Conference: US – India Commercial Relationship: The Knowledge Economy
Thursday, December 1st, 2011, Washington, DC
A day of insightful discussion as four panels of academic, industry and government experts examine developments in the U.S- India economic relationship. Topics include India in the global economy over the next 15 years, a comparison of India and China, and a comparative analysis of Indian states. Innovations and partnerships in the aerospace, IT, agriculture, medical,pharmaceutical sectors will be presented along with a discussion on sustainable supply chains,entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility. In addition to the keynote speakers, representatives from the University of Washington, Columbia University, The Boeing Company, Microsoft, Claremont-McKenna College, the U.S.-India Business Council, and the U.S. Department of Commerce will present.
QATAR: Winning its bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha, the Gulf emirate of Qatar showed the rising power of the Middle East. Its landmark football stadium will cool summer temperatures of around 40 degrees with solar panel-powered air-conditioning as the international teams play to crowded stands.
However, an even more amazing transformation has already taken place on the arid outskirts of Doha, where branch campuses of international universities have clustered to create Education City, a new learning hub for the region.
Commissioning top world architects and offering building grants, tax incentives and guaranteed student numbers, the state-owned Qatar Foundation began building Grand Designs university campuses with a vision to transform Qatar’s education system and build a knowledge economy. Rest
US: The Federal Role in Education Research: Providing Relevant Information to Students, Parents, and Educators
November 16, 2011 – testimony before the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I am Russ Whitehurst. I direct the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Prior to holding my present position, I was the founding director of the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Department of Education. Before entering government service I had a long career as a researcher and academic administrator.
Thank you for the invitation to testify. I am pleased that there is such interest and leadership in addressing the quality of education research in America.
Everyone in this room knows that education is important. I expect that all of us have had an experience with a teacher, a class, an educational institution, or through independent learning that has changed our lives. I certainly have. The American dream of opportunity and advancement and the educational system of the United State are inextricably connected. This has been true throughout our history. Indeed, well before the country was founded it was typical for colonial villages that had grown to more than a few hundred people to establish and fund a public school, with the first dating to 1639. Since that time, we have continued to value education and invest in it. But in an age of globalization and the advent of a knowledge based economy, the imperative to educate and educate well is stronger than it has ever been. The evidence that nations with a better educated populace experience higher growth rates is compelling, and during the current economic downturn the unemployment rate in the U.S. for young adults with just a high school diploma has been three times the rate for those with a college degree. Rest
Canada (New Brunswick): Premier David Alward says health research is at the heart of New Brunswick’s future economic development. Alward was speaking at the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation’s third annual health research conference in Moncton last week. “If we look at what is going on globally, regions, jurisdictions, provinces, countries that are prosperous are based on a knowledge economy,” he says. “One of the things that we need to do in our province is to continue to really grow our knowledge economy, change our economy so that whether it is natural resources or the ICT sector or biomedical research, whether it is traditional or futuristic, it is based on innovation, it is based on knowledge. That is where that success is going to come.” Rest
Nigeria: With banks bracing up to meet the target date ahead of the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy come January 2012, stakeholders have continued to express mixed feeling on the workability of the policy amidst the possible challenges inherent in the Nigerian e-payment environment, Amaka Eze writes. As Nigeria gears towards a cashless economy in January, 2012, stakeholders in the Nigerian IT industry, payments system service providers, banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant government agencies have continued to express mixed feeling on the workability of the policy amidst the possible challenges inherent in the Nigerian e-payment environment. Given the rapid technological advancements and increasing consumer demand, positive transition towards increased acceptance of electronic payment systems and channels, the policy when fully implemented is expected to ultimately shift Nigeria to a cashless society in the 21st century knowledge economy. Rest
Pakistan: An illiterate population can be readily exploited. As a result we have witnessed corrupt politicians coming into power repeatedly through exploitation by feudals and massive rigging of elections (45 percent of the votes were fake, according to the Election Commission). A large number of suicides are reported each month by the poor struggling to survive, and the number of robberies grows with each passing week. Pakistan is on its way to becoming a failed state as the national debt has doubled over the last three years, and the payback time for the huge debts is fast approaching. In this scenario, how do we make science, technology and innovation the cornerstones of a “knowledge economy”? In order to build a knowledge economy, Pakistan must invest in developing high-quality “knowledge workers” instead of investing simply in infrastructure. Nations are not built by investing in roads, bridges, dams and powerhouses but by unleashing the creative potential of the masses through developing high-quality education systems. Rest
News that a Malaysian IT start-up company was bought by a large US outfit is a landmark acquisition that represents a significant step forward for ‘entrepreneurism’ in the country.
