1. “Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.” – Tony Robbins

2. “Screw it, Let’s do it!” – Richard Branson

3. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

4. “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar

5. “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” – Bill Gates

Dubai: Emiratis were encouraged to consider more unconventional and creative job prospects at the second day of the Careers UAE 2013 exhibition yesterday. The exhibition dedicated an art section called the ‘Creative Economy Programme’ to provide Emiratis with job opportunities through meeting with companies dedicated to the arts. The companies told Gulf News that Emiratis have become more open to taking jobs related to the plastic arts but they are still resistant to take on career paths in the performing arts

I attended a social gathering of the Innovation Working Group of the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission. Such happenings are reason in themselves for working at a university research park, always being invited to something out of the ordinary.

US equity markets stretched once again into record territory in April, setting new highs on both the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes. That’s good news for investors—it wasn’t that long ago when the market was headed in the other direction. The question on everyone’s mind, though, is where the market is headed next.

In the short term, of course, there’s no telling what will happen—and speculation is risky. Investors and companies alike are notoriously weak at timing their investments to the market. But those are short-term questions; what really matters from a corporate-strategy perspective is the long term, and what really counts in the long term is the market’s relationship to the real economy.

Google has stoked our collective imagination via relentless promotion of its Google Glass wearable computer in recent months. Thanks to a campaign of Web videos, trade show appearances and blog posts, the search giant has positioned its smartglasses as a hands-free augmented reality gadget that will allow us to share our personal experiences in real time, whether we are skydiving, skiing or handling snakes.

Not surprisingly, a number of competitors have emerged, promising many of the same capabilities. Before augmented-reality eyewear can move into the mainstream, however, Google and its ilk must address some fundamental shortcomings in smartglass technology, including bulky designs, high prices and a dearth of software that would enable them to be more than head-mounted camera phones.

A new zone located south to Guangzhou’s University City will be built for the development of higher education R&D, scientific and technological services, as well as innovative industry. The initial region of the zone, which is called Guangzhou's International Innovation City, was officially approved on Wednesday. The initial 10-square kilometer region costs over 3.7 billion yuan and is scheduled to be completed by 2014. It is positioned as an extension of University City, which is now home to 10 higher education institutions. It will accommodate the new campuses of Jinan University and Guangzhou's Medical College.

This is what happens when you log one too many Red Bull-fueled 80-hour work weeks:

I remember coming home and curling up into a ball. I was so emotionally and physically exhausted, I couldn't even move. My productivity was cut to nothing. The next day at the office, I found myself just staring into my computer, for hours. No movement, just staring.

That's Andrew Dumont, the creator of Strideapp.com, describing his first startup experience. Just pushing through wasn't an option--dude was burnt out.

BioPark executives from around the world launched new partnerships and collaborations at the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) BioParks 2013 in Chicago.

The half-day event attracted BioPark executives from Brazil, Germany, Republic of Korea, Spain, Australia, Canada, the United States and others.

“Building strong partnerships helps us create successful communities of innovation,” said AURP President and Executive Director of the University Technology Park at Illinois Institute of Technology David Baker. “Our colleagues from around the world met to share best practices, learn from the experts and explore innovative ways to partner across borders.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is expanding a program for student entrepreneurs to include six teams from overseas that will come to the United States this summer to hone ideas for start-ups alongside collegians from the Cambridge school.

International student groups hailing from Russia, Turkey, Canada, Germany, and China will join eight local teams that will each have at least one current MIT student or recent grad. Each team is eligible for $20,000 in funding and will receive mentoring and tutelage from successful entrepreneurs and MIT professors.

Many promising companies in emerging industries struggle to turn prototypes into products that grow their business and create jobs.  They lack the commercialization resources needed to conduct market opportunity assessments, scale-up manufacturing or train employees. This is a growing problem in a rapidly changing global market place, where speed to market may dictate success or failure. Companies that take too long to commercialize their products may fail to capitalize on a narrow window of opportunity before competitors swoop in and pass them by.

Business guru Jim Collins reminds us that being the first doesn’t always guarantee success. But in my line of work – accelerating the growth of innovation clusters in emerging industries – the speed to market of potentially game-changing products and technologies is vital to long-term economic competitiveness. In fact, being able to design and manufacture high-potential products quickly is critical to revitalizing manufacturing in the United States.

