KU Leuven: Internationalisation of universities and the national language

I spoke at KU Leuven at their symposium on "Internationalisation of Universities and the National Language" (4 May 2018). My talk was on the Power Language Index as it pertains to the dominance of English in the sphere of scholarly research (and thus the challenge of universities from the non-anglophone world that must work in English to be relevant and competitive on the global stage). The organisers compiled the presentations and published a book on the topics presented: "Internationalisation of Universities and the National Language: Language Policy Interventions and Case Studies"

FT: Trade dispute likely to harm not help the US

Letter to the Financial Times (April 11, 2018) From Kai L. Chan, Montreal, Canada Sir, Standing up for American interests and actually improving the lives of Americans are different things. The heterodox economics espoused by Peter Navarro (Opinion, April 9) are reminiscent of the mercantilism that held sway in the 16th century. The “help” that Mr Navarro and Donald Trump are pushing forth in the trade dispute with China are more likely than not to be welfare decreasing for the whole world. A similar kind of help, likewise from another Asian rival in the 1980s, came when the US government pressured Japan to impose voluntary export restraints on their car manufacturers. That led to unambiguous welfare gains to Japan at the cost of Americans, even as politicians thought they had done a favour for the American people. Kai L. Chan Montreal, Canada Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2018. All rights reserved. Letter as it appeared in the FT.

WEF: Quels pays proposent le meilleur enseignement supérieur ?

[caption id="attachment_3437" align="aligncenter" width="1008"] Image: REUTERS/Cris Toala Olivares[/caption] 11 Oct 2017 Kai Chan Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD Innovation & Policy Initiative Les universités sont vitales si l’on veut mettre en valeur le capital humain. Ce sont des rouages essentiels dans l’économie mondiale du savoir. Si, autrefois, les études supérieures étaient réservées à une minorité, elles constituent aujourd’hui un pré requis pour entrer dans les classes moyennes, et plus encore pour appartenir à l’élite. La compétition entre les universités a donné lieu à la création de classements visant à déterminer les plus compétitives sur le plan international. Ces listes se fondent en général sur des indicateurs comme le nombre de publications de recherches, le prestige et la réussite des anciens étudiants. Bien que les diverses mesures produisent des classements différents, les meilleurs établissements universitaires sur le plan international sont souvent les mêmes d’un classement à l’autre. Le nombre d’établissements classés au niveau mondial d’un pays est donc invariablement utilisé pour évaluer la qualité de son enseignement supérieur. Cependant, cela ne prend pas en compte l’inégalité croissante au sein de l’enseignement supérieur. L’enjeu actuel : l'inégalité L’inégalité est l’un des plus grands enjeux de notre société. Mais le débat se focalise sur l’inégalité…

The Nordics are among the world’s 10 smartest countries – most likely to ‘produce the next Google’

Tom Turula 17 Aug 2017 10:48 AM [caption id="attachment_3510" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Spotify Press Photo[/caption] Sweden, Finland and Denmark are very well-positioned to foster the big ideas of tomorrow. This according to the Intelligence Capital Index (ICI), compiled by Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD, Kai L. Chan, who gauged four parameters – education, creativity, cognitive skills and attractiveness for skilled immigrants – to determine the smartest countries in the world with the best innovation potential. The ICI was published by INSEAD Innovation & Policy Initiative Sweden tops the Nordic countries at sixth place, tightly followed by Finland and Denmark on 9th and 10th spots. The top ten is otherwise populated by European and North American countries, with the exception of Australia and Singapore. Chan notes that the Nordics have “typically high scores on the aspects of attractiveness for immigrants and creativity.” The ranking pins Sweden as the world’s most creative country, followed by Finland and the U.S. “Creativity should be part and parcel of any measure of human capital. Rote learning and memorisation are fast losing value in an era increasingly relying on computers and robots,” writes Chan, who used the Global Creativity Index and countries’ ratio of R&D expenditure-to-GDP as creativity proxies. Denmark excelled with the quantity and quality of its elite education (5thand 9th in…

Най-умните държави в света

Кои са страните, които могат да родят следващия Google Когато Сергей Брин е на 16 години, а семейството му вече живее в САЩ от 10 години, баща му го взима със себе си на кратко посещение в Русия. Годината е 1990, а Съветският съюз е пред разпад. На втория ден от пътуването тийнейджърът вече е наясно какъв живот е можел да има при други обстоятелства. Бъдещият съосновател на Google дърпа баща си настрани и откровено му казва: "Благодаря ти, че ни изведе от Русия." Макар от тогава да мина много време и Русия да се възстанови, младият Брин спечели лотарията с гражданството си. С израстването си в САЩ той получи достъп до страхотно образование и среда, която подхранва начина му на мислене. Като дете учи в Montessori, което стимулира креативността. По-късно е в "Станфорд", където се среща с Лари Пейдж и заедно двамата основават един от най-скъпите брандове в света. Историята на Брин показва как при правилната среда образованието и креативността може да доведат до трансформативни иновации в глобалната икономика на знанието. Блестящият му ум щеше да се представи добре навсякъде, но интелектуалната и предприемаческата среда в "Станфорд" позволява разгръщането на пълните умения на Брин. Така, около тези параметри беше…

