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innovation DAILY

Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis.  These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.

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Early in his Administration, President Enrique Peña Nieto embarked on a serious mission to fuel entrepreneurial growth by challenging Mexico to better tap into its people’s creativity and boost productivity. On January 11, 2013—less than two months after he took office—he signed a decree that created the National Institute for Entrepreneurs (INADEM). Few governments have institutionalized their commitment to building an entrepreneurship ecosystem as highly as Mexico, which now has a decentralized administrative office of the Secretariat of Economy dedicated to entrepreneurs.

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Harvard Med Students Hilariously Ask What Does the Spleen Do

A group of Harvard Medical School students are schooling the Internet on anatomical functions with a hilarious music video parody of the viral hit "The Fox."

Set to the tune of the mega-popular song by Ylvis, the students address a common question to which almost know one knows the answer: What does the spleen do?

Image: http://mashable.com 

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As entrepreneurship is becoming a mainstream career path, more people are heading to school to learn Startup 101. And colleges are taking note.

Today there are more than 2,364 post-secondary institutions offering entrepreneurship and small business certificates, up a whopping 906 percent from 10 years ago, according to for-profit Rasmussen College. 

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It strikes me, despite our perceptions and preconceived notions of who an entrepreneur is, or what he/she “looks” like, the universal passion for entrepreneurship is not the sole territory of the young.

At a recent weekend retreat hosted by Vail Leadership Institute, I spent time envisioning my professional future with a group of seven other participants. All are professionals in a variety of industries. Ages of the group members ranged from thirties to sixties. All of their stories were compelling. There was inspiration at every turn. That said, one commentary struck me as particularly poignant – especially in light of the clarity with which he could foresee his future.

Image: http://www.forbes.com 

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In a new paper, hydrologists suggest at least part of the answer to the Earth's future water woes may be buried underneath the oceans.

Over the past several decades, massive aquifers beneath the seabed have been found off coastlines across the globe, filled with water that ranges from fresh to about two-thirds less saline than seawater.

Image: Stig Nygaard/Flickr 

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I love businesses and I love entrepreneurs and working very closely with the two I’ve realized there’s some distinct characteristics that separate 6 figure entrepreneurs from 7.  Today I wanted to share with you 7 distinct characteristics I’ve noticed that separate the best from the rest.  These 7 characteristics are developed over time, and are accessible to everyone but very few choose to implement or follow the game plan of a 7 figure earner.

Image: http://under30ceo.com 

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Technology has transformed telecommuting from a drab agoraphobic life, where your cat and your pajamas are your only creature comforts, into a multi-tasking, jet-setting lifestyle whose only tie is to a strong data connection. Whether you’re running your coffee-roasting business from a smartphone while traversing the globe in search of the perfect bean or you just don’t want to have to pull your kids away from their sandcastle to go sign off on that proof, it is possible to cut the office cord and maintain your productivity and professionalism.

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Last week I wrote a post the 8 Ways to be Remarkable, in response to which an awesome reader Tyson asked this question:

“What advice do you have for the people who would love to do all these things, but have to work a 9-5 to make some money for themselves?”

So today we will talk about what it’s like to live a remarkable life for free!

The key to live a remarkable life is to understand that to master those traits is not a quick fix, it’s a lifelong journey. That means that you will succeed at times and you’re going to fail at other times.

Image: http://under30ceo.com 

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NIH

FRANCIS S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been distributing a chart that shows the success rate of grant applications to NIH for scientific research. While the rate was about 30 percent as recently as a decade ago, it has plunged to about 15 percent, which Dr. Collins says is the lowest in history. One reason for this is that more applicants are seeking funds, but the budget squeeze also is to blame. Dr. Collins is worried that the low success rate will cause young scientists and researchers to abandon the laboratory for other careers or to take their talents and ideas to other countries.

 

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Imaginatik (LSE:IMTK.L), a leading innovation management company providing a range of consulting and software services for enterprises, today released results from its 2013 State of Global Innovation Report. Based on a survey of senior business professionals, the survey results reveal an increasingly clear picture of the emerging role innovation plays in today's business world.

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Chinese economic growth has been spectacular in the last 30 years.  We investigate the role of International Joint Ventures with Technology Transfer agreements, an understudied area.  Technology transfer is the traditional mechanism for developing countries to "catch up" and has been a key component of Chinese economic policy.  We collect original survey data on Chinese firms and their joint ventures and match this to administrative data on firm performance.  To identify the causal effect of joint ventures we use time-varying and province-specific policies at the time when a firm was born.  International joint ventures in general and I have large effects on productivity especially when combined with a technology transfer component.  We estimate that without International joint ventures China's growth would have been about one percentage point lower per annum over the last three decades.

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