Harvard alumni engage PM on entrepreneurship and brain gain

12 January 2016 02:59 am - 0 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A A A

At the youth session of the Sri Lanka Economic Forum held last Friday, timely and mindful exchanges took place between the panel and two Harvard alumni on the areas of local entrepreneurial support and brain gain. The panel included Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Nobel Laureate Prof. Stiglitz and Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva. Drawing on his professional experience, Jayamin Pelpola (Harvard Business School alumni and a venture capitalist investing in the Silicon Valley and South Asia) questioned what plans the government has in building a comprehensive framework to develop the entrepreneurial and new venture start-up ecosystem in Sri Lanka.
Responding to this, Deputy Minister de Silva, a trained economist, said the support mechanism for new venture start-ups is still underdeveloped and their access to financing is severely restricted. He further added that the government has a role in addressing these gaps with small but relevant steps being taken in the 2016 Budget. Commenting on Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Palpola added, “In Sri Lanka, we have good young talent. In the Silicon Valley sometimes we see a bit of what you call ‘too much money chasing too little value’. That’s because some ideas are globally scalable and their IP is protected. We can channel these financial flows to Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial ecosystem if we work on three things – firstly, transfer the skills, networks and education of our diaspora, secondly, improve our IP protection, thirdly, be more tolerant of failure and risk especially when you engage smart young people.” Responding to Palpola’s question on what technologies and new developments should Sri Lanka prioritize, Prof. Stiglitz suggested that Sri Lanka should focus on improving access to education through technology. He cited the success of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in both the developed and developing countries. Pelpola added, “Using technology in education is an area we lag significantly, even compared to the rest of emerging nations. MOOCs for example, bypass the need for huge capital expenditure while distributing knowledge to the masses, as opposed to moving masses towards the centres of education. We can draw from these learnings in enhancing the delivery of our education.” Drawing on her personal experiences, Pushpi Weerakoon questioned the lack of a proper mechanism to effectively integrate foreign educated graduates into the workforce, going beyond personal and professional connections. As Prof. Stiglitz agreed on the importance of such a mechanism, to drive the point home she described the challenges she navigated in finding a suitable role that utilizes her skills upon return. Weerakoon, a student and personal advisee of Prof. Ricardo Hausmann, graduated in May 2015 with a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) as the prestigious Edith Stokey Scholar and Mason Fellow. Presently she is the head of Projects at American Chamber of Commerce. Weerakoon added, “Part of the broader solution could be an online centralized registry at the President’s or Prime Minister’s office to which the individuals returning could feed information. Our foreign missions could also take a greater interest in the Sri Lankans educated abroad and have an in-house collections point abroad, which feeds into this centralized system. This registry should be accessible by the public and private sector. To retain high-skilled foreign educates, the government will have to establish a strong investment climate, adequate compensation and opportunities in the public sector. Even though financial incentives are important, that itself will not encourage returns. There will have to be coherent research policies formulated, strong public-private linkages and competitive funding for innovation.
Incentives offered in other countries in addition to recognition and appreciation include favourable tax treatment of returning human and financial capital, land grants to set up new companies and temporary performance subsidies. We could take guidance from the policies in Latin America, including Mexico’s CONACYT and Colombia’s COLFUTURO programmes.”
Furthermore, she commented, “Having said this, we should be also mindful that many of us are recruited by multinational companies even before our graduation ceremony, since they visit the universities to catch the best brains early. But this does not mean our country should miss out on foreign domiciled knowledge, technology or finance. If the government establishes a system conducive for diaspora based on good relations, better facilitative environment, greater utilization and appreciation for their services, we could make use of the brain mobility as brain gain rather than a drain as countries such as Taiwan, Israel, India, China and Chile have done.”
It was refreshing to see the youth engage candidly with the panel and share their innovative ideas taking a stake in the country’s development.

Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka

Comments - 0

Add comment
Comments will be edited (grammar, spelling and slang) and authorized at the discretion of Daily Mirror online. The website also has the right not to publish selected comments.

Harvard alumni engage PM on entrepreneurship and brain gain

Comments - 0

Add comment

RECOMMENDED

UDA owned land in Thalawathugoda; UDA Minister Prasanna Ranatunga under the spotlight for forceful occupation of reserved land

Loss-making SMIB faces political pressure in recovering loans

Baltimore Bridge Collapse: MV Dali, SL authorities anchored in mystery?

Has Sri Lanka become a potential hub for the illegal wildlife trade?

Spotlight on Moragahakanda Development Project Moragolla villagers lose livelihoods and down to one meal a day

Ambitious Sri Lankan jobseekers ‘trafficked into Ukraine war zones’

Western purple-faced langurs see blue!

Most Viewed in News

New Visa procedure implemented

SL on alert on possible genocide allegations by Canada

Two racing drivers arrested over Fox Hill tragedy

Ranil Wickremesinghe caravan moves on despite barking dogs

Former MP Palitha Thewarapperuma dies from electrocution

Sri Lankan among NASA’s new crew for next simulated Mars journey

MIRROR CRICKET

Athapaththu back atop ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings

Chamari Athapaththu sets big goal for T20 World Cup

How does CSK get best out of Pathirana?

Mendis, Mathews move up in ICC Test Rankings

TODAY'S HEADLINES

United States and SL Navy collaborate in CARAT 2024 exercise in Trincomalee

Upcountry estate workers stage a token strike

People have already selected Ranil for Presidency: Prasanna

Construction work for India-funded 10,000 housing units commenced

Sri Lanka secures third spot in South Asian Kurash Championship 2024

Athapaththu back atop ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings

Army forms committee to probe Diyatalawa Fox Hill Supercross accident

Indian cricket manager indicted for Legend Cricket League match-fixing allegations