Last week I attended an important event co-hosted by Chancellor Thorp and Chancellor Randy Woodson from N.C. State. "A Way Forward: Building a Globally Competitive South" (full report produced by UNC’s Global Research Institute here) brought together leaders from across the region to consider the Triangle’s progress over the past 26 years, and look at strategies for helping North Carolina strive in the coming decades.
One theme that emerged in the conversations that afternoon, which goes hand in hand with our culture of innovation here are Carolina, is the importance of investing in human capital. Talent. How we get it, how we keep it, how we support it. From Smart Start to K-12 to North Carolina’s top community college system to our institutions of higher education, our investments in human capital pay off in a highly-prepared workforce, an innovation economy and a healthy society.
Here at UNC, our faculty and student body represent a wealth of human capital, ready to unleash their intellectual abilities to create solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. What do they need to thrive? Here are some ways that UNC’s investment in its human capital is yielding big results:
Reducing the transmission of AIDS
Helping middle and high-school students find their voice and showcase their talent
Delivering "mega results" with nanotechnology
Feeding the education pipeline — here and here
Making sports safer for young athletes — here and here
Just a few of the ways Carolina's human capital is changing our world.
