August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of the German
Association for IT, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom), has
said that countries must become better at usinginnovative ICT ideas and technoligesto create more jobs and further economic
growth.
Speaking at CeBIT 2008, Schneer said that countries can benefit
from IT, but only if they are prepared to foster and develop a
culture which supports R&D and education.
"We must assert our leadership by excelling in R&D,
education and the public sector. We must take stock and see how we
measure up. Only by knowing where we stand can we gauge
improvement. Then we will be in a position to chart out and discuss
our progress at annual IT summits."
He said that ICT is mission critical for the success of diverse
industries such as car-making, mechanical engineering and medical
technology. "It is essential for
high-tech research and economic policies to be closely
synchronized. It is not enough to only produce good research the
fruits of that research must also seed new products and new
jobs."
He pointed to technology parks that have been set up all over
Germany, some regionally and some locally as an example of ways
countries could move forward, but warned that these would have to
be
on a par with the ones in Silicon Valley or Bangalore for them
to be truly effective.
"Our motto should be 'If you are going do it, do it right.' What
we need are clusters of excellence that can hold their own against
the international competition."