ABCtech #101 16-NOV-17 Call for Vision & Leadership

ABCtech #101 16-NOV-17 Call for Vision & Leadership

Susan Hockfield and her career* (see below)  reflect the merit of a culture that recognized her value in employing science and engineering, youth and collaboration in formulating public policy and stirring innovation. Throughout her career, she was drawn on for her vision and leadership.

Unfortunately science and innovation in Alberta get sidelined as academic pursuits. Youth and collaboration receive lip service. They are treated as if they have little relevance in public affairs where control and immediacy are dominant.

Is this ignorance or simply a sign of the immaturity of Alberta’s innovation ecosystem?  Perhaps it is the by-product of prosperity, where institutional independence and competition were affordable and collaboration irrelevant. Times have changed. Change is everywhere.

ABCtech’s recent survey HERE again demonstrated that it’s followers believe that an effective innovation ecosystem is essential to Alberta’s economic resilience and view the province’s economic resilience as weak and the innovation ecosystem as ineffective.  (The full report is available for Members HERE.)

Regardless of why, today the “system” features: a) undeveloped relationships between core institutions leaving the “system” fragmented and the institutions isolated, b) a high failure rate for entrepreneurs, low growth rates for SMEs, and a poor record of retention for both; c) research driven by the merit of publishing v innovating; d) politics trumping empiricism in decision making, i.e. management; e) over-reliance on public funding; and f) a culture of distrust – fragile alliances.

The dam has burst, science and technology are changing everything everywhere. Entire economies are being transformed. The relevance of high value institutions and entire professions is being challenged.

Vision and leadership MUST appreciate that no amount of program tinkering will repair a failed “system”. Culture change warrants a meaningful presence of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, ARTS – the humanities, mathematics) in shaping public policy and practices.

We are paying a dear price for failed leadership today, but woe the future. “Where there is no vision, the people will perish” (James: Proverbs 29:18) is worth heeding.

ABOUT SUSAN HOCKFIELD

Susan Hockfield has distinguished herself in a career that has spanned advanced scientific research and the presidency of one of the premier institutions of science and engineering in the world. During her tenure as MIT president, Dr. Hockfield shaped emerging national policy on energy technology and next-generation manufacturing, championing the breakthroughs in fields from clean energy to cancer emanating from the historic convergence of the life sciences and the engineering and physical sciences. 

At MIT, this same vision informed her leadership of several new initiatives, including the founding of the Koch Institute for Integrative Canc er Research, the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. In June 2011, President Obama appointed her co-chairperson of the steering committee of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. Read more.

About President Hockfield.  “I want MIT to be the dream of every child who wants to grow up to make the world a better place. We need to reach those young explorers and bring them with us on the great adventure of discovery and innovation.”  – Susan Hockfield  FOR MORE

May 13, 2016 – MIT President Emer ita Susan Hockfield: Kindergarten Is Critical. The president-elect of the AAAS says STEM needs to play a role in early … FOR MORE

You might not expect the first female president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be focused on kindergarten, but that is exactly where Susan Hockfield thinks STEM education needs to start.

Susan Hockfield is president emerita of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the president-elect of AAAS. (Courtesy Richard Freeda)

In truth, Hockfield, who is a professor of neuroscience at MIT and served as president from 2004 through 2012, is an advocate for education at all levels. She is also deeply concerned with the representation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and math fields, noting that, “we simply are not going to get done what we need to get done if we are only recruiting half of our population.”

In her view, that starts with early education.”We can’t wait until college to encourage young people to pursue STEM,” Hockfield says. “You have to start very early, like in kindergarten, and increase the exposure, increase the enthusiasm. At the heart of it, it’s increasing confidence.” FOR MORE