Fortunately, we have a growing list of practical models of how knowledge based business can emerge and prosper. As one small but significant example, look at Wisdom Tools . The center's work has plenty of classroom uses, but it clearly has commercial applications as well. With the help of IU's Advanced Research and Technology Institute, Wisdom Tools was spun off into an independent business. Several small companies won't make up for job losses that result when major manufacturers downsize or close plants, any more than a few grass seeds will replenish an entire lawn.
Numbers are critical.
Indiana must make itself fertile ground for new businesses to take root and thrive. The federal Department of Labor predicts that 80 percent of all new jobs in the next decade will be in IT-related fields. And the U.S. Commerce Department estimates that by 2006 we will need 1.3 million new IT workers. These jobs will require at least a baccalaureate degree and likely some postgraduate study. IU's new School of Informatics, one of the first such schools in the country, will play an important role in creating Indiana's future work force.