This post is a summary of three articles. The first with the title above more the word economic, before development. Published at http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/contributors.asp?ID=282. The second was published at http://www.hearrr.org/pdf/HEARRRWhitePaper.pdf. With the title of, "The role of higher education in economic development." The third was published in 2012, at http://www.theguardian.com/. With the title of, "BRIC countries need more tertiary education."
Over the years, universities have evolved their roles into a broader mission that better support economic development efforts. While the education of students is and should be the primary objective, other roles have become and are more importants to better support business and economic development initiatives. During the last twenty years, research and development activities at universities have become much more important. Universities have also recognized the need to help nurture entrepreneurs through technical and financial assistance. If these entities can help entrepreneurs survive and succeed, they are making a significant contribution to the region they are serving, can use their success to market the universities to new students and business partners, in some case, secure a financial return to the university. Purdue university has made a concerted effort to focus its energies on developing and commercializing technology, incubating and investing in companies, and the efforts of the university to leverage its engineering and scientific disciplines to help businesses succeed have already generated tremendous results for Indiana state. There are several ways in which an university can make significant contributions to economic development initiatives. To maximize results, the university must be engaged with government, the private sector, other academic institutions and the NGO community. If everyone is working together to support development, everyone will benefit.
The role of higher education as a major driver of economic development is well established, and this role will increase as further changes in technology and globalization impact a country. To remain competitive in light of these changes, regions will need to improve productivity and adopt an innovative spirit. Research and technology are needed to create sustainable economic growth. Research conducted by higher education enhances the economic development of a region in various ways, including forming research partnerships with business which result in new tech, industries and jobs. Higher education has the capacity, knowledge, and research necessary to help achieve these goals. Higher education will be a dominant, if not decisive, factor in preparing workers with the robust skills needed to adapt to changing job requirements. The transition from manufacturing to the technology-based economy raised the skill level needed to get a job. Teaching excellence is the key to a strong and growing economy. Some higher educational institutions work with some schools to help prepare students with the increasingly higher level skills needed to obtain and retain employment. Preparing students will be challenging because there is a perceived mismatch between the jobs and careers of the new economy and the current high school curricula. The challenge is not only how to replace the manufacturing jobs that were lost, but how to create a workforce with the skills needed for the new economy. To create the education need to support a thriving economy, all sectors, private and public, need to adopt a commitment to increase the value placed on education and to improve the educational programs so there is a continuous pipeline of students who graduate from high school with the requisite skills to succeed in higher education.
The growth of emerging economies, led by BRIC countries (|Brazil, Russia, India and China), is widely perceived as vital to global recovery. The world now needs them succeed, but must neither ignore nor underestimate the challenges they face in producing a rapidly growing supply of entrepreneurial and professional skills. To meet these challenges, a keystone will undoubtedly be the development of human capital through tertiary education. Emerging markets must be willing to reinvent tertiary institutions, create new ones and transform structures, systems and curricula, with the creative and constructive coexistence of private and public institutions. And to encompass these changes in strategies that include all forms of post-compulsory education. Emerging countries are economically, culturally and socially diverse, but all of them must increase acess to tertiary education to promote social mobility, reduce economic inequality, and tackle the unforgivable waste in human capital , if their promise is to be fulfilled
