Tech Policy Summit blog

Global IT Rankings Out: Denmark Keeps Top Spot

The World Economic Forum (WEF) and INSEAD have released the results of the 2007-2008 Global Information Technology Report, its seventh annual Networked Readiness Index (NRI).

This year's report compared the IT capabilities of 127 economies around the world across 68 different variables, with Denmark and Sweden retaining the No. 1 and No. 2 spots for a second consecutive year. The United States, for its part, moved up a few notches to rank fourth overall, and Korea broke into the top ten.

Here's a quick look at this year's top 10; you can compare that to last year's list.

2007-2008 NRI

1. Denmark                                          
2. Sweden                                          
3. Switzerland 
4. United States
5. Singapore
6. Finland
7. Netherlands
8. Iceland
9. Korea
10. Norway

For more info, check out the video interview with WEF senior economist Irene Mia in the Media Vault. You can also read excerpts from the report on INSEAD's site, and Ars Technica's Nate Anderson has this analysis (others are far more skeptical).

As you may remember, we had planned to unveil the report at Tech Policy Summit on March 26th, but the WEF delayed the release date.

Tech Policy Summit '08 Podcasts Available

We're happy to report that the podcasts from the 2008 Tech Policy Summit, which took place at the Renaissance hotel in Hollywood last month, are now available for your listening pleasure. You can find audio of all 24 sessions in the Media Vault, along with photos from our conference photographer Terry.

They're posted in chronological order, so be sure to click through to the second page for more podcasts, including the March 27th keynote by FCC commissioner Robert McDowell and the one-on-one interviews with craigslist founder Craig Newmark and BitTorrent president Ashwin Navin.

Even if you were at this year's Summit, you'll find something new in the podcasts since there were six concurrent breakout sessions on the opening afternoon that are definitely worth checking out. 

Those topics include:

• Using Social Media as a Policy Tool
• The Role of Privacy and Trust in the Innovation Economy
• Building a More Effective Public Policy Organization
• Copyright in a Converged World
• Maintaining a Competitive Edge: [How] Can the U.S. Tech Workforce Stay on Top in a Flat World?
• The Future of Wide-Area Public Broadband

Enjoy!

Who Will Get H-1B Visas for FY 2009?

Yesterday was the last day to submit H-1B visa applications for FY 2009 to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), ending a five-day application window that is expected to set a new record.

Even though more time was alloted for applying this year, the debate continues over the number of visas available to companies. Under current law, the annual cap allows for 65,000 H-1B visas and an additional 20,000 for students with advanced degrees from U.S. universities. Tech industry associations that favor increasing the cap have been pushing for legislation to change that limit, with two new proposals surfacing in Congress in the last several weeks.

The first, known as the Innovation Employment Act, was introduced on March 13th by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and calls for doubling the H-1B visas to 130,000 per year. The following day, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) upped the ante with a proposed a bill called the Strengthening United States Technology and Innovation Now , or SUSTAIN, Act that would triple the number of H-1Bs this year to 195,000.

Bill Gates' Visit to Capitol Hill

During his testimony yesterday before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology, which celebrated its 50th anniversary, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told lawmakers that America is "at a crossroads" and that it risks losing its competitive edge if leaders from the public and private sectors don't do a better job of working together to support education, research and workforce initiatives.

In particular, he echoed his concerns about a shortage of qualifed workers and urged Congress to increase the cap on H-1B visas so that more U.S. firms can hire foreign-born workers (the government will start accepting applications for 2009 on April 1st). He also emphasized the need to improve the educational system along with immigration policy, to expand the pool of talented scientists and engineers.

You can watch video of his remarks in the Media Vault.

Companies Creating Home-Grown Engineers?

There's an interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal about the lengths some companies are going to here in the United States to ensure that they have an ample supply of engineering talent to hire in coming years. In addition to supporting broader educational programs, some companies like Intel and Lockheed Martin have been funding classroom training and curricula in school districts where they have facilities in hopes that it will help them develop "home-grown" engineers.

In a 2007 survey of over 270,000 college freshmen, only 7.5 percent of students said they planned to major in engineering. According to the Journal, that's the lowest level since the 1970s and it's been declining for the last several years (see yesterday's post about computer science majors).

Which is one reason a nonprofit called Project Lead The Way (PLTW) that's featured in the article has been able to attract corporate donations to help supports its mission of preparing junior high and high school students to succeed in science and engineering. PLTW has been offering specialized courses in schools around the country for the last decade and, according to a 2007 report on the program's effectiveness, PLTW students are much more likely to major in engineering or technology in college than other students.

The article does acknowledge the criticism that corporate donors may be placing their own hiring priorities ahead of broader educational goals. Weigh that against the needs of cash-strapped school districts, and the opportunities programs like PLTW offer, and it begs the question: how many public schools would be offering courses in aerospace engineering or robotics without such support?

