The Innovation Economy - Blog

Sec. Clinton at the "Innovation & Global Marketplace" event on 12/14

Editor@TheInnovationEconomy — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:08:00 -0200

On December 14, 2011, The Innovation Economy partners hosted "Innovation and the Global Marketplace: A Discussion on American Innovation, Trade and the Next 10 Million Jobs."

During the event U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explored the critical connections between American jobs, economic growth and U.S. relationships around the world, through issues like trade agreements, public diplomacy, global innovation patterns and policies, the impact of technology on international relationships and geopolitics, and the rapidly changing global marketplace.

Check back soon for full video and more event photos.

NewsHour Previews “Innovation & the Global Marketplace”

Editor@TheInnovationEconomy — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:01:00 -0200

PBS NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan previews the upcoming “Innovation and the Global Marketplace: A Discussion on American Innovation, Trade and the Next 10 Million Jobs” event, which features a conversation between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer. Watch LIVE on Dec. 14 starting at 8:45 a.m. EST. For more information.

Follow The Innovation Economy on Twitter (@InnovationEcon) for real-time event updates and check out the official event hashtag #IEglobalmkt for LIVE tweeting from the event.

Join us for “Innovation and the Global Marketplace”

Editor@TheInnovationEconomy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:37:00 -0200

Over the next 20 years, the size of the global middle class is set to grow dramatically from 1.8 billion (today) to potentially 5 billion people in 2030, according to a 2010 Brookings Institution report.

In light of our increasingly interconnected world and expanding global middle class, The Innovation Economy conversation this year has focused on the vital role of innovation in the global marketplace, specifically – the critical connections between American jobs, the exchange of ideas, global trade and U.S. relationships around the world.

Earlier this year, we hosted a conversation at The Aspen Institute with Ambassador Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative, on how best to access the promise of global markets, the connection between open markets and the innovation economy, and the priority of saving and creating American jobs as we pursue economic growth.

Next week, we will continue that conversation with a discussion about how both the global and American innovation economies will be impacted as markets and the global middle class expand. In particular, how does this expansion influence competition, education and innovation within and between nations?

As the culmination of this year’s discussion on the global innovation economy, we invite you to join The Aspen Institute, PBS NewsHour and Intel Corporation on Wednesday, December 14, at 8:45 a.m. EST to watch the LIVE webcast of:

INNOVATION AND THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

A Discussion on American Innovation, Trade and the Next 10 Million Jobs

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, interviewed by Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor, PBS NewsHour

The event will explore the critical connections between American jobs, economic growth and U.S. relationships around the world, through issues like trade agreements, public diplomacy, global innovation patterns and policies, the impact of technology on international relationships and geopolitics, and the rapidly changing global marketplace.

This half-day event will be webcast live on www.TheInnovationEconomy.org.

Follow The Innovation Economy on Twitter (@InnovationEcon) for real-time event updates and check out the official event hashtag #IEglobalmkt for LIVE tweeting from the event.

EVENT PROGRAM:

Innovation, Trade and Creating the Next 10 Million Jobs

A discussion on the intersections among innovation, economic growth, job creation and global trade.

C. Fred Bergsten, Director, The Peterson Institute for International Economics
Myron Brilliant, Senior Vice President, International Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Thea Mei Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff, AFL-CIO
Karen Mills, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
Moderated by Jeffrey Brown, Senior Correspondent, PBS NewsHour

A Zero-Sum Game? The Expanding Global Marketplace and the Innovation Economy

A conversation on the impact of the burgeoning middle class in China, India and around the developing world.

Lael Brainard, Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society
Robert J. Shapiro, Co-Founder and Chairman, Sonecon, LLC
Moderated by Paul Solman, Business and Economics Correspondent, PBS NewsHour

Innovation and American Jobs

Insights on the policies that will enhance American technological innovation and facilitate job creation.

