will begin with a lunch featuring former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Founder of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, as the keynote speaker and will continue throughout the afternoon with various informational sessions and networking opportunities.
Attendees will join education policymakers and opinion leaders from around South Carolina and the nation to learn about important developments and best practices in education reform, grow South Carolina’s network of education innovators and strategize on the path forward for empowering students.
The Empower Summit will be held at the Columbia Convention Center.
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ABU DHABI: Insead, the leading international business school, in partnership with Cionet International, has announced the winners of the 2012 European Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year Award.
Presented by EU Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes, the awards recognize the success of CIOs who have increased their organization’s competitiveness by using Information Technology (IT) to increase efficiency, and to pioneer new products, services and business models.
Insead eLab, the school’s Center of Excellence for research on the global knowledge economy, and Cionet collaborated to select three winners from a field of 13 prominent finalists, identified by the country offices of the Cionet network.
The top three were selected by a panel of judges from Insead and Cionet in the following categories: Technology-driven CIO, Business process-driven CIO, and client-driven CIO. Rest
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2012-03-27 Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed Al-Jasser has emphasized that the Kingdom’s huge spending on education and training is part of boosting its strategy to move into a knowledge-based economy. “The Kingdom is exerting continuous efforts aimed at realizing a knowledge-based economy as it sees this as the best strategy toward achieving sustained development based on technology and innovation,” he said. The minister made the remarks during his meeting with a South Korean technical delegation at his office here on Monday. The delegation has been in the Kingdom to present their advice and offer expertise with regard to the preparation of the Kingdom’s strategy to transfer to a knowledge-based economy and society. Rest
2012-03-14 The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Abu Dhabi is developing an Abu Dhabi Innovation Index. The index, which is being developed in collaboration with INSEAD International Business School, will monitor and follow up the progress being made by the emirate towards becoming a knowledge-based economy by 2030. It will also identify the potential gaps in the process of economic transformation, said Mohammed Omar Abdullah, undersecretary of the DED, at a knowledge management conference in the Capital. Also, the department is currently working on developing a joint work programme in cooperation with its associated partners through a series of interactive workshops in order to shed light on the objectives of the knowledge-based economy pivots; and then determine the nature of the respective roles of each party and how to achieve the maximum possible use of their contributions, he said. Abu Dhabi adopted a vision aimed to bring about a turnaround in the structure of the emirate’s economy, directed towards a more knowledge-based economy. Rest
2012-03-21 India will modernise and digitally link nearly 9,000 libraries across the country in a bid to provide readers access to books and information, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. … Noting that the Mission cannot succeed through government efforts alone, Singh said resources available in the community, private sector and non-governmental organisations will have to be roped in to meet these objectives. … The Prime Minister noted that for decades development economists would say that India’s population was its curse. Today, as many developed economies grapple with the challenge of ageing, the world has come to recognise that India with its youthful population and skilled manpower has the capability to bridge the human resources gap in the global knowledge economy, he said. … “If we can achieve what we have set out to do, then we can create a huge asset pool in this new knowledge based world,” he said adding that India could fuel the engines of growth of the global knowledge economy. Full article
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South Australia needs a reinvigorated and internationally-competitive manufacturing sector to ensure economic success, Treasurer Jack Snelling says. He said without a vibrant manufacturing base, the state could not maximise the benefits of its resource wealth. “Manufacturing is the largest component of world trade and, because of its backward links to mining and agriculture and its forward links to services, is a vital driver of employment,” the treasurer said. “To be part of the international knowledge economy, we need manufacturing.” Rest
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Business information provider Thomson Reuters, US, has announced that the Crown Research Institutes of New Zealand (CRIs) have selected the Web of Knowledge platform to enhance the research and analytic capabilities of almost 3,000 researchers from six institutes. The renewal of the agreement represents a key step towards enhancing the national research environment to accelerate research and development, and drive New Zealand’s knowledge economy. Rest
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Write Better Curriculum: The old saying goes that teachers create every other profession in the world. The person who first said that is lost to history, but the idea still holds true today. In fact, in the global knowledge economy, nations around the world are looking to teachers to create innovative theories and practices of teaching and learning. School systems everywhere are figuring out how to prepare students to be globally competent—and ultimately how to make nations more competitive in a new world order. If one looks at the practices of the best school systems in the world today, there are clear patterns on how to approach curriculum. Asia Society’s Partnership for Global Learning has studied these patterns, and work with schools to apply best practices model. You can, too. Here are the broad strokes on how to do it: The key to developing good curriculum that builds global competency is to include various activities focused on specific learning objectives, content knowledge, and skills. (Download free handbook on building student global competence.) There may be several formative activities or lessons that culminate into one final summative project. … In the global knowledge economy, effective citizens and leaders will know how to solve problems and affect change. … Another old saying, a Buddhist proverb, goes something like this: If a seed will not grow, we do not blame the plant. Instead, the fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly. The global knowledge economy demands a different type of nourishment, and teachers are the ones who can provide in this way. Full post
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by KE
on February 22, 2012
To create a generation of inquiring minds in the UAE, groundwork needs to start at the earliest stages of a child’s education from kindergarten to primary school and beyond. This was the view of experts who comprise the newly formed University Leadership Council (ULC), who were speaking at the “Bridging the Knowledge Economy” forum in Abu Dhabi last week. The founding members of the ULC belong to Masdar Institute of Science and Technology; Khalifa University; UAE University; Zayed University and the American University of Sharjah. The ULC outlined the key requirements of a knowledge society that the UAE is working towards and how universities could help achieve it. “A knowledge society requires a certain state of mind. But you can’t create a state of mind at the university level,” said ULC member and Zayed University provost Dr Larry Wilson. Dr Wilson said an inquiring mind develops at an early level — from elementary school — where concepts of investigative learning are taught. This makes a big difference when these students come to university, he said. “Everything from the kindergarten to PhD level needs to be tailored to the knowledge economy,” reiterated Dr Rory Hume, provost of UAE University. Rest
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by KE
on February 21, 2012
The world has entered the era of the knowledge economy and, as the key strategic resource for national development, talent is playing an increasingly vital role. For example, today, the use of computers to create wealth and value signals a major change in mankind’s mode of working. Wealth and value were first created from the soil, then in factories, later in banks and now via the Internet and computers. This marks significant human progress.
