A CEO’s Perspective:

Tech Valley High School: Integral Component of Region’s Future
by
Kelly A. Lovell, President & CEO
Center for Economic Growth, Albany, N.Y.

Since 2002 more than $7 billion dollars of new R&D investment has been made in New York’s Tech Valley, stretching from the lower Hudson Valley to the Canadian border. This investment means a future of greater economic benefit to all business sectors, from restaurants to construction companies. The investment includes funding for nanotechnology, biotechnology and other technology-driven research and development. In turn, investment in these areas will help to propel the Region’s economy as those employed in these areas will work, live and play throughout the Capital Region.

Two important drivers of this advancement – innovation and collaboration – are reflected in a number of regional initiatives, including the emergence of the proposed Tech Valley High School.

These attributes are also evident in the new research investment in the Capital Region that is opening the door for new product development, bringing new businesses and additional opportunities for existing businesses, and creating a wide spectrum of employment opportunities across all fields. Capital Region companies engaged in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, films and coatings, computer software, and other high-tech products will have opportunities to create new products and new jobs. By welcoming additional R&D investment into our Region, we’re building a bridge between the traditional economy that made our Region what it is today and the “new economy” of tomorrow.

The momentum propelling the Region today is the result of many people and organizations working together toward common goals, taking risks and seeing the possibilities ahead. And it’s paying off for our Region. It’s energizing and exciting Tech Valley residents and already catching the attention of many other businesses and organizations looking to locate and grow in a Region rich with technology, talent and potential.

Recruiting high-tech industries always involves a degree of uncertainty. Many of the forces that affect the regional economy are beyond local control such as business relocations, changes in consumer demand, and changes in technology.

Yet we can positively address many issues that will ultimately impact growth in Tech Valley. As we continue to build on this powerful momentum, we must also turn our attention to innovative, long-term planning for growth. Now is the time to determine how our communities will grow and what investments our Region will need to make. To realize our Region’s full potential, we must be as innovative in preparing our workforce and planning for growth as we have been in attracting it.

Key to this success is the education of our students in the emerging technologies which will shape Tech Valley’s growth. A dynamic partnership of business, higher education, k-12, union and government, led by the Questar III and Capital Region BOCES, have joined forces to create the Tech Valley High School, a public school that will support the region’s growth by providing a unique educational opportunity that will engage students in tomorrow’s technologies. It is just the sort of dynamic partnership that Tech Valley needs.

Tech Valley is fortunate to have technology-rich, project-based learning programs, like Project Lead the Way, Challenger and the Chip Camp at the University at Albany, already in place in several schools across the region. The Tech Valley High School will complement these regionally-developed programs and broaden the range of educational offerings to help Tech Valley prepare a tech-savvy workforce.

Students at the Tech Valley High School, drawn from 48 districts in seven counties covered by Questar III and the Capital Region BOCES, will complete academically rigorous coursework introducing them to five key technologies well-represented in Tech Valley: advanced materials, biotechnology, energy, information technology and nanotechnology. They will learn in an innovative, professional environment, interacting with the region’s leading technology firms and training on the latest technology, all while meeting New York’s Regents requirements.

An added benefit of the Tech Valley High School, which has garnered the early leadership and support of Senate Majority Leader Bruno and other leading elected officials, is its proposed location on the campus of the Rensselaer Technology Park. Learning in such close proximity to technology-based companies will create natural synergy for students, and businesses, to inspire and to innovate.

New York State is in a global competition to attract new investment and create new jobs for our current and future residents. For too long many of our brightest young people have left New York to pursue careers elsewhere. Creation of the Tech Valley High School will help us prepare students for the technology-based business world. As a public school, the Tech Valley High School could serve as a model for Tech Valley and for New York as we compete against other regions across the country and around the world for growth of technology business.