Tom Connelly, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, DuPont
Jim Rogers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Duke Energy
Andy Stern, President Emeritus, Service Employees International Union
Moderated by Vijay Vaitheeswaran, China Business, Finance & Technology Editor, The Economist

President Obama: To Win the Future, America Must Win the Global Competition in Education

Editor@TheInnovationEconomy — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:53:00 -0200

In last Saturday’s weekly address, President Obama underscored the vital importance of education to America’s global competitiveness and our long-term economic growth. Speaking at Intel’s Hillsboro, Oregon campus, the President stated:

If we want to win the global competition for new jobs and industries, we’ve got to win the global competition to educate our people. We’ve got to have the best trained, best skilled workforce in the world. (President Barack Obama, Feb. 19 Weekly Address)

Investing in and improving education is vital to our country’s future – particularly in the fields that are leading our technology-based innovation economy: science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

We saw further evidence of this during this past December’s “Education for Innovation: A Digital Town Hall,” with the release of a new report on STEM education from The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF): “Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy.”

For over a half century, science-based innovation has powered America’s economy, creating good jobs, a high standard of living, and U.S. economic and political leadership. Yet, our nation’s global share of activity in STEM-focused industries is in decline, jeopardizing our status as the world’s leader in innovation. Moreover, there is clear evidence that the United States is consistently not able to produce enough of its own STEM workers in key fields (e.g., computer science, electrical engineering), even though the best universities for studying these subjects are U.S.-based. (ITIF, Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy)

The urgency in this report, underscored by President Obama’s recent statements, demonstrates both our need and our ability to improve U.S. education and ignite a culture of curiosity in our students and our classrooms. During his weekly address, President Obama illustrated the enormous potential of America’s youth:

One young woman, Laurie Rumker, conducted a chemistry experiment to investigate ways to protect our water from pollution. Another student, named Yushi Wang, applied the principles of quantum physics to design a faster computer chip. We’re talking about high school students.

So these have been a tough few years for our country. And in tough times, it’s natural to question what the future holds. But when you meet young people like Laurie and Yushi, it’s hard not to be inspired. And it’s impossible not to be confident about America. (President Barack Obama, Feb. 19 Weekly Address)

By investing in education, we will help to create the next generation of innovators that will build U.S. global competitiveness, drive sustainable economic growth and, as the President said, win the future.

Watch the full video of President Obama’s February 19 weekly address, below.

Ensuring the Bottom Line is Higher Achievement

CarlosContreras — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:21:00 -0200

(Post originally featured on EdReformer)

This week, I joined a discussion that included some of the people that care most about education in the United States. As the person responsible for education programs in Washington, DC for Intel Corporation, I am constantly trying to find those who will help shape policy that drives change. I was reminded, however, that this road to change is bumpy and uphill.

Intel in conjunction with PBS News Hour, the Aspen Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) hosted a digital town hall discussion on Education for Innovation. The event coincided with release of international assessment test (PISA) and a new U.S. STEM report from ITIF. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Secretary General Angel Gurria and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman participated in the discussion.

Looking at the Numbers

Out of 33 OECD countries, the U.S. came in 17th in science and 25th in math. It is clear we are stuck in 2nd gear while the rest of the OECD countries are accelerating. New to this year’s survey was Shanghai-China. And Shanghai-China beat everyone. As I scanned the various articles before the digital town hall, I was actually surprised. I was surprised that some of the experts were shocked that Shanghai did so well and by the comments about sampling and “non-representative” results. Talk about denial. Can we move on and take responsibility. Finishing in the lower half is not acceptable.

I was impressed to hear Secretary Duncan accepting the facts and calling a spade a spade. We can and must do better. And what must be by now, ground hog day discussions that I am sure have occurred over the past 25 years, is the call for higher standards, attracting and retain teachers, turning around low performing schools and developing great principals. Can we learn from other counties like Canada whose students tend to perform well regardless of their own background or the school they attend? Can we empower replicating our most successful schools nationwide?

Models that Work

One of the recommendations that came out of the ITIF report is to create 400 new STEM specialized schools. We had two examples of such schools at the digital town hall with the participation of the Olin College of Engineering (Needham, MA.) and the School of Science and Engineering Magnet (Dallas, TX). The students, teachers and faculty were very energizing and provided a glimpse of what is possible. You can also see a sense of teamwork, collaboration and energy. These are not factory models; these are student driven schools where the teachers are the key enablers. According to the ITIF report, 10% of Olin College Graduates have started a company right after graduation. Secretary Duncan said that creativity, innovation and entrepreneurs are the future. I’d like to add mentoring and community support to the roadmap of achievement.