Mr. Thomas Friedman said that in the era of the knowledge economy, the world is flat. The most fundamental characteristic of this era is the transnational flow and internationalization of talent. According to statistics from the United Nations, the number of people who currently live and work outside of their native countries exceeds 200 million, and this number is increasing by three percent each year. Rest
The author Li Yuanchao is Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.
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by KE
on February 14, 2012
2012-02-13 Wall Street Journal – For anyone lamenting the decline of big U.S. innovators like Kodak or worried that U.S. industry is losing its creative mojo, we bring you this good-news story—a reminder that some manufacturers have gotten innovation right:
Milliken & Co. of Spartanburg, S.C., arguably should have been crushed by global competition, just like Kodak. Its roots are in the textile industry, a labor-intensive business that long ago decamped for lower wages abroad, leaving abandoned mills throughout the Southeast. And yet a visit to Milliken’s vast campus finds the company thriving. …
Up in the labs, Chris DeSoiza, the head of research, explains why. Milliken, he says, is able to nab graduates from the best schools because they can do deep science at the company. Walking down Milliken’s Innovators Hall of Fame, where employee names are posted alongside patents, Mr. DeSoiza says researchers can use 15% of their time to investigate whatever they like. Proven innovators get 50%.
The idea is to let researchers follow their curiosity to a marketable end. And if the boss doesn’t like your idea, there are other venues in the organization you can petition—and that have the power to greenlight your project. Every month, Milliken also brings in outside experts to share ideas and stir the pot. Rest
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by KE
on February 10, 2012
Administration and Private Sector Announce over $100 Million in Commitments and Additional Steps to Prepare 100,000 New Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Teachers
President Obama hosted the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President also announced key additional steps that the Administration and its partners are taking to prepare 100,000 effective math and science teachers and to meet the urgent need to train one million additional STEM graduates over the next decade.
“When students excel in math and science, they help America compete for the jobs and industries of the future,” said President Obama. “That’s why I’m proud to celebrate outstanding students at the White House Science Fair, and to announce new steps my Administration and its partners are taking to help more young people succeed in these critical subjects.” Rest
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by KE
on January 31, 2012
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Member, National Innovation Council, & CMD, Biocon
In today’s knowledge-driven economy, innovation is the prime driver of progress. India’s ability to generate wealth and create social good will come to naught unless we monetise innovative ideas by unshackling entrepreneurship. For innovation to flourish, we need to fund ideas to take them to market. Without capital, even the most transformative ideas can die before they take wing. …
Let’s start with academia’s role in generating ideas. While government funding supports this phase of the innovation value chain fairly adequately, it falls short in nurturing ideas and growing them to a proof-of-concept stage where business can intervene. The notion of incubating start-ups within academic institutes is still nascent. The regulatory reforms that permit researchers to unconditionally assume dual roles as academicians and entrepreneurs is yet to be fully implemented. Academic entrepreneurs have virtually built the entire US technology sector and are continuing to do so despite the economic recession. India urgently needs to emulate this aspect of the US innovation ecosystem. Rest
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by KE
on January 27, 2012
Mary Sue Coleman’s open letter to President Obama
BY MARY SUE COLEMAN, President of the University of Michigan
January 11, 2012
Dear Mr. President,
Your recent meeting with college presidents is the best Christmas present I could have hoped for.
By bringing together higher education leaders to discuss college affordability, you have elevated a thorny issue that demands a national conversation because of its impact on all sectors of society. The cost of attending college is one of the most serious matters facing a country that seeks to strengthen its global competitiveness. How we resolve this dilemma requires collaboration, sacrifice and hard choices.
American higher education—particularly public higher education—is one of the monumental achievements of our country. No other nation can rival the innovation, creativity and intellectual fervor of our universities. Our institutions are responsible for America’s knowledge security—an intellectual wellbeing that advances health and medicine, business, social science, the arts, public policy and national defense. Rest
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