Lebanon ranks 100th in Intelligence Capital Index

Countries capitalise on the knowledge economy to advance Published: 16:59 July 14, 2017 Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer Beirut: Lebanon, which frequently boasts of its unique education capabilities ranked 100th with a low score of 16.9 [or simply a D] in the Intelligence Capital Index. The first Arab country on the list, the UAE, closed in at the 49th spot, followed by Qatar (60), Saudi Arabia (62), Kuwait (63), Bahrain (65), Oman (76), Jordan (80), Tunisia (85), Morocco (94), Egypt (98), and Algeria (103). Kai L. Chan, a distinguished fellow at the French-led INSEAD global business school, published the unique Intelligence Capital Index for 128 countries that aimed to gauge the ability of countries to capitalise on the knowledge economy by assessing their environments for education, creativity and talent attraction. The first five countries in the INSEAD roster were the US, UK, Germany, Australia and Singapore. Israel came in at 25, Turkey at 54 and Iran at 82. Most of issues that motivated rankings were related to education creativity and talent attraction, and while Lebanon certainly enjoyed the talent, most of its gifted innovators succeeded abroad instead of thriving in their native land. The INSEAD barometer focused on each country’s…

Intelligence Capital Index

Intelligence Capital Index The key qualities of a nation that will spur innovation and propel the knowledge economy are smarts and creativity. Underpinning these is the “intelligence capital” of a country, a measure of its knowledge capability, i.e. its stock of intellectual know-how along with its ability to develop and attract talent. The Intelligence Capital Index (ICI) is a way to measure the ability of countries to capitalise on the knowledge economy by assessing their environments for education, creativity and talent attraction. It is based on five aspects of knowledge acquisition/production: (1) Quantity of education; (2) Quality of education; (3) Average educational skills; (4) Elite educational skills; (5) Creativity and complexity; and (5) Attractiveness and openness to talent. Underlying these are 24 indicators that span the life cycle of talent -- from childhood through tertiary education and then in the marketplace. Below are the ten countries with the best knowledge capital outcomes: USA (74.883) UK (64.192) Germany (64.179) Australia (63.960) Singapore (63.599) Sweden (61.582) Switzerland (61.574) Canada (61.149) Finland (60.445) Denmark (60.252) A synopsis of the ICI can found below: Full results (128 countries are assessed) including methodology and indicators can be found here.

INSEAD: The world’s smartest countries

Kai L. Chan, Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD Innovation & Policy Initiative | July 12, 2017 [caption id="attachment_3479" align="aligncenter" width="650"] The countries most likely to produce the next Google.[/caption] When Sergey Brin was 16 and his family had already been living in the United States for a decade, his father took him on a short trip back to Russia. It was 1990 and the Soviet Union was collapsing. By the second day of the trip, the teenager had seen enough to grasp what his life could have been. Taking his father aside, the future co-founder of Google told him in earnest: “Thank you for taking us all out of Russia.” Although Russia has since rebounded, young Brin won the citizenship lottery, having been raised in the U.S. where he had access to great schooling and an environment to nurture his brain. As a child, he received a Montessori education, known for cultivating creativity. Later he went on to study at Stanford University where he met Larry Page and together they would go on to found one of the most valuable brands in the world. Brin’s story illustrates how – given the proper environment – education and creativity can give rise to transformative innovation in the…

WEF: ¿Qué países ofrecen a sus ciudadanos la mejor educación superior?

25 May 2017 Kai Chan Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD Innovation and Policy Initiative Los responsables políticos tendrán que asegurar que la educación terciaria de alta calidad sea accesible para todos, no solo para la élite. La educación superior inclusiva podría cerrar las divisiones sociales que separan a la sociedad Las universidades son vitales para el desarrollo del capital humano. Son piezas fundamentales de la economía mundial del conocimiento. Si bien alguna vez solo estuvo disponible para unos pocos, la educación superior ahora es casi un requisito para el ingreso a la clase media, y más aún a las filas de la élite. La competencia entre universidades ha dado origen a clasificaciones que intentan determinar cuáles son las más competitivas a nivel mundial. En general, estas listas se basan en métricas como la producción de investigación, el prestigio y los logros de los exalumnos. Aunque las distintas medidas producen clasificaciones diferentes, las principales universidades del mundo son muy similares en todas las evaluaciones. La cantidad de universidades reconocidas a nivel mundial de un país se utiliza siempre para medir la calidad de su educación superior. Sin embargo, esta perspectiva pasa por alto la creciente desigualdad de la educación superior. El desafío de…

INSEAD: The World’s Most Powerful Languages

Kai L. Chan, Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD Innovation & Policy Initiative | May 22, 2017 What leaders should know about English and other languages competing for global influence. Should we all emulate Mark Zuckerberg and embrace speaking Mandarin? In April this year, U.S. President Donald Trump’s grandchildren (aged 5 and 2) engaged in soft diplomacy at the highest level when they sang in Mandarin for the Chinese president and his wife. Ten years ago, investor Jim Rogers even moved to Asia to provide his daughters with a strong Chinese learning environment. Language opens doors. Speaking more tongues means more opportunities to participate in conversations… or eavesdrop on them. It’s also clear that the power of a language goes beyond simple head count, not to mention that it’s difficult to count the number of speakers of a language given their various proficiencies. As someone who became a polyglot (five languages) in my 40s – proving that picking up languages in later years is not insurmountable – I grew interested in ranking the usefulness of languages in a scientific manner. I created the Power Language Index (PLI) as a thought experiment: If an alien were to land on Earth, what language would serve it…