Recession fuels innovation in IT sector, say experts

The economic downturn has offered an opportunity to the IT industry in India to evolve innovative strategies and overcome the weak links of the industry.

This was stated by the veterans of the IT industry at Envision 2009, a national level seminar on IT Leadership Strategies: Preparing for the Recovery, organized by the Xavier Institute of Management-Bhubaneswar (XIMB).

Swiss Technology transfer projects approved

The Swiss National Science Foundation has approved 28 additional technology transfer projects for National Centres of Competence in Research in the hopes of stimulating the economy both in the short and medium-term. The projects are being funded by the Swiss federal government as part of its measures to stabilize the economy. With this, a total of 25 million CHF will be invested into developing new technologies.

Innovation Goal - Growth or Strategic Renewal?

What exactly is the goal of your company's innovation efforts? "Oh, that's easy", senior managers usually reply, "We need to grow the business." The line of logic here is relatively simple: "Innovation leads to wealth creation leads to growth" - which, of course, is fair enough. Based on this logic, companies of every stripe are now racing to pursue the kind of innovation that generates organic growth, new revenues, and wider profit margins.

Innovation and Commercialization in Canada

Here’s the round-up of the week in the newsfeeds. Below I highlight my favourite articles of the week from each category.

Today’s Top Pick - “Ubisoft hails Canada as attractive location“. Find out more under Information and communication technology.

WILL CHINA INNOVATION WORK?

I have been watching with a great deal of interest the departure of Kai-Fu Lee from Google to form Innovation Works, which has aggregated a $115 million fund that will be invested in tech start ups.

While $115 million is not enormous anymore by Silicon Valley private equity standards, that amount will go many times further in China and should be viewed as most significant. Some of China's most successful tech pioneers have contributed to Innovation works and according to Mr. Lee, the first order of business will be to "recruit talent."

Entrepreneur Corner Roundup: Growth drivers, social media marketing and should entrepreneurs be more like teenage girls?

5 milestones to reach before raising venture capital – Many entrepreneurs assume once they’ve got an idea, the next thing to do is raise venture capital. That’s naïve, says Mike McDerment, the co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks. Here are the five signs you’re actually ready....

Entrepreneur's Journal: Is it possible to grow your business now?

By any historical standard, it's been a horrible recession. Just surviving has been a big accomplishment.

However, this "survivor mentality" can be a problem. If anything, it can prevent your business from eventually growing.

BusinessWeek: Where Have You Gone, Bell Labs?

America needs good jobs, soon. We need 6.7 million just to replace losses from the current recession, then another 10 million to spark demand over the next decade. That's 15 million to 17 million new jobs. In the 1990s, the U.S. economy created a net 22 million jobs (a rate of 2.2 million per year), so we know it can be done. Between 2000 and the end of 2007 (the beginning of the current recession), however, the economy created new jobs at a rate of 900,000 a year, so we know it isn't doing it now. The pipeline is dry because the U.S. business model is broken. Our growth engine has run out of a key source of fuel—critical mass, basic scientific research.

WSJ: Social Innovation as an Art

Bill Strickland turned his love of ceramics into a creative outlet for disadvantaged city kids.

Mr. Strickland started a Pittsburgh program in 1968 called the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild to offer arts classes to kids; now he's CEO of the 138-employee nonprofit Manchester Bidwell Corp., which also provides vocational training to adults. He won a MacArthur Fellowship "genius" award in 1996 for economic development. Edited interview excerpts follow.

Science Progress: The Geography of Innovation

Innovation is the critical component of long-term economic prosperity, driving productivity growth and (if spread across key sectors of the economy) ensuring broad-based economic growth. Sparking innovation, however, requires capital (which is threatened by the current economic downturn), skilled-labor, scientific and technological advances, and creative collaboration between government and the private sector. Innovation cannot be dictated, but it can be cultivated.

10 Reasons why some Nations are Rich

Wealth in the world is not equally distributed. Some nations are very rich whereas others are very poor. The Western nations such as the US, West Germany, UK are very prosperous. On the other hand, economically poor countries such as those in the African continent and India, Pakistan are lagging behind. Why is this disparity so? Many economists have tried to answer this question and have suggested solutions to it, but yet it persists.

LEADING THROUGH THE STORM: HOW TOP BOSSES MANAGE DURING THE RECESSION

Leaders, take heed: There really might be no time like the present to launch a new product or service.

“This is a time when a lot of businesses are hunkering down,” said Chuck Bamford, a professor of entrepreneurship at Queens University of Charlotte and business consultant. “Typical competitors are not looking to do something new or different. … Providing you can financially afford it, take this as an opportunity to test out ideas and try to be innovative.”

Puncturing Equilibrium: Radical Innovation As New Market Emergence

In their review of the typology of radical economic innovation, entitled “When Is An Invention Really Radical? Defining and Operationalizing Technological Radicalness,” Kristina Dahlin and Dean Behrens (D&M) provide 3 useful criteria for defining a radical innovation, (Research Policy, Vol. 34, pp. 717-737, 2005).

Reversing assumptions can often lead to innovation

Innovation is key to future economic growth. New products and services are essential to the health of businesses. During the development process, it is important for organizations to understand and document their assumptions. It is also important to challenge each of those assumptions.

Indian agriculture needs a jump innovation

The world is witnessing urbanisation. In the next few years more than half of the global population will be living in cities. Many of these cities are typical delta metropolis, usurping the space most suited for agricultural production. Moreover, rural population will keep leaving the rural poverty trap and move towards cities that offer the connection to the 21st century network society.

Inspiring innovation: panel on reinventing theory and practice

Carnegie Mellon University's Pradeep K. Khosla will moderate a distinguished panel of innovation experts from 7 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 at the fourth annual Washington Speakers Series at the Cosmos Club at 2121 Massachusetts Ave. NW in Washington, D.C.

Editorial: Sober reflections on Labor Day, 2009

Labor Day 2009 will be remembered more for sober reflection than celebration in Silicon Valley. An 11.8 percent unemployment rate, nearly double that of a year ago, is on everyone's mind, despite a rising stock market.

Basic Economics We All Need To Understand

Reading what follows may be of help if you are one who would like to have a better understanding of what the recent and future actions of our government may have on our economic future.

How About an Entrepreneurship Czar?

As we near the one-year anniversary of our economic recession, we also appear to be approaching a crucial juncture and, of the two likely paths ahead, neither is cause for optimism.

History, economic indicators and the natural business cycle all suggest that we are transitioning out of the Crash of Late-2008 into either a "double-dip" downturn or a slow "jobless" recovery. In other words, our near-term prospects appear to be either catastrophic or merely dreary -- deflation-driven depression or inflation-driven recession, 1932 or 1976.

Government of Canada invests in small and medium-sized businesses across Southern Ontario

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology and Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario), announced today that the Government of Canada is supporting job creation for R&D-intensive small- and medium-sized businesses across Southern Ontario through strategic investments.

“The Government of Canada is investing in innovative companies to create jobs and stimulate the economy in communities across Southern Ontario,” said Minister Goodyear. “We are supporting science and technology at local businesses so that people throughout the region will benefit from increased opportunities as we strengthen the long-term capacity for research and innovation of these firms.”