Abstract
The need for a qualified workforce in information technology and the broader science-technology fields, referred to as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has reached crisis proportions. Native born U.S. students are not entering the STEM fields in college in sufficient numbers to avoid an impending technology-talent shortage. University enrollments are dwindling in the STEM fields, which have been propped up by admissions of non-U.S. students from countries like India and China. Companies such as Microsoft and IBM have recognized this for a long time. Professional societies like SIM and AIS, while keenly aware of this problem, are perplexed about how to proceed. This panel of industry, academic, and professional experts will attempt to lay out issues that face these fields and our country. We will seek to engage the audience in issues which stretch from grade school to graduate school, prompting us to exclaim, “We need another Sputnik moment!”
Recommended Citation
Becker, Jack, "We Need Another Sputnik Moment!" (2012). AMCIS 2012 Proceedings. 12.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2012/proceedings/Panels/12
We Need Another Sputnik Moment!
The need for a qualified workforce in information technology and the broader science-technology fields, referred to as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has reached crisis proportions. Native born U.S. students are not entering the STEM fields in college in sufficient numbers to avoid an impending technology-talent shortage. University enrollments are dwindling in the STEM fields, which have been propped up by admissions of non-U.S. students from countries like India and China. Companies such as Microsoft and IBM have recognized this for a long time. Professional societies like SIM and AIS, while keenly aware of this problem, are perplexed about how to proceed. This panel of industry, academic, and professional experts will attempt to lay out issues that face these fields and our country. We will seek to engage the audience in issues which stretch from grade school to graduate school, prompting us to exclaim, “We need another Sputnik moment!”