SRI International President and CEO Dr. Curtis R. Carlson was invited to attend the Monthly Meeting at the Presidential Office on August 8 to deliver an address entitled "Challenges and Opportunities for Taiwan in the Innovation Economy." Dr. Carlson's speech comes at a crucial juncture for Taiwan in its industrial transformation. President Ma Ying-jeou met with Dr. Carlson before the commencement of the Monthly Meeting and the two exchanged opinions on a broad range of issues related to industrial innovation.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Dr. Carlson is an internationally renowned expert on industrial innovation and trends in global competition. He has written books on innovation theory and practice, and his work has been widely praised. SRI International is a dedicated research and development institution that was founded over 60 years ago as the Stanford Research Institute, the president said, adding that it is commonly referred to as "Silicon Valley's soul." The role that SRI International plays in the Silicon Valley is similar to that of the Industrial Technology Research Institute here, the president explained. SRI International, he said, has played a pioneering role in the development of the computer mouse, high-definition television, and Internet technology. In addition, under the leadership of Dr. Carlson, SRI International's R&D expenditures have grown considerably in recent years, and the organization has helped nurture quite a few start-ups.
The president commented that he previously met with Dr. Carlson last year and was very impressed with his suggestions about what Taiwan needs to do to move from an efficiency-driven economy to an innovation-driven economy, so he included the concepts discussed during that meeting in his New Year's address this year, as well as his inaugural address on May 20. President Ma said the goal of inviting Dr. Carlson to speak at the Monthly Meeting at the Presidential Office was to enable a wider segment of society to understand his ideas.
President Ma mentioned that Dr. Carlson feels that Taiwan presently is facing three major crises. The first is a talent gap, the second is industrial transformation, and the third is the allocation and use of R&D funding. The president said the government is very concerned about the problems in Taiwan's economy that Dr. Carlson pointed out, adding that the government is actively working to institute improvements and other measures in response.
The president stated that internationally renowned columnist and author Thomas Friedman in his recently published book That Used To Be Us quoted Dr. Carlson's view regarding the role of innovation in an organization. Mr. Friedman cited the so-called Carlson's Law, which states that “innovation that happens from the bottom up tends to be chaotic but smart. Innovation that happens from the top down tends to be orderly but dumb.” President Ma expressed his belief that this insight is the result of Dr. Carlson's many years of research, and it shows us that true innovation is not purely a top-down process, but is in fact just the opposite. This is an important concept for us to remember in promoting government reorganization, he said.
President Ma also expressed his hope that Dr. Carlson's address will provide more food for thought for the government and the public, and will put Taiwan on the right track in the recruitment and training of talent, industrial transformation, and allocation of science and technology R&D funding.
Dr. Carlson was accompanied to the Presidential Office by National Science Council Minister Cyrus C. Y. Chu (朱敬一) to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明).