Increasingly states are making it easier for high school students to participate in college courses while still attending high school. The goal of dual enrollment is to encourage more students to attend college, giving them a leg up on a degree. A new report by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education suggests the efforts are not working in Kentucky.

The Alaska Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) seeks a Group Projects Administrator to work with industry on R&D projects to benefit the Alaska economy and to track project results. The position requires training and experience in project management with sufficient technical and/or business background to work productively with scientists or engineers to identify economically feasible projects.

Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships announces a competition for U.S. citizens in leadership positions with significant professional experience (10-20 years) for Fellowships to:

A new biotech-opolis in Quebec soon may serve as one of the best organized business centers for biotech, biopharmaceutical, and biocomputer companies in the world, government leaders hope.

Former Ohio Governor Richard F. Celeste was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to India last week. Celeste has been a leader in the field of technology-based economic development for the last 15 years. While governor, Celeste established Ohio's Thomas Edison Program.

Japan is on schedule to double the government's R&D investment by the year 2000, according to a June 13 National Science Foundation Issue Brief.

The Industry Network Corporation is seeking a Regional Manager for its Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. The position is based in Anchorage, Alaska. The full position description can be obtained from the Institute by calling SSTI at 614/421-SSTI (7784) or through the Institute's home page at http://www.ssti.org

During the past decade, the European Union (EU) invested heavily in civilian R&D by building first-class laboratories and expanding higher education in science and engineering. Its efforts, according to the Data Brief for a new National Science Foundation report, Human Resources for Science and Technology: The European Region, are narrowing the lead the U.S. holds in R&D.

For example:

Kentucky Governor Paul Patton and House Speaker Jody Richardson have announced a new technology bill to help Kentucky develop an innovation-driven economy. House Bill 572, the Kentucky Innovation Act, is a result of the Science and Technology Strategy designed by the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation in August, 1999 (see September 3, 1999 SSTI Weekly Digest (http://www.ssti.org/Digest/1999/090399.htm).

In this off-year election, there were only a few races that are significant to the S&T community.



Democrat Paul Patton, incumbent Governor of Kentucky, easily won re-election over three contenders. Patton becomes the first Kentucky Governor to be elected to a second term since 1800.

The Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) has released Kentucky's Science and Technology Strategy, a plan outlining ten specific recommendations in four strategic areas to guide the Commonwealth's future R&D investments. If implemented, the recommendations are expected to have significant impact in just a few years.

Last week, Mary Harney, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, announced the establishment of a £560m ($681M U.S.) Technology Foresight Fund to establish Ireland as a location for world class research excellence in niche areas within biotechnology and information and communication technologies. According to Reuters’ reports, funding for the new initiative will be spread over seven years.

The European Commission's 2001 European Innovation Scoreboard, characterizing the strengths and weaknesses in the capacity for innovation of the European Union (EU) and its member states, shows the EU continues to lag behind the U.S. and Japan. 

The New Economy Transition Team (NETT) of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has issued a 73-page plan that, if implemented successfully, could position Northern Kentucky as a center for life sciences and information technology, advanced manufacturing and financial services. 

Alaska 

Whether it's called clusters or localization economies, the aggregation of firms in the same or closely related industries has captured the attention of many state and local tech-based economic development efforts. Understanding the phenomenon and formulating effective public policy to encourage or support clustering presents challenges for practitioners and researchers alike. 

The nonprofit Challenger Learning Center of Alaska Board of Directors recently announced the hiring of Sharon Gherman as its new Executive Director. Gherman was the former K-12 program executive for the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation.

The previous issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest (June 27, 2003) included a story with the headline "Québec Investing More Than $500M for Biotech." It was the kind of big initiative with a hefty price tag that a few states have launched and most others salivate to replicate. A perfect item for the Digest.

The problem is that big initiative never actually happened.

Following extensive public consultation, the French Ministry for Industry and Research has announced a revamped national strategy to boost support for research and development (R&D) activities in France. The plan, to be implemented in 2004, aims to make financial resources for innovative companies more accessible and to increase France’s appeal to the international R&D community.

Some of the key measures include: