Thomas L. Friedman’s now-famous ‘flat world’ metaphor describes a vast, inter-connected social landscape, global in reach, in which access to knowledge and knowledge workers has become the primary determinant of success of failure for corporations and national economies alike. Professional education, sophisticated skills formation, research, development and knowledge and technology transfer will remain indispensable functions in such a world.
Friedman’s illuminating metaphor, however, fails in two respects. Firstly, on closer scrutiny this world seems more spiky than flat; indeed, Friedman arrived at his arresting metaphor only after spending time in one of the more conspicuous of its emerging ‘spikes’ – Bangalore in India. An elevated perspective often makes the rest of a landscape appear flat. But for knowledge institutions and aspiring knowledge intensive city regions, the metaphor of spikiness may provide a more illuminating approach to globalisation.
Secondly, Friedman’s topographical metaphor recognises but does not properly address the fearful truth that a majority of humankinds still has but limited access to necessities and decencies taken for granted in the flat world, and little or no access to its rewards and luxuries. Their world is not flat. Depressed, exploited, despairing, it spawns alienation and terror as well as poverty.
To survive in this complex landscape of the future – at once flat, spiky and surrounded by depressed lowlands of poverty and despair – universities will have to engage strategically with each of the three very different topographies of globalisation. But it is in the spikes commanding the flat world that they must be at home.
Globalisation poses the UK an increasingly unavoidable choice: do we take the high road or the low road to productivity as we move to an increasingly knowledge intensive economy? How do we manage the shift towards a higher share of national income produced by knowledge based industries, a higher share of the workforce employed in knowledge based jobs and a higher share of firms using technology to innovate?
In his keynote address, Will Hutton will explore the implications of these changes and the skills challenges facing the UK – for individuals, employers and the wider economy. Will acted as rapporteur to the High-level Group on the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy and has recently completed his latest book, The Writing on the Wall, on the rise of China. His speech will also draw on The Work Foundation's current research, including its recently launched three-year, £1.5 million programme looking at the nature of the knowledge economy – the largest investigation of its kind anywhere in the world.
