Exploring the Synergy Between
Academia and Business

September 8, 2006
N100 Business Complex, Michigan State University

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Economic development has always been about improving the prosperity of people. Whether through job creation, wage growth, and/or productivity increases, the objective has always been to increase wealth. Those countries, states, and communities that have become wealthy have been classified as developed, while those that have not met predetermined levels are classified as underdeveloped.

But what we are now recognizing is that economic prosperity is not a static goal that once achieved remains indefinitely. Instead, it is a constantly shifting dunescape where previous successes do not guarantee future prosperity. This dynamism can be seen in the example of previously poor countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, India, and China that are now competing with long-developed countries in Europe and North America. Nor are the states within developed regions equally or continually prosperous. Take Michigan for example. Over the last 100 years Michigan has led the United States in job creation, wage standards, and employment benefits. As a result, it was one of the wealthiest states, per capita, in the nation. Yet over the last 15-20 years Michigan has struggled to upgrade from “second-stage” heavy manufacturing, primarily in automobiles, to “third-stage” technology and knowledge-intensive industries. The result is that Michigan now has the highest unemployment rates in the U.S., declining job creation, and falling living standards.

The purpose of today’s symposium is to explore the models for technological upgrading and economic development that exist in other parts of the world and the United States to understand how Michigan might successfully re-develop its economy in areas of high-technology and knowledge intensive industries. In particular, how might universities, business, labor, and government cooperate to create conditions in which “technopreneurism” can thrive?