-
Partnering with the White House on “Educate to Innovate”
-
Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs
Pamela Passman, Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs
Today, President Obama is announcing “Educate to Innovate,” a national initiative aimed at inspiring students to develop the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills that will help them become the problem solvers of tomorrow. The future of our nation’s economic competitiveness is directly related to the ability of our young people to use such skills to innovate across a range of fields, including IT, manufacturing, energy and health care.
Now more than ever, all students need specialized knowledge to succeed in our complex, technologically advanced and globally competitive world. The vast majority of family-wage jobs in the 21st century will require employees with technical skills and an aptitude for life-long learning.
Across the U.S., student performance on international math and science benchmarks lags behind that of their peers from other nations such as England, China and Japan. The disparities are even greater for low-income and minority students. To maintain America’s competitiveness in rapidly growing, technology-dependent industries, we must work especially hard to encourage young women and minority students that their contributions are needed and valued in science and technology fields. Expanding the base of students interested in STEM throughout our society is not only a matter of ensuring that all young people have access to economic opportunities, but also a business imperative if the U.S. economy is to grow and prosper.
...
-
Embracing Disruption and Standards for the Sake of a Smart Grid
-
Posted by Mark Ryland
National Standards Officer (USA)
Today is World Standards Day, a celebration whose theme this year is “Tackling climate change through standards.” I can’t help but think back a few days to a nondescript hotel conference room in a suburb of Washington, D.C. About 45 intelligent, opinionated, intense people from many industries gathered at the “invitation” (as in, “be there or else!”) of NIST, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Our job: work on the roadmap for the creation and evolution of a bunch of technical standards, very quickly, for the Smart Grid, the widely-anticipated computerized energy system of the future.
The Smart Grid is a vision of a secure, information-driven electrical system in which every device reports on and coordinates its power use and the system uses electric power from anywhere, including home solar panels and idle hybrid vehicles that sell extra battery power back to the grid. Realizing this vision could lower costs and increase energy efficiency. That’s why it’s not (just) a gee-whiz futuristic scenario but a major policy objective of the Obama Administration. Federal and state governments want the Smart Grid to become real really fast.
...
-
A Critical Time for Health Care Reform and Health IT
-
Posted by Frank Torres
Director, Consumer Affairs
Washington, D.C. is always a busy place before Congress breaks for its summer recess. But even for the nation’s capital, the amount of activity currently happening around health care is extraordinary.
President Obama is expected to discuss health care in a press conference Wednesday night. Health reform legislation is moving forward in the House and Senate. And the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Information Technology Policy Committee is meeting to decide which technologies will qualify for approximately $20 billion in stimulus funding to spur adoption of technology by health providers (what’s being called “meaningful use”) and establish certification procedures for technologies that meet the “meaningful use” standard.
Against this backdrop, leading think-tanks – the Markle Foundation, the Center for American Progress (CAP), and the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings – held a forum July 15 to frame their vision for information-driven health care. Their primary theme: Efforts to boost health IT must be aligned with the broader health reform effort underway to achieve the goals of President Obama and Congress to expand coverage, improve outcomes and control costs. At Microsoft, we couldn’t agree more.
...
-
High-Skilled Immigration Must be Part of Comprehensive Reform
-
Posted by Fred Humphries
Managing Director U.S. Government Affairs
Today marks an important new beginning for efforts to repair the United States’ flawed immigration system. We at Microsoft congratulate President Obama for convening a bipartisan meeting at the White House on immigration reform, and commend the members of Congress who participated. Most immigration experts agree our system needs big changes, so I’m pleased to see the broad participation in this important process.
Nonetheless, we remain concerned that a serious discussion of high-skilled immigration policies has not yet begun, and we believe it must be included in any comprehensive reform. If the U.S. is to remain at the cutting edge of innovation, we must ensure that our businesses can attract and hire the best talent from around the globe.
As Brad Smith blogged earlier this year, immigration policies that attract highly-skilled workers are critical for job creation and long-term economic growth. America’s economic recovery will come from innovation within America’s borders – in its laboratories, board rooms and research centers. By giving American businesses access to the talent they need, they will be able to grow and generate additional American jobs. The more bright minds who contribute to innovation on American soil, the faster our country will return to a position of economic strength.
Now more than ever, we need smart policies to build the innovation workforce of the future.
...
-
Paving the Way for Ubiquitous, Affordable, High-Capacity Broadband
-
Posted by Paula Boyd
Regulatory Counsel
Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life to the ideal of an all-inclusive nation that remedied not only racial inequality, but also economic inequality. In today’s tech-centric society, ensuring widespread access to high capacity broadband has become a prerequisite to expand economic opportunities throughout America.
So it was fitting that today, at the Martin Luther King Jr,. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., a broad-based new group took an important step toward making affordable broadband ubiquitous with the announcement of the “Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition.” The Coalition includes NGOs that represent educational and medical facilities, a range of public interest groups and private sector firms such as Microsoft.
...
-
Working with the White House to Make the “Smart Grid” a Reality
-
Posted by Anoop Gupta
Corporate Vice President, Technology Policy and Strategy
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a leadership dialogue hosted by U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to discuss the development of interoperability standards for a national “Smart Grid.” Along with executives from leading electric utilities, industry associations and technology firms, I offered my view on what it will take to make the country’s power grid smart, reliable and more secure.
At Microsoft, we believe the energy grid becomes "smart" by injecting software into the various control points in the grid, so that people and businesses have ready access to timely, user-friendly information that can help them make smart choices about their energy use.
We also envision a world where thousands of smart appliances can seamlessly plug into homes thanks to common standards and interoperability frameworks, just as the “plug and play” model allows thousands of devices to seamlessly plug into PCs today.
...
-
President Obama Cites Microsoft for Innovative Health Benefits
-
Posted by Cecily Hall
Director, U.S. Benefits
Tuesday morning, I had the distinct honor of visiting the White House along with six other business, labor and government leaders to brief President Obama on innovative ways private and public organizations are improving the health of workers while reducing costs for employers.
I was invited to today’s event along with representatives from Safeway, the Ohio Department of Health, Pitney Bowes, REI, Johnson & Johnson and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union because each of our organizations have pioneered creative and cost-effective health care solutions that President Obama believes hold promise for workplaces across the country.
President Obama asked each of us to share something unique that our organizations are doing that improves health care outcomes and bolsters our bottom line. I cited two Microsoft initiatives.
...
