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In an increasingly ‘flat’ world, Wisconsin must adapt to compete

Four separate but ultimately connected events help to explain Wisconsin’s efforts to compete in a changing world:

• Speaking to business leaders in Milwaukee, Hewlett-Packard vice president Kevin Gilroy said the "hypercompetitive global economy" has made it difficult for companies to stand out in the crowd. The worldwide "digital transformation" means factors such as distance, scale and working capital are no longer barriers to entry in business. "It doesn’t matter if you’re doing business in Manila, Madrid or Milwaukee … the need to innovate in today’s marketplace never ends."

• In a Madison meeting, the co-founder of Project Lead the Way explained why his rigorous pre-engineering program for middle- and high-school students has grown to include 1,400 schools in 44 states, including 32 in Wisconsin. "The competition for tomorrow’s jobs isn’t coming from New York or Michigan," educator Dick Blais said, "but from China and India."

• At a meeting of the Wisconsin Technology Council board in River Falls, entrepreneur Angel Zimmerman described Sajan, a family firm that is growing at a brisk pace. Sajan’s core business? It owns an algorithm that helps translate web sites and other electronic communications into foreign languages.

• At the UW-Madison College of Engineering, Dean Paul Peercy recently put members of the college’s Industrial Advisory Board through exercises that will help him produce engineering graduates for a changing global market. The conclusion: Innovative engineers who can communicate and who have "global skills" will be at a premium.

Tom Still

Full Story: http://wistechnology.com/article.php?id=1783

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