Earlier this month, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a trade association representing the U.S. venture capital industry, released the results of its MoneyTree Report on venture funding for the first quarter of 2013.  The report, which is prepared by NVCA and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP using data from Thomson Reuters, indicates that venture capitalists invested $5.9 billion in 863 deals in the first quarter, which constituted a 12% decrease in dollars and a 15% decrease in deals as compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, when $6.7 billion was invested in 1,013 deals (see chart below; data from MoneyTree Reports).

President Obama used a speech Monday at the 150th anniversary meeting of the National Academy of Sciences to pledge that he would continue to push for research funding. "As long as I’m president, we’re going to continue to be committed to investing in the promising ideas that are generated from you and your institutions, because they lead to innovative products, they help boost our economy, but also because that’s who we are.  I’m committed to it because that’s what makes us special and ultimately what makes life worth living," he said.

The investment climate for private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) in Latin America continued its upward trajectory, with all countries posting positive gains in the 2013 LAVCA Scorecard, released today by the Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LAVCA).  The 2013 Scorecard is the eighth edition of the annual ranking and reflects ongoing stability in the regulatory environment across key markets in Latin America.

Both Mexico and Colombia improved their scores as a result of gains on the indicator for entrepreneurship. Latin America has experienced a new generation of start up investing in recent years, and governments in Mexico and Colombia, among other markets, are promoting new programs to support entrepreneurs and venture capital investors.

Chandra Duggirala, maker of an experimental device for type two diabetes, is on the verge of giving up.

Duggirala’s company, Novobionics, raised a small amount of funding for a noninvasive technology that mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgery. The device tricks the gastro-intestinal tract into thinking it is full, which slows the rate of nutrient absorption, thereby easing suffering for diabetes patients.

So you want to be an entrepreneur. You’ve put together a small founder team, developed a proof of concept and found a domain name that doesn’t end in .mp. Or you’ve invented something at school, but have no idea how to turn it into a viable business. Or maybe you’ve got an amazing idea and, well… some hustle.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking with entrepreneurs and Canada’s leading accelerators, conducting research for a report on the Canadian accelerator landscape that I’m working on with MaRS Data Catalyst. Given the explosion of Canadian accelerators and accelerator-like programs over the last three years, the issue of who should join accelerators—and which ones—has been a recurring theme in my conversations.

It's an undisputed fact. The greater the availability of early stage capital, the greater the success rate of startup companies. The greater the success of startup companies, the more job and wealth creation.

Yet nationwide, the venture capital available for new investments is the lowest it has been since 1998. The capital that is under management is being invested at a faster rate than new capital commitments are being made. To make things even more challenging, more than 60 percent of the venture capital that is available is managed and invested in California and Massachusetts.

Philadelphia has launched an online tool that maps cultural activity throughout the city, in all its mercurial forms. CultureBlocks.com pulls information from more than 50 databases into a single interactive map. Created by the city's Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, the aggregate site offers data maps that can layer economic, artistic, and demographic information into a single neighborhood profile.

Imagine being in control of half a million dollars before graduating from college or even having held a full-time job. For two entrepreneurial Princeton University juniors, this is not just a dream, it’s reality.

About a month ago, Taylor Francis and Raymond Zhong learned their applications to the New York investment board of Dorm Room Fund had been accepted. Funded by First Round Capital, a Philadelphia-based venture capitalist firm, Dorm Room Fund is a venture fund with the sole purpose of investing $500,000 in small start-ups founded by undergraduate and graduate university students.

BioPark executives from around the world launched new partnerships and collaborations at the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) BioParks 2013 in Chicago. The half-day event attracted BioPark executives from Brazil, Germany, Republic of Korea, Spain, Australia, Canada, the United States and others. “Building strong partnerships helps us create successful communities of innovation,” said AURP President and Executive Director of the University Technology Park at Illinois Institute of Technology David Baker. “Our colleagues from around the world met to share best practices, learn from the experts and explore innovative ways to partner across borders.”

How often do you and your boss have a real conversation about your work?

For many of us, it’s likely a once-a-year-sit-down to parse your list of accomplishments and areas that need improvement, otherwise known as the annual performance review. Yes, the dreaded annual review. Dreaded because managers acknowledge that they don’t maintain an ongoing dialogue with individual team members and it's tough to give and get good feedback when you’re only meeting once a year. Despite this, only 3% of companies report that they stopped using annual reviews as a way to grade employees.