After the event, I had an opportunity to congratulate the President of Olin College, Richard Miller. He told me that he and his wife have had every single student to their home for dinner. I went to an engineering school. It was pure cold steel and with a sink or swim approach. While talking with Dr. Miller it hit me. At the end of day, it is local leadership and communities that make education work. And quite possibly our policies will have a more limited impact than I once thought.

At the town hall, Secretary Duncan outlined a vision that I support more than ever. He said his vision is that schools need to be community centers, with a whole host of activities, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Exposure to Quality Math and Science for All

At Intel, our view is that all students need to acquire the skills necessary for personal and professional success in the 21st-century. Some will decide to go on to colleges like Olin and into careers in technology and engineering. Some will decide they want to pursue other interests. The bottom line is that we need to expose them to a level of math and science that allows them to make an informed decision.

If we don’t, we are at risk of failing to educate the next generation of great innovators in the current U.S. school system. I took the theme of the town hall – Education for Innovation – to mean just that. We want to figure out how American students are best equip to compete with students around the world as we strive to discover life-change, society lifting innovations of the future.

A New Approach for STEM Education

SteveNorton — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:38:00 -0200

(Post originally featured on ITIF's Innovation Policy Blog)

Most Americans appreciate the fact that the world is a very competitive place. Policy makers and parents have long known that our kids, from grade school through college, need to step up their skills and understanding of science, technology, engineering and math – know in education circles as STEM studies – if they are going to compete successfully with their counterparts in China, India, Korea, and many European countries. For this reason, for nearly 40 years there has been a lot of interest in improving STEM education. While it is laudable that we are focusing on STEM education, we are running the risk of tethering ourselves to assumptions that might be a little faulty and outdated. We can’t be truly innovative as a nation if we are not innovative in our thinking about STEM education.

The current assumption driving STEM education is that all students should get at least some STEM education at every step of their educational journey. Supply students with high standards, great teachers and get as many kids excited about STEM as possible. Call this the “some STEM for all” approach. It sounds appealing, right? Universal tech literacy for the 21^st century.

Well, one problem with this is that most of us are not destined to be scientists and engineers – maybe five percent. Some of us simply don’t have the acumen and the economy only needs so many engineers and scientists and actuaries. So why should state and local governments, many of which are in deep financial peril, lavish resources on the “Some STEM for all” approach? The answer is that they shouldn’t.

Another problem with this approach is that it wants to push young people into studying what might not necessarily interest them and deny the real STEM stars the resources they need to excel. This is destined to fail. A successful education experience begins with motivated, excited students pursuing what truly interests them and going where their talents can shine. Forcing all students to take on AP physics or chemistry is going to have disappointing results during high school and beyond since these fields aren’t necessarily where the jobs are going to be. Ironically, over 80 percent of the STEM jobs are in engineering and information technology but there is a paucity of courses in these fields at the high school level. Therefore, the kids with the inclination are not getting access to what excites them – nor acquiring skills that employers actually need.

The time has come to try a more efficient and effective approach. Flip the paradigm around. Call it “All STEM for Some.” It is based on identifying the kids with the most promise and interest in STEM areas early on and giving them the challenging, exciting educational experience. This will allow them to move into advanced studies and the into the working world ready to contribute to a more dynamic U.S. economy. Not everyone is going to be Bill Gates. We don’t need everyone to be Bill Gates. But we have to make sure we have at least a few Bill Gateses in the years ahead.

Gates’s case actually provides a good example of the wisdom of this approach. As many of us have learned in the popular book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, Gates is a product of brains and hard work. But just as important, he had the luck to go to fine private high school where a parent with vision and resources provided a computer lab. This was a time when most universities had not computer lab. For a kid like Gates, it was heaven. He spent hours there. And the rest, as they say, is history.

