Le fil de Jenfil: April 2016

The US is the world leader when it comes to venture capital investment, but when it comes to rates of entrepreneurship, it’s actually behind several other countries. So what are some strategies for growing more startups?
The World Economic Forum posted an article that questions the value of GDP as a measurement of progress, and puts forward five measures that are better.
An OECD publication peers into the future, with an overview of the megatrends, technology trends and research trends that stand to change our lives over the next couple of decades. None of these ideas were included.
High-tech companies are still really important in Canada’s largest cities, but today’s emerging companies aren’t the job-creating behemoths that companies like Blackberry and Nortel once were. A mildly Ottawa-centric overview of the high-tech industry in Canada.
Similarities between being a PhD student and being an entrepreneur were explained in a Globe and Mail article.
Great discussion on the exciting topic of research funding, stemming from this report that academics feel pressure to exaggerate their research’s importance when applying for grants.

Jim Stanford argues that rather than signing more free trade agreements, the solution is to produce more stuff that the world actually wants.
The Information and Communications Technology Council’s Digital Talent: Road to 2020 lays out Canada’s digital landscape and short-term labour market needs, with some solid recommendations for government and policymakers.
An article in the MIT Technology Review explains that despite our fixation on digital technology, apps and social media are not as big of a deal as say, the invention of the lightbulb, or steam-power. Today’s innovations do little to create the productivity gains that previous generations benefitted from.
The National Post ran a story about how Mitacs is supporting a project to help researchers collect fish poop from fake lakes. The project is about monitoring and protecting new ecosystems in the heart of Alberta’s oilsands.
Finally, Youtube videos for those of you who are starting your day, on a break, or dare I say procrastinating: What goes through your mind when you’re procrastinating, and how can you deal with it?
Is there an interesting story behind the classic Magic 8 Ball? It is certain.
Further to the MIT Technology Review article, a recent Freakonomics podcast about the tech revolution that explores Robert Gordon’s thesis via the popular medium of edutainment: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/american-growth/

Friday, April 29, 2016