The sale is a good example of what the Malaysian government means when it talks of the country’s potential to become a knowledge economy. This potential was also the matter debated at October’s ‘Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia’ event held in Kuala Lumpur. This brought 17 A-list figures in the world of IT start-ups into contact with an array of aspiring Malaysian companies and entrepreneurs. …
The government has long been determinedly pursuing a strategy to encourage Malaysian entrepreneurs to create businesses via innovation in order to seed the country’s knowledge economy. Rest
India is still the only country I know where you can find a billboard advertising “physics degrees.” India’s Innovation Stimulus / Thomas Friedman
2011-10-28 Charleston, SC – SCRA, on behalf of its SC Launch program, today announced that Portfolio Company Immunologix has been acquired by Virginia-based synthetic biology company Intrexon Corporation. The Charleston-based Immunologix team is now part of Intrexon’s Protein Production Division. “We congratulate Immunologix on this next stage of growth and welcome Intrexon Corporation to South Carolina,” said SCRA Executive Vice President and SC Launch Executive Director Dave McNamara. “This acquisition will allow the antibody technology to reach further markets and introduces Intrexon Corporation as the latest member of South Carolina’s Knowledge Economy.” Rest
2011-10-31 Google is flying an 8-member team to Jammu and Kashmir in its attempt to help local talent become part of the surging knowledge economy. “The team led by Ms Mary Himminkool, the head of Google’s global entrepreneurship outreach division is landing here on Monday,” Usman Ahmad, the head of American charity Mercy Corps’s Srinagar operations head said in a statement in Srinagar on Sunday. Rest
2011-11-01 Qatar: Speaking at the Qatar University annual research forum (QURF 2011) ‘Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy: Partnerships to Meet National Challenges’ the General Secretariat for Development and Planning’s secretary general Dr Saleh Mohamed al-Nabit yesterday maintained that research findings in a knowledge-based economy need not be “quick wins.” He urged researchers to consider longitudinal researches that require data to be collected over a number of years, in order to come up with results that would help fine-tune efforts geared at creating a knowledge-based economy as well as have direct impacts on the people and the society. Rest
2011-11-01 It is India’s future that keeps Mr. Kapil Sibal, India’s Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, awake. Last week, the World Bank hosted Mr. Kapil Sibal who spoke to a 120 strong crowd about “India and the World – Lessons Learnt and Contributions Towards the Global Knowledge Economy. “ During the lively discussion chaired by World Bank’s Tamar Manuelyan Atinc (Human Development Network Vice President) and moderated by Michal Rutkowski (South Asia Human Development Director. Mr. Sibal highlighted how India can contribute to the global knowledge economy. Rest
2011-11-02 Guangzhou, China is accelerating the development of economic and business zones to support the city’s next round of economic development. Zones highlighted in the city’s strategic development plan include China-Singapore (Guangzhou) Knowledge City, Tianhe CBD and Intelligence Town, Guangzhou South Railway Station Business District, Nansha New District, the airport economic zone and Guangzhou International Healthcare Industry Town. The planned 123-square-kilometer Knowledge City, in the east of the city in the Guangzhou Development District, is expected to become a vanguard for high-end industrial development and the knowledge economy. Rest
Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande says funding for collaborative research and development programmes will take precedence over single-body project funding because universities and research bodies must help to broaden and develop the skills of students and people in other organisations to change South Africa from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy.
Speaking to journalists at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s (NMMU’s) launch of its high-resolution transmission electron micro- scopy (HRTEM) centre, housing R90-million worth of equipment that allows the imaging of the crystallographic structure of a sample at atomic scale (the centre’s flagship HRTE microscope boasts a resolution of 0.8 nm), Nzimande also emphasised that research must address key challenges of the country, such as the infrastructure backlog and unemployment. …
Meanwhile, Department of Science and Technology (DST) chief director for emerging research areas and infrastructure Dr. Daniel Adams said, at the HRTEM symposium after the launch event, that a key element of the DST’s ten-year plan for science and technology was to contribute to transforming the country from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, with the key drivers for research and development infrastructure being to combat critical challenges experienced by South Africa.
“Key elements of the plan are to exploit science, biotechnology, information technology, advanced manufacturing and astronomy as areas of geographical advantage for the country, and emerging ‘frontier’ research and development areas, such as nanoscale research.” Rest
COLUMBIA, S.C. – October 28, 2011 – Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation today announced that the company will locate its new operations in Lexington County. The $313 million investment is expected to generate 707 new jobs.
“We are excited to expand our company by locating our new manufacturing facility in Lexington County. This is a big step for our firm and will help us meet increased demand, expand our market share and develop our pipeline of products. South Carolina has an excellent business environment and we look forward to our expansion into the Palmetto State,” said Lou Kennedy, CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. …
“I am gratified that Lou and Bill Kennedy, who have already established the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center at Innovista, see the University of South Carolina and our state as locations to further their commitment to pharmaceutical manufacturing with world class quality and efficiency. Their vision and keen business acumen have led to an important second step in increasing innovation and the knowledge economy in South Carolina,” said Dr. Harris Pastides, USC president. Complete Press Release
NEW YORK and BEIJING, Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Technology that is scalable, data-driven and innovative will address the three most pressing global challenges in education: improving outcomes and efficiency, teaching relevant skills, and closing the education gap. That was a key message delivered by McGraw-Hill Education President Bob Bahash at the 12th annual China Conference for International Education, which took place in Beijing from Oct. 14-16. Bahash delivered the keynote address, discussing how digital innovations and technologies can drive global student achievement. …
“Digital innovation in education has the potential to elevate teaching and learning to the level demanded by the global knowledge economy,” said Bahash. “Looking forward, the digital transformation in education will drive personalization in education; give every classroom the opportunity to have a 1:1 teacher-to-student ratio; and expose students to viewpoints from around the world, fostering open-mindedness and cultural sensitivity. Personalization in particular has the power to drive achievement, noted Bahash, citing the research of psychologist Benjamin Bloom. Bloom found that the closer teaching comes to one-on-one learning, the more effective it is. Bahash continued, “The countries that invest in education – that innovate, evaluate, and double-down on technology that works – will realize growth of their knowledge economies.” The full press release can be found here