“High-tech education shootout – Is U.S. up to the task? (Local Tech Wire)” plus 1 more |
| High-tech education shootout – Is U.S. up to the task? (Local Tech Wire) Posted: 14 Mar 2010 07:04 PM PDT Updated Mar. 14, 2010 at 9:55 p.m. High-tech education shootout – Is U.S. up to the task?Print this blog postE-mail blog post Editor's note: Triangle entrepreneur and Duke professor Vivek Wadhwa, a frequent contributor to Local Tech Wire, and former Intel CEO and Chairman Craig Barrett debate online the state of U.S. education and whether the U.S. is producing enough science, technology and engineering graduates in order to remain competitive in the global economy. The debate, which appeared first at TechCrunch, was a result of interaction between Wadhwa and Barrett. Their discussion follows. Since their point-counterpoint discussion is lengthy, LTW broke the discussion into two parts. Part One includes an introduction from Wadhwa that sets the stage for the discussion. By VIVEK WADHAW, special to Local Tech Wire. DURHAM,.N.C. - After my last email to this list referencing this article onScientific American: "Does the U.S. Produce Too Many Scientists?" I received a response which really shook me up. Former Intel CEO and Chairman, Craig Barrett – someone I hold in the highest regard (and who is one of the many celebrities on my mailing list), said "I think you are doing a real disservice with your analysis in suggesting everything is OK with respect to math and science education in the U.S.". He made many points. I agreed with him on some, and disagreed on others. I asked him if he wanted to debate me in public. His response, "You're on!" Below is our exchange. Let me start by admitting that I didn't think I had a chance against Dr. Barrett. I've sparred with him, via e-mail, in the past. I learned that he is as tough as they get, extremely smart, and doesn't ever give an inch. That is also the reputation he had from his days building Intel into a global powerhouse. But I thought the topic was important enough to take some blows. Fortunately, he didn't brutalize me as much as he does via e-mail! Vivek Wadhwa: Craig Barrett is someone who I hold in the highest regard. Ever since he retired as Intel's CEO, Dr. Barrett has made it his life's mission to improve U.S. competitiveness. He believes that the way to do this is to teach more math and science. And he believes we need to graduate more PhDs in science and engineering. I wholeheartedly support improvements in education and know the value that math and science skills provide. But the problems I see in U.S. competitiveness aren't related to the numbers of engineering PhDs or scientists that we graduate. American companies are shifting R&D abroad because it makes economic sense for them to be near growth markets, and they can hire talented workers at a lower cost. It isn't about deficiencies in American workers or a weakness of U.S. math and science education. We are also graduating enough PhDs in science and engineering. The problem is that the majority of these graduates are foreign nationals (who are now increasingly returning home). American's don't consider it worthwhile to complete advanced science and engineering degrees because it doesn't make financial sense for them to do so. Research by Harvard economist Richard Freeman showed that because salaries for scientists and engineers are lower than for other professions, the investment that students have to make in higher degrees isn't cost-justified. Doctoral graduate students typically spend seven to eight years earning a PhD, during which time they are paid stipends. These stipends are usually less than what a bachelor's degree-holder makes. Some students never make up for this financial loss. Foreign students typically have fewer opportunities and see a U.S. education as their ticket to the U.S. job market and citizenship. Hence, 60% of U.S. engineering PhD graduates are foreigners. As this article from Scientific American discusses, the problems are even worse for graduating scientists. …But today, however, few young PhDs can get started on the career for which their graduate education purportedly trained them, namely, as faculty members in academic research institutions. Instead, scores of thousands of them spend the years after they earn their doctorates toiling in low-paying, dead-end postdoctoral "training" appointments (called postdocs) in the laboratories of professors, where they ostensibly hone skills they would need to start labs of their own when they become professors. In fact, however, only about 25 percent of those earning American science PhDs will ever land a faculty job that enables them to apply for the competitive grants that support academic research. And even fewer—15 percent by some estimates—will get a post at the kind of research university where the nation's significant scientific work takes place. So, my argument is that if we create the incentives for American children to study math and science and to complete advanced degrees, the magic will happen. In addition to math and science, we should teach our children about world culture, geography, and global markets. In the era of globalization, these subjects are equally important. And while we fix the incentives for Americans, let's do all we can to keep the best foreign students who come to the U.S. to study, here, so they are competing on our side. Craig Barrett: Economic competitiveness in the 21st Century will be quite different than in the past. With the free flow of information, capital, and people, economies will have to look for new comparative advantages. Most observers of this topic conclude that there are only three things that a country can do to increase their relative competitiveness and provide for an increased standard of living for their citizens. Countries have to invest in the education of their work force (smart people), they have to invest in research and development (smart ideas) and they have to provide the right environment to let smart people get together with smart ideas and create new products, new businesses, and new services. The most fundamental of these three issues is education. Historically the standard of living or per capita income has tracked closely with the level of education of the work force—as education lets workers add value to what they do and as the economy grows the standards of living increase. Looking forward every major economy has identified the general areas that will drive innovation and economic growth. Japan, the US, and the EU have all listed those technologies (nanotech, photonics, new materials, micro electronics, alternative energy, biotech, etc) that will be key for development, productivity improvements, and growth. All of these areas have the common foundation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Hence it is straightforward to conclude that work force expertise in STEM will be a determinant of economic growth. If we look at the US for a moment we can make several observations about the education of our current and future work force. 