Canada (New Brunswick): Premier David Alward says health research is at the heart of New Brunswick’s future economic development. Alward was speaking at the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation’s third annual health research conference in Moncton last week. “If we look at what is going on globally, regions, jurisdictions, provinces, countries that are prosperous are based on a knowledge economy,” he says. “One of the things that we need to do in our province is to continue to really grow our knowledge economy, change our economy so that whether it is natural resources or the ICT sector or biomedical research, whether it is traditional or futuristic, it is based on innovation, it is based on knowledge. That is where that success is going to come.” Rest
Nigeria: With banks bracing up to meet the target date ahead of the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy come January 2012, stakeholders have continued to express mixed feeling on the workability of the policy amidst the possible challenges inherent in the Nigerian e-payment environment, Amaka Eze writes. As Nigeria gears towards a cashless economy in January, 2012, stakeholders in the Nigerian IT industry, payments system service providers, banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant government agencies have continued to express mixed feeling on the workability of the policy amidst the possible challenges inherent in the Nigerian e-payment environment. Given the rapid technological advancements and increasing consumer demand, positive transition towards increased acceptance of electronic payment systems and channels, the policy when fully implemented is expected to ultimately shift Nigeria to a cashless society in the 21st century knowledge economy. Rest
Pakistan: An illiterate population can be readily exploited. As a result we have witnessed corrupt politicians coming into power repeatedly through exploitation by feudals and massive rigging of elections (45 percent of the votes were fake, according to the Election Commission). A large number of suicides are reported each month by the poor struggling to survive, and the number of robberies grows with each passing week. Pakistan is on its way to becoming a failed state as the national debt has doubled over the last three years, and the payback time for the huge debts is fast approaching. In this scenario, how do we make science, technology and innovation the cornerstones of a “knowledge economy”? In order to build a knowledge economy, Pakistan must invest in developing high-quality “knowledge workers” instead of investing simply in infrastructure. Nations are not built by investing in roads, bridges, dams and powerhouses but by unleashing the creative potential of the masses through developing high-quality education systems. Rest