National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship holds its first in-person public forum at UNC U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke addressed a town hall-style public forum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today as part of a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). Speaking to nearly 400 students, faculty, administrators and business leaders, Locke discussed the Council’s efforts to incentivize innovation and entrepreneurship to help America win the future by out-innovating, out-educating and out-building our economic competitors.
The Council provided updates on its efforts to reform how ideas and research from federally funded university labs reach the marketplace, sustain innovators’ and entrepreneurs’ access to capital, and celebrate the role of innovators and entrepreneurs in driving job creation and economic growth. Following the meeting, the Council heard comments and answered questions from the audience.
Joined by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, Locke welcomed the Council’s recommendations and highlighted the importance of the NACIE’s work in creating policies that support President Obama’s innovation agenda by improving America’s economic competitiveness and meeting the needs of America’s entrepreneurs. In addition to moving ideas and technologies to market faster, Locke stressed the need to create a stronger education system that ensures our nation’s students are globally competitive and can produce quality research. The United States lags behind its international competitors in science, reading and math, and improved education – particularly in these fields – is critical to helping America win the future.
First announced in 2009, the Council advises Locke and the administration on key innovation and entrepreneurship issues and engages with the public and stakeholders to promote effective public policies and regulations. Hosted by UNC Chancellor and NACIE member Holden Thorp, the forum was the first meeting of the Council outside Washington, D.C. Remarks
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
