2024-01-05 07:05:00
After having burned through the old year with all its accumulated problems, such as insecurity, accompanied by narco-terrorism, with the lack of investment and employment, it becomes necessary to start the new year on a positive note.
Innovation is key to the economic, social and political development of countries. Through the implementation of new ideas, technologies and processes, innovative transformation drives economic growth, improves people’s quality of life and promotes greater citizen participation in community and political affairs.
To make the most of the potential of innovation, it is important to create an environment conducive to the development of critical thinking from the first years of schooling, accompanied by creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit. This involves promoting research and development of education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and humanities (STEAM education). In parallel, it is necessary to establish policies that encourage collaboration between the government sectors, academia and the private sector, accompanied by the promotion of the protection of intellectual property rights that allows stimulating innovation and competition in the market. This must be accompanied by the availability of resources necessary for its successful implementation.
The creation of an innovative environment requires changes in people’s mentality, such as: a mentality towards risk taking, since innovation involves taking risks in the exploration of new ideas and approaches. It is necessary, as they do in the most innovative countries in the world, to accept that failure is always an important part of the learning process. This involves overcoming the fear of failure and promoting an environment where these attempts are celebrated even if they are not successful. It is important that this comes accompanied by an exponential growth mentality where failures are seen as opportunities to learn and improve.
This must be accompanied by the skills and tools necessary in the 21st century, such as digital literacy, creativity, problem solving, collaborative work and effective communication. It is important to foster curiosity from childhood, as well as the ability to learn permanently and continuously. This education must also be accompanied by execution and experiences in projects and professional practices such as the German model of dual education that allow students to apply their knowledge in real situations.
Innovation benefits from the exchange of ideas and collaboration so it is important to foster a culture of teamwork where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas, providing constructive feedback and working together. This can be increased through Coworking workspaces, there are activities that promote interaction and exchange of knowledge. As we mentioned before, institutional support from business, government and academic organizations with regulations favorable to innovative action is essential, as well as the allocation of resources for the development of Startups.
This allows economic development where the creation of new companies is encouraged, emerging industries both in products and services that generate employment, accompanied by productivity and increased competitiveness of countries as part of the global economy. Innovation stimulates investment in research and development, which in turn drives the creation of knowledge and revalues jobs.
Innovation addresses social challenges, allowing improvements in people’s quality of life, as in the case of medicine, which has brought advances not only in diagnosis and treatment, but in improving life expectancy and health in general. Likewise, it has facilitated connectivity, constituting an equal gender factor when the digital divide is reduced and promotes social inclusion.
Finally, we can also say that it has a significant impact in the political sphere where the implementation of new technologies and the use of digital platforms and networks allows greater citizen participation and facilitates more direct communication between citizens and political leaders. It helps promote institutionality by improving the transparency of political actions and processes, promoting more effective governance and more informed decision-making when there is a functional democratic system. something that must be recovered in Ecuador.
#Innovation #Commerce