ITIF fleshes out the idea of “All STEM for Some” and offers up ideas that should be embraced as part of a broader education reform effort in a new report Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy: Fresh Approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. The full report will be presented by Rob Atkinson on December 7 during an event called, "Education for Innovation," a digital town hall discussion on how we can cultivate tomorrow's thinkers and entrepreneurs to sustain economic and educational success. This live online event will feature an announcement by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, remarks by OECD Attorney General Angel Gurria and a discussion with columnist Thomas Friedman.

Among the ideas in the report is placing a greater emphasis on making sure students can demonstrate skills rather than merely memorize content. In addition, it would make sense to allow STEM-oriented students to spend more time in those courses and less time on other subjects. Also, we need to make sure the resources are there beginning freshmen year so we don’t lose the kids who were STEM-inclined but instead nurture them with greater opportunities right away.

In addition, the report urges policy makers to get serious about creating entirely new institutions – STEM specialty schools – and develop the infrastructure to identify and recruit the most promising students to pursue their passions in exceptional world-class educational environments.

We should also revise how we incentivize schools to make their STEM programs more effective. The report explains this could be done with a combination of federal grant money, as well as corporate or philanthropic efforts. Bolstering STEM education should be part of needed national strategy to make our national labs, universities and private employers act in a more coherent fashion when it comes to preparing students and workers in critical new fields.

We are not going to be able to develop the game-changing advances in biotechnology, robotics, energy and other fields unless we nurture the talent of our students effectively. Many of us will want to become artists, teach history, develop real estate, or run our own small business. That is fine. But we should get serious – immediately – about how we educate those students who show the keenest interest in the emerging growth fields of the future. Giving a smattering of science and math to them along with the aspiring novelists is not going to work. We only have about ten years to make changes in our STEM education so we will have the talent to create the STEM jobs so and therefore compete globally in the years ahead. The time to get started is now.

Duncan: Schools Report ‘a Massive Wake-Up Call’

Editor@TheInnovationEconomy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:59:00 -0200

On Tuesday, December 7, Gwen Ifill, Senior Correspondent at the PBS NewsHour, spoke with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about the results of the newly released 2009 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) study which evaluated students around the world in math, science and reading literacy. She spoke with Secretary Duncan at a live digital town hall hosted by The Innovation Economy and our partners on the subject of “Education for Innovation.” Watch Gwen Ifill’s PBS NewsHour interview with Secretary Duncan below and click here to watch full video of the town hall.

Spotlight on Technology in Education

CarlosContreras — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:38:00 -0200

Somewhere I heard a good portrayal of our US Education System -- if a student from 1910 was able to time travel to today’s classroom. It would be one of the few places they would recognize and feel at home. Pens, pencils, chalk, textbooks, backpacks and a teacher at the front of the classroom transferring information and building basic skills to a large group of students. This was a good model 100 years ago when mass communication, transportation, computers and the internet didn’t exist. Back then, content was centralized in a few places and it had to travel via people and textbooks. Today, our schools are pretty much designed the same way and for the most part we are not taking advantage of the technology that is available. Let me be clear, I am not blaming teachers, it is the system that needs to be re-visited.

Last week, I had the privilege of representing Intel at The Innovation in Education Series at the Aspen Institute hosted in Washington, DC. The main speakers were Joel Rose, CEO of the School of One in NYC, Michael Horn, co-author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change How the World Learns and Blair Levin, previously the White House lead author of the National Broadband Plan.

There were three clear messages that the panelist and the audience of experts discussed:

1) We need a Moore’s law for Education – Education expenditures scale linearly, there are no efficiencies built into the system. We have spent more money in the last 20 years and yet student achievement is flat to down. We used to lead the world in the number of 25 to 34-year-olds with college degrees. Now we rank 12th among 36 developed nations. At the same time, we are in the middle of financial crisis. We have no choice, we need to get much better outcomes with less funding. Some good news is that States have taken the initiative (forty of them) to develop common k-12 standards that will prepare students for college or careers.

