During the TED Global event held at Edinburgh, Scotland in July of 2011, renown academic Niall Ferguson spoke of "The 6 killer apps of prosperity".
Those 'apps' included:
Competition
Scientific Revolution
Property Rights
Modern Medicine
Consumer Society
The Work Ethic
Although he speaks about standardized testing and rote memory plights within the TED talk (see below), I wondered aloud whether a 7th app might be missing from his chat.
The learning app.
As North America struggles (and occasionally succeeds) at a transformation to 21st century learning, India and China are also struggling simply to get their population more educated.
According to India government statistics, only a quarter of students make it past eighth grade & only 15% make it to high school. Of the approximate 220 million who start school, only about 7% graduate.
Over in China, the country spends only 3.2% of its GDP on education vs. 5% for the United States. Furthermore, according to Businessweek, by 2020, the Chinese government wants 85% of its age eligible citizens in high school and it's aiming for university enrollment to exceed 40%. (over in the USA, the high school enrollment rate is 93% & university enrollment is 60%.)
If the West, China or India did sort out its education issues, making it a new (and absolute) priority for its citizens, I'm certain it could easily become a 7th app ... using Ferguson's lexicon.
Back in 2006, Vivek Wadhwa dispelled the myth that India and China were producing better (and to a degree more) engineers than the United States. That's one measure going against Ferguson's overarching theory that China and India are taking over the West in all facets of his 6 apps of prosperity theory.
Nevertheless, I wonder if 'the learning app' might be worth our collective consideration as a means to societal prosperity. If India, China or the West actually sorts it out, perhaps that is another 'game changer'.
WORK-LIFE BLOOM
PERSONAL ASSESSMENT
Find out if you’re currently blooming, budding, stunted or in need of renewal through the Work-Life Bloom Personal Assessment.
We are so proud to have had you at our event. Your talk was a big hit. It moved us. We can’t thank you enough.
Malin Björnell, Salesforce
Dan challenged us to have clarity of purpose, both as individuals and as an organization. He related inspiring stories drawing on his experience in business, technology and academia. As he said, ‘There is no ownership without belonging.’
Christian Pantel, D2L
Fantastic engaging talk for our global partner summit. Thank you so much, Dan!
Barb Kinnard, CEO Response Biomedical Corp
Dan not only brought his presentation to life with his charisma, but also content, style and presentation finesse. Our members were especially interested in his thought provoking and top of mind topic on the future of work and how we’re going to be leading the next generation of leaders.
Cheryl Goodwin, CPA
Dan is a conference organizer’s ideal speaker. Not only did he inspire and energize our group, but he also masterfully adapted his content so it resonated with the audience and our conference theme. As a bonus, Dan is able to nimbly navigate to adjust to a reduced time slot when other speakers went over time without sacrificing the impact of his session.
Director and General Counsel
Dan accomplished what we set out to do, which was not only to be inspirational, but also to leave everyone with tools and food for thought / self-reflection to improve their personal and professional lives.
Competition
