Damian Kassabgi’s Post

As an advanced nation, we need to continuously attract new and young talent in technology. One of the ongoing conversations I have with business leaders is a lack of talent where companies need to identify and work with the right people. We are graduating 6,000 student in tech each year and have a shortfall of 200,000 by 2030. Not to mention more and more talent with diverse backgrounds are leaving Australia for better opportunities. Now the federal government would limit the number of new foreign students in Australia next year to 270,000 – a 16 per cent cut, or 53,000 fewer compared with 2023 – as it sought to reduce net migration to 235,000 amid a national housing shortage. Does this seem right? I can think if many other way to tackle national housing shortage. Research by the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has found more than 60 per cent of Australia’s tertiary technology students are from overseas. A quote from Damian Kassabgi - “We need to increase, not decrease, our skilled migration over the next five years to meet the tech council and government’s joint goal of achieving 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030,” Thanks to Damian Kassabgi (Tech Council of Australia), Richard White (WiseTech Global) and Jeanette Cheah 💁🏻♀️ (HEX) for your contribution to the article. Conicio Advisory The Age The Sydney Morning Herald The Australian Financial Review

It is tough to recruit talented people in tech transfer. Universities are under pressure to increase the number of #spinouts they are creating, but they also face budget cuts and limitations on salary. Here is how some university tech transfer offices are sprucing up their non-salary benefits to attract staff with investing and deep tech experience. Thanks to Paul Seabright at Cambridge Enterprise, Will Charles at UniServices and Alastair Hick at Monash Innovation Labs for talking through their efforts to attract and retain talented staff. https://lnkd.in/e-EpZG-S #techtransfer

Companies and academia are now collaborating more deeply than ever before to advance research and develop the workforce of the future. Some are even working together to create curricula and spaces where students can learn and innovate with cutting-edge technologies. The most successful partnerships are based on five principles detailed in this article.

Tokyo To Companies: To Restore Innovativeness, Hire More PhDs   Tokyo has finally recognized that the dearth of PhDs at companies was a significant factor in the slowdown of Japan’s corporate innovation. So, it launched a couple of programs aimed at tripling the number of PhDs by 2040. While that grandiose promise seems out of reach, the question is whether more realistic improvements are in sight.              In 2021, Tokyo began increasing the amount of financial aid for PhD candidates. While tuition is low, too many Japanese cannot afford years of full-time studying with no income to pay daily living expenses, which is about ¥2.3 million ($23,000 at Purchasing Power Parity) per year, according to the government’s Japan Student Services Organization. And only one in ten of Japan’s 76,000 PhD candidates was receiving enough aid to cover those expenses.              Then, last year, Tokyo started providing a tax break to companies that increased their hiring of new PhDs. They get a tax credit equal to 20% of additional wages created by hiring recruits who earned their PhD in the previous five years (25% for startups).              The effectiveness of these steps is uncertain. Funding just a third of the existing level of PhD students does not seem calculated even to reverse the steady decline in new doctoral students over the past two decades, and certainly not to triple their number. It remains to be seen whether the company tax break is sufficient to overcome the deep-seated reasons that companies hire so few PhDs. The early corporate reaction is not encouraging.              Still, now that precedents have been set, it will hopefully be easier politically to up the budget and take other measures.   For details on the low income of Japan’s PhDs, reasons why firms hire so few of them, and the effectiveness of these new programs, see https://lnkd.in/eWiaChna    #Japan #PhDs #Innovation #Technology #Products #CompanyCulture #LowIncomeforPhDs #Governmentincentives

Predict skills for the future and support our learners to upskull. That’s proactive and innovative.

Leeds’ tech scene is thriving. But are businesses in the region working hard enough to embrace non-graduates? Read our latest article to find out >>> https://lnkd.in/e_ezgJCG #leeds #business #techsector

Keri Facer, Professor of Educational and Social Futures, and Honorary Professor Arathi Sriprakash at the School of Education weighs in on how digital tech will change education going forward 🎓 To find out more, click the link below ⬇️ #Research #Education #DigitalTech #EdTech

Twelve regions—often called “Tech Hubs”—across the country received $500M in funding (through the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022) to grow the economy through technology and innovation. Community colleges are poised to play a big role in the success of the Tech Hubs by supporting the jobs of today and in the future. Regions benefit from well-prepared students, while students get enhanced training and career opportunities in emerging industries. The collaboration isn’t just about tech; it’s about creating sustainable economic growth and opportunities for everyone. New America has the full story here. https://lnkd.in/eKysaYDY

Digital technologies are often presented as if they will determine the future of education. While it’s true that new technologies may support teaching and learning, they are not just ‘tools’ that will inevitably transform education for the better. In many instances, they challenge educational values. Read more as we explore alternative futures of education, looking for socially just solutions through the lenses of reparation, sovereignty, care, and democratisation. https://lnkd.in/ezhBBYAY By Arathi Sriprakash, Ben Williamson, Keri Facer, Jessica Pykett and Carolina Valladares-Celis. School of Education, University of Bristol, ESRC: Economic and Social Research Council, UK Research and Innovation #edtech #educationtechnology #futures #sociodigitalfutures #faireducation

What will a second Trump presidency mean for the tech market? This is a question I’m asked frequently, given the business I run at Terminal. While I can’t opine on many aspects of this, I do have a front seat to the global flow of talent and its ties to the world of immigration. Earlier this year, Trump said that students graduating from U.S. colleges should receive a green card to stay in the country on the All-In podcast. In the tech world, this was met lots of cheers given talent constraints felt more acutely by startups. However, the Trump campaign released a statement saying that this would only take place after "the most aggressive vetting process in U.S. history" and only "the most skilled graduates who can make significant contributions to America" would be able to stay in the country. Hard to know if this a way of backtracking on the policy or if they do intend to make it a reality, just far down the line. From history—that is, Trump’s first term—we know that the president-elect takes a hardline stance on immigration. During the COVID pandemic, the administration attempted to force foreign students to leave the U.S. if their institutions were holding classes entirely online. And Trump reduced legal immigration dramatically during his White House tenure. During his first term, his administration cut the number of green cards issued monthly by 18.2% compared with those issued in Obama’s second term—before immigration more or less halted in April 2020. So, what does this mean for tech talent? In 2021, foreign-born workers comprised about 19% of the U.S. STEM workforce (National Science Foundation). Technology companies have always relied heavily on foreign-born talent. Let's remember that some of the most prominent leaders in tech are foreign-born: Jensen Huang (Taiwan), CEO of NVIDIA AI Sundar Pichai (India), CEO of Google Satya Nadella (India), CEO of Microsoft Elon Musk (South Africa), CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX Collison brothers (Ireland), Founders of Stripe Safra Catz (Israel), CEO of Oracle The list could go on and on... The most common route for those pursuing a work visa is the H1B lottery. There was less than a 20% chance of being selected last year. And that was under a Biden Administration. Given the expected drop in legal immigration, we’ll likely see companies looking elsewhere to a global pool of tech talent. Last Trump term, Canada saw a boon in immigration with its friendly policies and easy pathways for tech workers. However, Canada is becoming more restrictive on the number of immigrants its allowing into the country. This term, I expect to see businesses increasingly turning to the growing talent pool in Latin America to fill the gap. Trump's team will need to thread a fine needle to uphold his campaign promises of reducing illegal immigration while maintaining the global pipeline of talent needed for American technology success. No matter where we stand, there’s no doubt we’ll all face some changes.