President's State of the Union: Tech Highlights

As a follow-up to our earlier post about the President Bush's State of the Union address, here is a summary of what he had to say about tech policy-related issues in his speech to Congress last night:

• Without elaborating, he encouraged Congress to "promote health information technology."
• He called for the creation of a new international clean technology fund to help developing nations like India and China "make greater use of clean energy sources," and recommended continued investments in renewable fuels and advanced battery technology.
• He reiterated his support for free trade, pressing Congress to approve pending agreements wtih Colombia, Panama and South Korea. According to the President, "these agreements will level the playing field [and] will give us better access to nearly 100 million customers."
• At the same time, he asked Congress to reauthorize and reform the Trade Adjustment Assistance program to help displaced workers learn "new skills and find new jobs."
• He also asked Congress to follow through on funding the America Competes Act, which he signed into law last August, to increase federal support for education and research in math and science.
• In one of the more obviously partisan moments, the President urged Congress to pass the controversial electronic surveillance bill, the Protect America Act, to extend liability protection to telecom carriers that helped U.S. intelligence agencies monitor phone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists without a warrant. The bill is set to expire February 1st, and the President received a standing ovation from supporters when he declared, "We have had ample time for debate. The time to act is now."

State of the (Tech) Union?

President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress tonight. And if past speeches are any indication, there won't be much talk about tech even though the economy is expected to be a key topic.

According to eWeek, "in his previous seven addresses to the nation--adding up to almost 34,000 words--the president has never uttered the words 'Internet,' 'broadband' or 'digital.' Wireless? Not a word. Spectrum? Not a single mention. Network neutrality? Forget it."

We've noticed a similar phenomenon in many of the presidential debates that have taken place thus far, which is why we're among those calling for ScienceDebate 2008. We are biased in favor of promoting a national discourse on tech policy. Still, in an increasingly digital world, it's hard to believe that political leaders would overlook such opportunities to address the role that technology plays in our lives.

We'll be watching tonight to see if we're pleasantly surprised.

For more, check out this post by Adam Thierer of the Progress & Freedom Foundation. Thierer, who is quoted in the eWeek article, will be among the speakers at Tech Policy Summit in March.

Davos, and a Tech Policy Summit Preview

Many of the world's leading powerbrokers, and the press that cover them, have descended on Davos, Switzerland this week for the World Economic Forum's annual gathering. While we're stateside (in a warmer location, we might add), we'll be sharing updates on the technology-focused discussions taking place in Davos over the next several days.

We are also excited to announce that one of the authors of the World Economic Forum's 2007-2008 Global IT Report, Bruno Lanvin, will be on hand at the Tech Policy Summit conference in March. Mr. Lanvin is the executive director of INSEAD's eLab, one of the top digital economy research centers in the world.

The results of the annual Global IT Report will be released on the opening day of the 2008 Summit, March 26th, and we're fortunate to have Mr. Lanvin join us from Europe to present the findings firsthand and to discuss what it means for the international information economy. 

Since the WEF is based in Geneva, it's a unique opportunity for Summit participants to preview the global rankings and ask questions about the methodology on the day they're unveiled. As you may remember, last year's results placed Denmark in the No. 1 spot when it came to IT readiness, with the U.S. dropping to 7th place.

What will this year's report reveal? Reserve your seat at Tech Policy Summit to find out in person!

Guest Commentary: Mary Arnold, SAP

The following editorial was written by Mary Arnold, Vice President for Government Relations at SAP America, and a member of IWF's board of directors.

Success in the Global Economy: An Agenda for the Future

Against the backdrop of America's election season, one question should rise to the top of the public debate: What does America need to do to succeed in the global economy? The answers offered by political candidates in the months ahead will have repercussions for decades.

The near-term economic signals are mixed. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, slower sales and higher energy and labor costs are forcing many companies to reduce spending and hiring. Tighter credit policies are making it harder for businesses and consumers to borrow. The long-term outlook is also uncertain, given the inevitable rise in global economic competition.

Read the rest of this post at our Tech Policy Central site.

Gravel's Take on Tech

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington has released a transcript of his fifth presidential candidate interview -- this time, he spoke with the always colorful Democrat, Mike Gravel. Arrington asked the former Alaska Senator for his views on many of the same issues he discussed with the other candidates.

We've posted highlights from Sen. Gravel's interview below; you can also look back at our write-ups of Arrington's earlier talks with Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain, Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama.

On advancing tech's growth in international markets: "I'd be very open to immigration, both technical people and also other people and also student visas and tourists. It is appalling, we've lost about $20 billion this last year on this criteria of batting down the hatches, that we're afraid of everybody in the world."

On H1-B visas: "I am very much an advocate for them and not only that, I would leave it open-ended, I would not put a limit on them. This is just so short-sighted, here we've got a program and we want to limit intelligent people coming to our country, does it get any stupider than that?"

To read the rest of this post, please visit our Tech Policy Central site.