2) Mass customization and standardization – Imagine yourself as a 4th grade teacher. On the first day of school, you get 25 students and you have to cover some number of topics and all of the students have to get to grade level by end of the year. Let’s take math and fractions for example, some of those kids will already understand the concept, some students need a bit more practice and others are still struggling with adding numbers and are way behind. Every one of those kids is at a skill different level. As a teacher, do you prepare 25 different lessons or do you just aim for the middle? And you have the same problem with reading, writing, science and social studies not to mention the social and emotional development of the students. You can imagine the complexity and the need for some tools that can help. Here is where customization comes in.

What if you had a system that can assess and track student progress against the learning standards during the day and the teachers, parents and students can see that information. The teacher can then use that information to develop individualized learning plans. Here is where standardization comes in.

In the course of education history, some teacher somewhere has developed a good lesson plan that will help a struggling student understand fractions. The problem is that it rarely leaves that classroom or that school and forget about crossing state boundaries. Using technology we can collect, analyze and asses different teaching resources (videos, software, peer learning, tutoring) that address the specific needs of the students. We can then marry the customized student plan with a standardized learning solution. Note, I am NOT taking the teacher out of the equation, you still need their expertise to assess the solution, what we are really doing is giving teachers more tools and freeing up time to be spent where they can add the most value. This solution is already happening in the math center at School of One in NYC.

3) Value outcomes and not time – The concept is very simple, if you know the material, go on to the next level. Our funding formulas are not based on outcomes. They are based on seat time. Schools get money if the student is in the classroom occupying a seat. If the student knows the material, he/she should be able to go to the next level and the funding formula should be flexible enough to allow for that.

All of the pieces for a system redesign are there, but they are scattered and are not embraced. We need to move beyond the divisive rhetoric of charters vs. public or union vs. non-union, because we are missing the bigger picture and the system will continue to produce unacceptable results. To quote Einstein, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Educate to Innovate: The White House Science Fair

Editor@TheInnovationEconomy — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:02:00 -0200

On Monday, President Obama hosted the White House Science Fair as part of the Educate to Innovate campaign; an effort to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Check out a great excerpt from President Obama's speech below, along with video from The White House Blog:

...when you win first place at a science fair, nobody is rushing the field or dumping Gatorade over your head. (Laughter.) But in many ways, our future depends on what happens in those contests -- what happens when a young person is engaged in conducting an experiment, or writing a piece of software, or solving a hard math problem, or designing a new gadget.

It’s in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit, and the future scientists, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs are born. That's what’s going to help ensure that we succeed in the next century, that we're leading the world in developing the technologies, businesses and industries of the future.

Education for Innovation: A Digital Town Hall

RossWiener — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:58:00 -0200

Globally, the United States is losing its edge in the education of our students – most acutely in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This education deficit places us behind many of the nation’s we compete and work with around the world. If we don’t reverse these trends, the deficit in science and math education will leave us critically short on the fuel that drives American innovation: scientifically literate students, teachers, and citizens who create new solutions to important problems.

The good news is that we can fix this. We can bring together students, teachers, academics and policy makers who recognize the importance of STEM education. Together, we can discuss how to best support and improve STEM education in the United States, foster innovation and maintain our global competitiveness.

This is why on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 in Washington, DC, the Aspen Institute, Intel Corporation, PBS NewsHour and Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) are convening a digital town hall conversation on this issue: Education for Innovation.

Together, our goal is to develop collaborative and thoughtful insights into the state of STEM education today and how we can give our students the education they need to become the innovators of tomorrow.

The digital town hall will be webcast live via PBS NewsHour on Tuesday, December 7. Check back here for further details in the coming weeks.

In addition, today the Aspen Institute hosts the second forum of the Innovation in Education Series on the topic, “Transforming Teaching Through Technology.” Moderated by Jeffrey Brown of the PBS NewsHour, participants include experts in education, technology, and the practical fusion of these two fields. Featured guests include:

Blair Levin, Senior Fellow, Aspen Institute, lead author of the National Broadband Plan for America
Joel Rose, creator and CEO of School of One in New York City
Michael Horn, co-author (with Clayton Christensen) of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change How the World Learns, Executive Director of Education at Innosight Institute
Carlos Contreras, U.S. Education Director, Intel Corporation

Video of their discussion will be available soon, I encourage you to check back here and watch. In the mean time, video of the first Innovation in Education forum featuring Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is available here.