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One of the major factors that give our nation a competitive advantage is its research and development facilities. This fact is proved time and again right from Whitney’s cotton gin to iPods to microprocessor chips. Our universities have always been powerhouses of intellectual genius necessary for R&D.

Our universities have always strived to serve societies and higher education continues to play a vital role. Higher education has helped us sustain in the highly competitive global economy, offers improved earnings prospects for students and enhances civic participation and productivity.

As compared to a couple of decades back, state appropriation funding per student has considerably reduced. When we know that education is for public good, what does this development imply?

During the past 20 years, there has been a 2 per cent growth in median household income and 112 per cent tuition increase in public universities. Combined with decreasing student appropriations, all these factors have contributed to a massive student loan debt of around $1 trillion.

One of the sad parts is that public universities are forced to compete with state priorities as funding for higher education is discretionary. In most of our 33 states, funding is offered based on performance due to the incremental budget. Certain states like Alaska however have always maintained a steady support for education in spite of budget pressures.

In spite of the recent challenges faced by our country, our higher education system still remains one of the best in the world. At least 130 of the top 700 universities are here. Through innovation, our universities play a vital role in the development of our economic ecosystem, according to a research study.

The situation however continues to be grim fuelled by the global competition and emphasis on translational discoveries short term results by the corporate. Other nations in the world are fast advancing and if we do not take action now may soon take over in the next decade.

Research is the key and it is imperative to invest in basic research as this is the foundation on which all our industries stand on. Funding for research unfortunately is not so easy to get today. Lack of quick commercial application is one of the major reasons why private sector is not very enthusiastic about funding research and innovation.

Even the grants and funding offered by the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation is targeted which is why we may not see results in the near future. An encouraging trend is that today many smaller universities are into classified research. This has opened up opportunities for faculty to address various issues related to technological development.

We need to also focus on our K-12 education. Most of our high schools are struggling to devise ways to make their students ready for the university. Departments such as humanities and liberal arts are under pressure now and forced to show their worth due to severe budgetary constraints.

Creative thinking is the basis of innovation and we must not forget that either. Higher education landscape is now experiencing a large scale revolution. The sheer pace and scale of this breath-taking transformation is disruptive. To stay ahead of the curve, we must visualise the future we want for our country and devise ways to achieve our goals.