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The blog of the Science, Technology and Public Policy program of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Editor
Zachary Tumin
Author Archives: Zachary Tumin
Change the Conversation, Change the Venue, and Change Our Future
by Melissa E. Hathaway The Internet, together with the information communications technology (ICT) that underpins it, is a critical national resource for governments, a vital part of national infrastructures and a key driver of economic growth. Over the last … Continue reading
Africa’s New Science and Innovation Agenda
by Calestous Juma I am on my way back from the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. This was a remarkable meeting with an overwhelming intellectual energy. The event was unique in many respects. But … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Development, Emerging Tech, Engineering, Health, Innovation, Manufacturing, Telcomm
Tagged africa, Agriculture, Biotechnology, infrastructure, Technology, wef; grow africa; akinola; financial times; innovation; carlsson; gatete; van houten; lanre; ericsson; ibm; samsung; mobile; fibre; rwanda; south africa; nobel;
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Global Grand Challenges for Engineering and International Development
by Sujata K. Bhatia In an increasingly technological world, engineers and engineering are assuming an increasingly prominent role in addressing global challenges. Engineering solutions will be critical for meeting the demands of a growing population and ensuring a high … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Engineering
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Why the Government Matters: A Primer for Data-Minded Entrepreneurs
by Vivek Mohan Washington can often be the last thing on an entrepreneur’s mind. And naturally so – the culture of bureaucracy and reputation for being out of touch is the last thing that someone working on the cutting … Continue reading
Posted in Internet, Law
Tagged cloud, douglas, dystopia, ecpa, entrepreneur, fourth amendment, osborn, regulators, surveillance, warrant
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Keeping the Internet Together through Technical Standards
by Jonah Force Hill The Internet is held together as a globally interoperable communications platform through its shared set of technical protocols, message formats, and computer languages, collectively known as “Internet standards.” A growing chorus of national governments – including … Continue reading
Posted in Internet
Tagged balkanized internet, china, Internet, jonah force hill, russia, standards
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Engineering the Future
by Calestous Juma The rise of emerging markets is heralded as a force that will change the global balance of power. But behind the rise of the new economies lies a strong commitment to leveraging engineering as a foundation … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Development, Emerging Tech, Engineering, Internet
Tagged africa, anji hunter, bill gates, blackberry, bob kahn, hiobo, ibm, lagos, lord broers, louis pouzin, marc andreesen, mooc, nairobi, opencourseware, queen elizabeth; prize; tim berners-lee, stem, vint cerf
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Technology Trips Over Democracy in Kenya
by Calestous Juma In a spectacular technological failure, Kenyan officials recently abandoned the electronic transfer of election results and switched to manual tallying. This was not expected in a country that developed the now world-famous mobile money transfer system, … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, e-Government, Elections, Governance, Law
Tagged biometrics, elections, hersman, ifes, japakgis, kenya, safaricom, USAID, ushahidi, vodafone, voting
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Africa and Brazil at the Dawn of New Economic Diplomacy
by Calestous Juma In recent years the major focus of China’s engagement in Africa has been on economic diplomacy. Much of this debate has been influenced by concerns over China’s rise as an economic superpower and the preoccupation with viewing … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Development, Education, Health and Safety, Emerging Tech, Energy, Innovation, Jobs
Tagged africa, agricultural transformation agency, annual lagos black heritage festival, aviation, brazil, brazilian cooperation agency, brics, cecat, china, diplomacy, embraer, embrapa, energy, henry bellingham, india, nigeria, petroleum, power, rousseff, russia, south africa, standard bank, trade rousseff
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MIT Technology Review’s List of 50 Disruptive Companies, 2013
From the MIT Technology Review: “This package is meant to capture the rich variety of ways that innovations get commercialized. Each company on this list has done something over the past year that will strengthen its hold on a market, … Continue reading
Posted in Emerging Tech, Innovation, Manufacturing
Tagged aereo, ambri, aquion, bgi, coursera, crowdstrike, nest
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Developing Country Farmers Bridge the “Biotechnology Divide”
by Calestous Juma Critics of agricultural biotechnology have long contended that it would not benefit farmers in developing countries. Their concerns were not unjustified. A large number of technologies continue to be restricted to industrialized countries despite their global … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Development, Education, Health and Safety
Tagged biotech, Biotechnology, clive james, cuba, gm crops, isaaa, sudan
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