Government Affairs
POLICY BRIEFS

Innovation in education

Background
Motorola has a strong tradition of innovation and invention. We developed the first mobile police car radio, the first mobile backpack radio systems for World War II, the first cellular network and phone. The first words spoken from the moon were carried over Motorola equipment. We are a company born in America and now operating around the globe, drawing on the diversity of perspectives and talents from different parts of the globe.

Our experience tells us that innovation is not a discrete act. It is an alignment of many factors: basic knowledge of how the world works, the imagination of how technology might transform the underpinnings of life and countless steps that make that transition possible. The greatest competitors on today's global playing field, in both the private and public sector, are those that align that knowledge, imagination and process most elegantly and efficiently.

The impact today
National and corporate competitiveness is ultimately a product of a strong partnership among government, academia and business designed to foster innovation. A high quality of primary education is the first step to create a generation of scientists and engineers required to take the world to the next step. While education is the baseline, governments must support university-based research into fundamental science. Corporations cannot completely fill this void because of limited resources and competitive focus on product development.

Motorola is mindful of its own role in that infrastructure and maintains research and development labs of our own. Further, Motorola encourages its personnel to augment the math and science efforts of the public school systems in the U.S. and around the world by volunteering their time and expertise. The Motorola Foundation is also supplying $5 million in Innovation Generation grants for 2009, promoting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and the fostering of a new generation of innovators.

In 2008, we committed more than $4 million to after-school programming and clubs through our Innovation Generation Grants. These focus on STEM education especially for girls and underrepresented groups. Innovation Generation funding is designed to inspire students to learn about science and generate interest in science-related careers. We believe that innovative solutions are needed to encourage more young people to study STEM subjects. To support new thinking, we have set a goal to direct 25 percent of U.S. Innovation Generation grants to science education and innovation programs that are less than two years old.

In 2008, the Motorola Foundation's Innovation Generation Grants supported more than 90 programs that use innovative approaches to develop students' interest and skills in STEM. Of the recipient programs — ranging from after-school and summer science enrichment programs to activities that promote innovative technology use and teacher-training initiatives — 43 percent serve African American students, 23 percent reach Hispanic youth and 35 percent reach girls.

Our commitment to STEM education is global. Since the "Shadowing" initiative was launched in 2006, Motorola has been a partner to the European Commission in celebrating Women's Day, aiming at addressing the gender gap in ICT careers across Europe. Motorola's celebrations of the Shadowing were hosted in Motorola premises in Belgium, Netherlands and Poland. Motorola also supports other organizations addressing STEM in Europe, such as our support of the FIRST LEGO League International, an organization that teaches children to solve real-world problems by applying math, science and technology.

Motorola position
Motorola advocates for increased funding and focus on primary and secondary STEM education and for funds that bolster our research into fundamental science. We advocate these policies on a global basis and in cooperation with various governments.

Regarding the U.S. specifically, the American education system is not producing the quantity of scientists and engineers required to compete as a nation against the resources of other nations in the new global economy. On a country-by-country basis, the U.S. still leads in science and engineering doctoral degrees granted; however a significant portion of these degrees are awarded to foreign nationals, not American citizens. While we believe the education system should be open to all qualified students from around the world, we also advocate for incentives to encourage U.S. students to pursue careers in science and engineering to prepare future generations for the challenges ahead.

What's more, U.S. federal funding for basic research in fundamental sciences — research geared toward expanding knowledge frontiers — carried out primarily at the university level has declined. Recent economic uncertainty and competitive pressures have also had a downward effect on private sector R&D. This funding and the research it drives must be increased to maintain U.S. competitiveness on the global economic playing field.

Against that backdrop, we support the steps that have been taken. Specifically, we support many elements contained in the America COMPETES Act signed into law in 2007. The act authorizes significant increases in funding for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy's office of science, doubling those budgets by 2011. Funding was also increased for a wide variety of programs at the National Institute of Standards and Testing and NASA. The act also established the Innovation Acceleration Research Program that directs federal agencies to increase funding for research at the frontier of science. The America COMPETES Act and portions of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that directly benefit education and basic research are important steps toward aligning the various elements of the U.S. innovation infrastructure.

All countries must work to align their innovation infrastructures and we take our advocacy wherever we do business. In Europe, we support educational institutions and programs that inspire students, especially women and minorities to embrace science, technology, engineering and math and give them tools to become the next generation of innovators. Among other efforts, we are signatory to the European Code of Best practices for attracting and retaining female talent in ICT (7 page PDF, 215 KB). This initiative is aimed at addressing the gender gap in the ICT careers across Europe.¹

Together, through public, private and academic partnerships, the world will move forward through innovation that solves problems and creates opportunities for all.

---

¹ European Commission press release addressing the gender gap in ICT careers across Europe.