The Origin Of Silicon Valley
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” — Albert Einstein
WE have high rate of unemployment in Africa because our educational institutions are producing job seekers instead of solution providers. The dominant purpose of education should not just be in preparing young people for employment in industries. We need a more robust and holistic form of education that will be value- based, tech- driven and also make room for problem- solving, “multiple intelligences”, emotional literacy, self- discovery, self- awareness, mindfulness, moral discipline, skill acquisition, and capacity development.
I was privileged to be a keynote speaker at the Federal University Of Technology, Akure ( FUTA) on April, 25 2024. The Theme of the FUTA stakeholder engagement was tagged,“Beyond Borders: Advancing Research and Innovation For Sustainability”. The stakeholder engagement had in attendance, the University management team, management of the Opolo Global Innovation, lecturers and students, President of the FUTA Alumni Association and various stakeholders from different sectors of the economy. I took an unconventional method in my presentation in using the origin of Silicon Valley to inspire and motivate the University community towards the core responsibilities of institutions of learning. I emphasized that Institutions of learning are meant to be producing solution providers that will transform their communities instead of churning out job seekers with no industrial value.
Silicon Valley stands today as the epitome of innovation, a global hub where ground- breaking technologies are conceived, nurtured, and unleashed onto the world stage. But what many may not realize is that this technological invention traces its roots back to the hallowed halls of Stanford University.
Stanford University, located in the heart of California’s Bay Area, has long been a beacon of academic excellence and entrepreneurial spirit. Its sprawling campus, has served as fertile ground for the cultivation of revolutionary ideas. It was within this vibrant academic environment that the seeds of Silicon Valley were sown.
Stanford emerges as a leader in engineering and innovation. Its proximity to San Francisco and access to venture capital created an ecosystem for collaboration and experimentation. Professors and students alike were encouraged to push the boundaries of traditional thinking, to explore the realms of possibility beyond the confines of their disciplines.
One pivotal moment in Stanford’s history came in 1939 when Frederick Terman returned to his alma mater as a professor of electrical engineering. Terman, often known as the “Father of Silicon Valley,” recognized the untapped potential of Stanford’s resources and sought to bridge the gap between academia and industry. He encouraged his students to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, providing them with the tools and support needed to transform their ideas into reality.
Terman’s influence expanded throughout the university, inspiring generations of students and alumni to embrace risk- taking and innovation. The symbiotic relationship between Stanford and Silicon Valley continues to thrive to this day. The university serves as a breeding ground for future leaders and innovators, while the region provides opportunities for collaboration and growth. Together, they form an ecosystem where ideas are born, tested, and refined, propelling humanity forward into a future defined by technological advancement and sustainable innovation.
Our educational system in Africa is a time- bomb waiting to explode if something urgent and drastic is not done. The system was faultily designed to produce workers for big corporation, it was never designed to solve problems in the society. The school system introduced during industrialization was meant to promote remembering and not critical thinking for the sake of creating good employees who don’t think but can remember. Unrefined Western education produces African graduates who are only seen as a means of production that have graduated from the African school of remembering! Our kind of educational system in Africa cannot solve problems neither can anyone who is a product of it come out to challenge the system, except the individual involved is an outlier. When an educational system is misconceived, the consequences are leadership problems, unemployment, class struggle and economic instability. There is nothing that fuels unemployment in Africa like our dysfunctional educational system.
In ‘ The Meaning of General Education’ ( Miller, 1988), the idea of degree education was fully formed during the industrialization age to serve as reservoir of cheap labour for industries. The school system was built during the industrial revolution to feed the industries with labourers whose value is seen only as a means of production. The original design has not really changed much over the years as it was meant to make graduates into labourers/ job- seekers and not entrepreneurs/ solution providers. While the western education system has been upgraded over the years to embrace critical thinking and creativity, ours in Africa is still anti- intellectual and hostile to new ways of thinking. We need to decolonize our educational system. Most times, the education that we are giving to our youths is not in any way connected to the resources and problems we have here in Africa. We need to work assiduously on transforming our educational system in Africa from paper- based education to skill and value- based education. Paper- based education only produces clerks, labourers, administrators and managers whose value are only seen in how well they simply obey the line of command. We need a special kind of educational that will produce disruptors, innovators, entrepreneurs and change- gladiators.
In the ever- evolving landscape of higher education, university management plays a crucial role in shaping the experiences and trajectories of students. As we look to cultivate the next generation of innovators and change- makers, there are valuable lessons to be gleaned from the success of Silicon Valley and its symbiotic relationship with Stanford University.
One key aspect that university management can emulate from the Silicon Valley- Stanford model is the encouragement of interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration. In Silicon Valley, ground- breaking innovations often arise at the intersection of different fields, where diverse perspectives converge to tackle challenges. Similarly, universities can create environments that foster cross- disciplinary dialogue and collaboration, empowering students to apply their knowledge and skills in different ways. At Stanford, initiatives such as bringing students from diverse backgrounds together to tackle real- world problems through design thinking.
Furthermore, university management can take cues from Silicon Valley in promoting a culture of risk- taking and entrepreneurship. In Silicon Valley, failure is not stigmatized but rather embraced as a natural part of the innovation process. This mind- set of embracing failure as a learning opportunity encourages students to take bold risks, experiment with new ideas, and ultimately, drive meaningful change.
Universities can support this culture of entrepreneurship by providing resources such as mentorship programs and many more to drive the students to change. By connecting students with alumni and industry professionals who have experience navigating the entrepreneurial landscape, university management can empower students to turn their ideas into viable ventures.
Moreover, university management can play a pivotal role in nurturing the entrepreneurial mind- set among students by incorporating experiential learning opportunities into the curriculum. Programs such as internships, placements, and projectbased courses provide students with hands- on experience and real- world exposure, helping them develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world. In conclusion, university management has a unique opportunity to draw inspiration from the Silicon Valley- Stanford model and create environments that foster innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship.
I concluded my keynote speech by suggesting some changes that are needed to make our institutions of learning more robust:
• Creating a mentoring platform where established alumni members can mentor graduates
• Designing more project and industry- based courses that will encourage collaboration among the students and give them ample exposure to industries. These courses should be designed in a manner that students spend more time in industries than in the classrooms
• Every university should have a School of Business e. g university of Ibadan school of business that is focused totally on businessoriented research and development programmes. These schools of business in all tertiary institutions in a country can now form a hub of network that can promote job and wealth creation
• Institutions of learning should design a “borderless classroom model” whereby students will not only be restricted to resources provided only by their lecturers. Students should not just be graded on how well they can reproduce their lecturers’ note but on the basis of their exposure and access to a veritable body of knowledge. This will ensure that institutions of learning will churn out graduates that can compete globally and not just restricted to a localised knowledge or curriculum # 5 Universities should collaborate with Private organizations to design Talent Hunt Shows for tertiary institutions where raw talents can be discovered, nurtured and connected to opportunities while on campus.
“Education that we are giving to our youths is not in any way connected to the resources and problems we have here in Africa. We need to work assiduously on transforming our educational system in Africa from paper- based education to skill and value- based education. ”