The Two Million Minutes Blog

"Two Million Minutes casts a bright spotlight on a crisis in this country." - Bill Gates

Now I know the letter is short, but he at least took the time to dictate a thank you note. Wealth, good deeds and good manners!

China and India Are Moving Fast in Life Sciences - That happens when everyone wants to be a scientist or engineer when they grow up

The 2008 BIO International Convention was held last week in San Diego and most of the buzz was about the rapid gains China and India have made in the Biotech field.

Here are a few relevant quotes from the panel on Asian Biotech:

Charles Hsu (Bay City Capital): “A chief scientific officer from an international big pharma company told me 'we are no longer coming to China for cost savings, we are coming because the Chinese work hard and they value education. We no longer find that in the US.'”

Michael Hui (Shanghai ChemPartner): "In 2002, our company was getting started, now it has 1,300 scientists. In 2002 Shanghai ChemPartners was the only biomedical company in the Zhiangjiang Technology Park in Shanghai. Now there are 1,000 biomedical companies. 

"Chinese scientists working in America now want to go back to China, unlike three years ago. Because of the huge upsurge in biomedical business activity."

"The biggest challenge is IP because the whole industry is heading toward the high value part of the drug chain. Still the elements of IP protection – a confidentially agreement, the non-compete, the culture of disclosure (most important and changing) – are becoming easier as they become more familiar. More law firms are establishing an office in Shanghai, showing that the biotech industry is very concerned with IP protection. This is a good sign."

Charles Hsu (Bay City Capital): "Every time I’ve tried to make a prediction, I’ve been too conservative. For China and India, truly front-line drug discovery will take place, much more quickly than people imagine."

Kiplinger wrote a brief report on the conference worth reading.

Hmmmm...I guess that is what happens when every child wants to be an engineer or scientist when they grow up - rapid growth of science-based businesses.

What's Hot on Communist Chinese TV these days??

Martial arts shows? American re-runs? Chinese talk shows? 

NOPE, it is ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

What is hot on Chinese TV is a show called Ying Zai Zhongguo or Win In China - a blend between a collegiate business plan competition, Survivor and The Apprentice.

And the payoff for the winner is not some lackey job with Donald Trump. It is $1.3 million in start-up capital to start their own company. By contrast the MIT Business Plan competition winner gets a measly $100,000. The Communists understand it takes more capital these days to launch an entrepreneurial venture, I guess.

Some of the finalists of the first season of Win In China, winnowed down from an initial 3,000 entrepreneurial business plans.

Quite a few Americans, including several venture capitalists, are involved in Win In China - a few of their comments (only slightly scripted, but no gun to their heads), including the CEO of NASDAQ, are HERE

The show airs on CCTV - the Communist controlled television. Here's how several contestants and broadcast officials describe the goal of Win IN China:

“Chinese culture does not facilitate creativity as much as we need.... the show will introduce the “positive power” of entrepreneurship."

Contestant Ms. Zhou said she hoped potential entrepreneurs would learn the importance of both perseverance and passion.

“After the final episode, a friend called and said: ‘I have to quit my work unit and my company! I have to be an entrepreneur, because I want a new life.’”

How do high school courses in India and China compare with the U.S.?

A lot of viewers of Two  Million Minutes have asked how the high school coursework compares between the three countries.

To address that question in depth, I will be publishing a detailed comparison of the Indian National Education Standards (ISCE) for high school with the curriculum standards of Indiana - where the US students live - later this summer.

And I will have a comparison with the Chinese National Standards in the fall (they are being translated from Mandarin right now).

To give you an early sample of the differences, here are the classes Apoorva and Rohit took in high school in India:

Indian 9th and 10th Grade:

Math
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
World History
Geography
English Grammar
English Literature
Hindi Grammar (Rohit took Sanskrit)
Hindi Literature
Civics
Computer Programming (C++ in 9th and Java in 10th)

In 11th and 12th Grades students must chose 1 of three paths based on their scores on the Standard X proficiency exams (about 20 hours of testing - more on that another time)

Score 80% or above in all subjects - Science Track
Score 60%-80% - Commerce or Liberal Arts Track (specific industry tracks like Fashion)
Score below 40% on any exams - repeat 10th grade (that's the Indian definition of a "high stakes exam" - the student bears the consequences - what an odd idea)

So Apoorva and Rohit took the science track.

Indian 11th and 12th Grade - Science Track:

Math
Chemistry
Physics   
English Grammar
English Literature
Computer Science
Environmental Education

The Indian students and their Principal on their recent visit to the US were startled to learn that American high school students take only one year of Physics, Chemistry and Biology and not every State requires all three.

In the details of my forthcoming Comparative Curriculum Report, I think most Americans will find the Indian and Chinese high school classes to be remarkably deep, thorough and rigorous.

WUMB Radio Interview With Bob Compton

Janis Pryor, host of Commonwealth Journal on WUMB Boston, interviews Bob Compton about the making of Two Million Minutes.

Interview includes background on the film, a discussion of the three cultures - Indian, Chinese and American - and the implications of U.S. education for 21st century America.

You know education is important globally when...

A story on Two Million Minutes is on the front page of the Indian Daily News & Analysis (published in Mumbai) and your picture is bigger than the Prime Minister's. Click on image below for full size.

To read the article go HERE.