UK is losing out on making a mark in the digital age due to is flawed education system where there is no bridge between humanities and the sciences, the Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said while delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture in Edinburgh.
At a time when a country's competitive edge is defined the by mathematical and scientific skills of its workforce, the UK has witnessed a "a drift to the humanities". There is a damaging rift between the scientifc and the humanities "camps" that "denigrate" each other, the corporate boss claimed.
UK has failed to build on its rich history of innovation and advancing both humanities and the sciences at the same time. It was a time when the same people wrote poetry and built bridges," Mr. Schmidt said. "Lewis Carroll didn't just write one of the classic fairytales of all time. He was also a mathematics tutor at Oxford. James Clerk Maxwell was described by Einstein as among the best physicists since Newton – but was also a published poet."
UK innovations and inventions include "photography", "TV" and "computers in both concept and practice." But he lamented that since the 1960s when the BBC sent a million computers to homes and schools, there has been a downward slide when it comes to computer science.
He said UK was throwing away its "great computing heritage" as he admitted being "flabbergasted" to find computer sciences is not in the school curriculum any longer.
The Google boss also pointed out that while the UK is excellent in developing micro enterprises it has failed considerably in producing a Google or a Microsoft. "The UK does a great job of backing small firms and cottage industries, but there's little point getting a thousand seeds to sprout if they are then left to wither or transplanted overseas," he said.
UK businesses need championing to help them grow into global powerhouses, without having to sell out to foreign-owned companies. If you don't address this, then the UK will continue to be where inventions are born, but not bred for long-term success."
He hoped that other countries would follow the US example and aim to train more engineers and scientists as he took a swipe at Lord Alan Sugar for claiming Engineers are no good in businesses.
"If the UK's creative businesses want to thrive in the digital future, you need people who understand all facets of it integrated from the very beginning. Take a lead from the Victorians and ignore Lord Sugar: bring engineers into your company at all levels, including the top."
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/43476