innovation

On college campuses across the country, a growing challenge is cyber security. That's because colleges and universities tend to have open networks containing lots of information, making them vulnerable targets. Despite repeated warnings, colleges aren't adapting quickly enough to today's threats.

Harvard Business School is bringing its legendary curriculum to liberal arts colleges - online. One of the world's most prestigious business schools is expanding its digital learning initiative, HBX, a year after it launched.

MIT scientists are presenting a report Monday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science that describes what they call America’s growing innovation deficit.

Having universities divest from fossil fuels is a feel-good measure that would do nothing to address the problem of global climate change. Instead, we should be focusing on efforts to push for strong government action.

Boston is one of four US cities – along with Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. – vying to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.  Business and civic leaders planning the effort tout the benefits and rosy forecasts – increased global stature for Boston, economic boom in jobs and revenue for local business before, during and after the games, and improved infrastructure and facilities, etc.  The price tag? Recent analysis by The Boston Globe pegs it at approximately $15 billion. 

But here’s another idea altogether: to spur similar investment and excitement in Boston and other cities for education by borrowing this same blueprint. 

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The buzz around open online courses - often free and occasionally for credit - is fading. But as tuition prices and student debt soar, online learning continues to grow. One of the largest providers of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, is Harvard and MIT's edX. Some 2.5 million people have signed up for these classes, ranging from the Introduction to Computer Science to The Ancient Greek Hero.

So what do most students get for completing one of these courses? New knowledge and maybe a certificate of completion, but no credit. WGBH’s On Campus caught up with a student-researcher who predicts colleges and universities will soon offer some form of credit for MOOCs.

Economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology laid out Friday the kind of manufacturing production they believe the United States will need to support an innovation economy.

While the economy is slowly recovering from the financial crisis, unemployment still remains high and many Americans’ incomes are stagnant. In poll after poll, companies have said the problem stems from a shortage of skills in the workforce: employers say they can’t find and hire people with the right capabilities.