We thought we had an advantage - our surplus of trained technology workers. All we needed to do was to develop our Venture Capital Funds, and soon our talented technocrats would propel us into the digital age, or so we thought. Some are still singing the same tune, but many Indians have realized that recreating Silicon Valley is easier said than done. The secret of the Valley s success is an uncommon mutuality between industry and university researchers two cultures that often clash. Stanford succeeded in creating an environment that made industry more sensitive to its limitations and aspirations.
Corporations cooperate with one another, and with the university, to achieve common goals.
In the cutthroat world of Corporate America, this collaboration is quite remarkable. In addition, many folks who study the Valley have pointed out that many Valley companies began as small firms that grew large and prosperous during a Cold War era of liberal defense spending a circumstance that is not likely to repeat any time soon. This brings me to why I decided to write this piece in the first place. I read the comments made by our President, Kermit Hall and Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt in a recent edition of the Herald Journal with much interest. The story was entitled Hall Pitches Need To Panel.