Bill Gates Wants Fresh Blood to Fuel Technology Innovation

Microsoft Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates has come up with a recipe to continue fueling technology innovation in the U.S., and it involves fresh blood, an education reform and additional financial resources. Gates is scheduled to present this perspective before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, on the organization's 50th anniversary on March 12, 2008. With the country's competitiveness at stake, Gates is prepared to argue that the Congress, the administration as well as the president will have to take decisive measures in order to maintain the country's momentum as the center of innovation worldwide.

"I know we all want the United States to continue to be the world’s center
for innovation. But our position as the global leader in innovation is at risk," the Microsoft Chairman warned. The Redmond company as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have long been at the forefront of technology innovation. Microsoft alone invested in excess of $7 billion into Research and Development in 2007, with the philanthropic foundation focusing its efforts on educational aspects. But Gates stated that the U.S. government too has to get involved into improving education, overhauling the U.S. immigration policies and boosting the funding for basic research.

U.S. companies are already forced to joggle with what the Microsoft co-founder referred to as a severe shortfall of scientists and engineers. "If we don’t reverse these trends, our competitive advantage will continue to erode. Our ability to create new high-paying jobs will suffer," Gates added. The U.S. already made a step forward in this direction, by passing the necessary legislation designed to drive technological innovation via the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Act from 2007. But at the same time, the educational initiatives of the legislation lack funding, and in this context fail to provide any results.