Getting the balance right in that mix between broad and niche skills and technical and non-technical disciplines, is crucial, agrees Prof Rita McGrath from Columbia University, a seasoned observer of Ireland. "The Irish university education system forces young people to select extremely narrow specialties early - some even in fields that are not particularly relevant to the future such as conventional chemistry, for instance.
"My suggestion here is that the specific choice of focus for study be delayed by two years, to allow young people to gain skills and also to experiment in a variety of fields. This would give them greater adaptability in a changing world and could prove to add greatly to Ireland's economic resilience," she adds.
Another area that should be addressed, is championing entrepreneurship and business innovation among the citizenry in general, she says. "There is a need for a greater interest in and comfort with business. For many people in Ireland, business isn't seen as something that is all that interesting. Ireland's future entrepreneurs, its innovators, and its leaders, would be well served by early and positive exposure to business skills and by social norms that encourage business activity," she says.
To read the entire article, click here.
- Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
- Trackback
Page 1 of 1 pages
Next entry: Discovery Driven Growth Named to Several Best 2009 Business Books lists Previous entry: Kraft and Cadbury—a bittersweet mix
Find a list of previous Case Studies here in PDF format.
recent entries
- Social Media in the experimental business model stage
- Will Facebook’s IPO re-ignite growth in Silicon Valley?
- Why just being young is not a reason to doubt Facebook
- Why advertisements need to get a whole lot better before they will support social media
- Bing, Social Search and the beginning of the App Economy