1. US kids on average do poorly in mathematics, science and problem solving when compared to their OECD peers; So in contrast to the importance of STEM education for economic performance in the 21st Century we see the US moving in the opposite direction. Certainly our universities are still top ranked in the world in STEM but increasingly the graduates of those universities are foreign nationals who are often choosing to return home to pursue their professional careers. And we are producing no more STEM graduates than we did decades ago. If the US is really serious about competing in the 21st Century economy we will have to decide to compete. This simply means that you have to create the work force (smart people), invest in R&D (smart ideas) and make sure the environment is attractive to investment in innovation (do something about tax rates, make it easier to form corporations, provide incentives to invest in R&D and make capital investments, etc). Otherwise you will see the continuous flight of capital and jobs to regions of the world where governments have made the environment more attractive. This is not a simple issue of wage rates—corporations chase after the best possible work force in areas where the total cost is most attractive and often the total cost is much more heavily weighted by corporate tax rates and incentives, not wage rates. STEM education is key for our future. We need a major upgrade in our K-12 education to produce high school graduates who understand and appreciate STEM. We need more undergraduates majoring in STEM for the jobs of the 21st Century. And we need more STEM graduate students to drive those industries that are key to our future. As a measure of how rapidly things are changing with time, it used to be that many STEM Ph.Ds turned right around and went after faculty positions in our universities. Today, STEM Ph.Ds are the entry level education requirements to get into the engineering and research laboratories of the successful tech corporations in the US, like Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM, etc. It is also certain that not every STEM graduate is going to pursue a limited career in STEM. STEM education is a great introduction to many other professions – the basis of STEM education being problem solving means that this education is a great entry to other jobs. In fact the most common educational background of the Fortune 500 CEOs is engineering. So at a time when the rest of the world is gearing up for competition let's refocus the US to do the same. That is unless you believe our future is in low value add services or manufacturing, investment banking, tort lawyers or asphalt ready construction jobs. Somebody has to create some wealth if you want your economy to grow. Copyright 2010 Local Tech Wire. All rights reserved.Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Higher education in tiny Telluride (Telluride Daily Planet) Posted: 14 Mar 2010 08:59 AM PDT In an effort to bring more options for higher education to remote San Miguel County, the University Centers of the San Miguel is teaming up with more accredited colleges to offer more learning options at closer-to-home, convenient locations. Founded in 1995, the University Centers of the San Miguel brokers with several accredited regional colleges including Mesa State College, Colorado Northwestern Community College and Prescott College to offer public access to lower-level core academic courses which then prepare students to transfer to four-year programs, though many take courses in higher education for personal creative growth. Nick Guidubaldi, recently named student of the year, has been taking both credited and non-credited courses under UCSM for years. "I think it's [student of the year] an acknowledgement for all the classes I've taken. The last class I took was a business class last fall. But I've taken a psychology course, and language courses," said Guidubaldi. "It's great. I don't have to drive to Grand Junction or do classes online. All the classes I've taken through UCSM are in town with great instructors. It's a great organization in town and we're lucky to have it," said Guidubaldi. Robyn Thiel Wilson, executive director of the University Centers of the San Miguel, said the school started as a way to offer general education as well as specialized educational opportunities locally. "We work with Mesa State to offer more general education like English or introduction to Psychology and then we also go through NWCC to offer early childhood education courses and people can get their group leader and early childhood education certificates through it, and that's really how UCSM started," she said. Prescott College accepts most credit hours, even if the course was taken more than 20 years ago. "Prescott focuses on the adult learner trying to complete their degree," said Wilson. UCSM also provides a full range of academic advising and student support services and free academic and college counseling for anyone interested in starting or completing college or seeking to improve their career options. UCSM aims to develop courses of particular benefit to the continuing education and training needs of the local Telluride workforce, like hospitality, and caters to the interests of lifelong learners, including the large contingent of part time Telluride residents, by offering many non-credited classes. On Jan. 11 at Rebekah Hall in Telluride, College Information Night will take place, offering prospective students the opportunity to meet Mesa State College and Colorado Northwestern Community College Representatives and to discuss live and distance learning options, admissions and financial aid.
"Whether you are a current or potential student, come to mingle with other local college students and learn about your opportunities," said Wilson. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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