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KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

Responding to the skills shortage

Thu, 22/05/2008 - 13:15 — Glenn Withers

Glenn Withers

No matter how you look at it, our future will be built on a skilled workforce.

At a time when employers are finding it increasingly difficult to source the skills they need to get the economy moving, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to invest in the dramatic upskilling of our workforce to defend ourselves against, and benefit from, the emerging economic giants to our north.

We have the advantage of being first movers, we already have the tertiary eduction structures in place, but our neighbours are investing massively in improving their education market, and we should be looking at moving further up the value chain to retain competitive advantage.

What is very important is that the prosperity we are enjoying now was built on the educational achievements of our predecessors. For the economy to prosper we need to ensure that those who are going into the workforce have first had access to excellent schooling, so they are ready to take on the challenges and learn throughout their lives.

Curiosity Driven Education the Key to a Future of Innovation

Thu, 02/10/2008 - 10:12 — Daniel Zajfman

ZaifmanMuch research and development is a top-down process, beginning with questions like "how do you design an I-pod"? Our biggest challenge is figuring out how to obtain answers to the questions we don't even have the conceptual framework to ask yet.

A massive shift is taking place in the world economy. Following the advent of economies based on products, then services, we are now entering an era of the economy of knowledge.  Companies like Google are providing knowledge, and they're making a lot of money while they're at it.

Everything is available on the net, but availability isn't enough to create a more knowledgeable culture. To acquire knowledge, people must take steps to read, understand & process the information; then take all of this one step further.

How did Israel move from exporting oranges to exporting intellectual property in 40yrs? Can any country do this, or is it specific to Israel?

There is definitely a cultural element. Israel is almost lucky to have no natural resources because this "necessity" has driven innovation. We say often that human beings are our greatest natural resource.

As the president of The Weizmann Institute of Science, my job is to promote a culture of innovation. We believe that if we work to ensure the foundations of today's age of knowledge, then the age of innovation will soon follow.

I started studying physics in the 70's under a teacher who had studied in the 50's.  If she had held the attitude that she "knew" physics when she completed her degree, she would have only been able to teach me physics that was 20yrs old.  This would not have sparked my curiosity, and even now in 2008, I would only be able to do physics from 50yrs ago.  

But my teacher didn't do that.  Instead, she taught me to love physics, and this has shaped my life.

How do we create a future of innovation?

How do you take brilliant ideas and make them a reality? Realising science is exciting, not so much because of the potential of commercialisation, but, because it really can improve the world.

Knowledge and technology are key to value creation

Tue, 10/07/2007 - 12:33 — gapadmin
Steve VamosSYDNEY - Just as the agrarian society gave way to the industrial revolution, the industrial society is giving way to one where knowledge and innovation are the key drivers of economic value and wealth creation.

As organisations from all sectors come to rely more on knowledge-intensive resources and technology for value creation, it is clear that an organisation's ability to foster, manage and profit from the knowledge of its people and their capacity to innovate will be the key to its future success.

However, as an economy and a nation we are challenged to find meaningful, consistent and reliable ways to successfully deal with these things often called "intangibles". As managers, leaders and citizens, we must explore and address the challenge of understanding value in this new knowledge-based era. Managing a business, government agency or an economy in this time requires new understanding and skills if we are to continue to prosper.