A Tour Of Harvard's Innovation Lab

By Kara Miller   |   Saturday, January 21, 2012   0 comments.

We talk a lot on this show about the pieces you need to turn ideas into reality: The money, the space, the opportunities to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.

Harvar'ds Innobation Lab is located in the old WGBH building in Allston. (Courtesy Harvard)

Now, we take a tour through a place where all of those ingredients are mixing together: The brand-new Harvard Innovation Lab, just down the street from our studios at Harvard’s life-science complex in Allston.

This is part of Harvard’s big push to nurture an entrepreneurial community. It’s where students and graduate students can take courses, find mentors, have office, conference and staging space to work on their companies, compete for start-up money… and have the chance to work together while doing it.

"Most extraordinary innovations occur at the intersections of things," said Dean Nitin Nohria, of Harvard Business School. "I think at Harvard, we have these amazingly bright people all across the University."

"We have amazing scientists, we have amazing undergraduates, people at the business school who understand whether something's going to be an important business model or not. What I think the I-Lab is going to be is a place that creates these connections between people where together they will discover things that they could not have discovered by themselves," said Noria.

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The Future Of Advertising

By Kara Miller   |   Saturday, January 21, 2012   0 comments.

Part 1:
Part 2:

This week, we look at the future of advertising.

Once, advertising was clear and unmistakable, like the famous Dr. Pepper ads from the 1970s.

The unmistakeable Dr. Pepper jingle from the 1970s.

Then, product placement took over — and companies paid small fortunes to be featured in movies like Mission Impossible.

And technology has radically changed how companies reach customers. Now, TV viewers can click to a different channel during ads. They can ignore the classifieds and car ads in newspapers and search the Internet for exactly what they want. And we’ve entered the world of Google, where ads look back at you — and know the kind of clothes you like, the books you read, and the gadgets you’re eyeing.

We're joined by an executive from Google, and other top minds in the advertising world — including a veteran of Superbowl ads — to ask how advertisers will reach out to us in the future.

Guests:

• John Deighton, professor of business administration, Harvard Business School

• Edward Boches, chief innovation officer, Mullen

• Margo Georgiadis, president of Americas sales, Google

• Mike Baker, President and CEO, Data Xu

Clever Gadgets For A New Year

By Kara Miller   |   Saturday, January 7, 2012   0 comments.

From left: Arctic Touch gloves, staple-free stapler, Coffee Joulies and Tocky alarm clock. (Images via Curisma)

We turn to 2012’s hot gadgets and newest technology. What will be on everyone’s must-have list?

The Kozii, by Kiinde, is a breastmilk bottle warmer that has been featured on Curisma.

We ask an expert about cutting-edge design and innovation. And we’ll also talk about one of those hot products with its inventor.

Guests:

• Fatma Yalchin, co-founder, Curisma

• Kailas Narendren, Kiinde

New Ideas For The Job Hunt

By Kara Miller   |   Saturday, January 7, 2012   0 comments.

Part 1:

Part 2:

This week, we look at the landscape for jobs in 2012.

Since the first leg of the Great Recession began back in 2007, job-seekers have faced tough odds. Employers have cut back on hours, slashed positions, and been particularly tough on recent college graduates. But, as the unemployment rate falls to 8.5 percent, could there now be signs of hope? And if there are, where — and how — should we look?

Today, a panel of experts joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on the role of innovation in the job search. What sectors are hiring now? How can social media can help in the job search? And what do employers really want?

Guests:

 

• Elaine Varelas, managing partner, Keystone Associates; blogger, Boston Globe's "Job Doc"

• Art Papas, co-Founder & CEO, Bullhorn

• David Sanford, Executive VP of client relations, Winter, Wyman

Innovation Hub: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

By Kara Miller   |   Friday, January 6, 2012   0 comments.

Jan. 6, 2012

BOSTON — This weekend's Innovation Hub looks at the landscape for jobs in 2012. There is hope, as Friday's improved unemployment stats show. IHub host Kara Miller shared some of her guests' suggestions.
 
- Finish college. The unemployment rate for people with a bachelor's degree isn't 8.5 percent — it's just over 4 percent.
 
- If you're choosing a career field, consider technology, health care and life sciences, including biopharmaceuticals. These industries are booming in the Boston area — and they need workers.  
 
- Use social media. "That is a viable way of making things happen," says Dave Sanford, an executive vice president at the staffing firm Winter, Wyman. "The great thing about LinkedIn is that a cold call becomes a warm call."

Listen to the complete conversation on 89.7 WGBH at 7:00 a.m. Saturday or 10:00 p.m. Sunday, or here at wgbhnews.org.  

Encore: Innovations In Urban And Digital Learning

By Kara Miller   |   Friday, December 30, 2011   0 comments.

The Urban Classroom

Listen:

At the Clap Innovation School in Boston, students are encouraged to cheer for the colleges where their teachers went. Here, a mural mixes math problems with the word "Harvard." (WGBH)

Almost half of students in large cities read below grade level, lagging far behind their suburban counterparts. Why does this problem exist, and how do we tackle it? How do you emphasize learning to students combating poverty and other hardships? 

We visit a school that’s turning itself around —  and ask a researcher what that sort of turnaround will take.

Guests:
 

• Alan Safran,  President, MATCH Tutors Inc, former executive director of MATCH Charter School

• John Diamond, associate profressor, Harvard Graduate School of Education

• Justin Vernon, principal, Roger Clap Innovation School

The Digital Classroom

A still from Muzzy Lane's Participatory Chinatown game, which turns students into virtual urban planners (via Muzzy Lane).

Once, they were a distraction from homework, something mom told kids to put away before their brain frittered away. But now, some designers and educators say video games can be cutting-edge educational tools. What happens when video games are homework?

We look at their role in the classroom, whether they might replace textbooks, and how kids could be affected.

Guests:

• David B. Martz, vice president, Sales & Marketing of Muzzy Lane Software in Newburyport, Mass.

• Eric Klopfer, associate professor, director of the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program and The Education Arcade

• Tim Loew, executive director, Massachusetts Digital Games Institute.

About Innovation Hub

Each week, Kara Miller talks to Boston's most innovative thinkers, examining new ideas and potential solutions to today’s many challenges. Topics range from education to health care to green energy. Join us on Saturdays at 7 a.m. and Sundays at 10 p.m.

Kara Miller
As a radio host, Kara Miller has interviewed thinkers from E.J. Dionne to Howard Gardner, Deepak Chopra to Lani Guinier. She is a panelist on WGBH-TV's "Beat the Press," as well as an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Her writing has appeared in The Boston Globe, The National Journal, The Boston Herald, Boston Magazine, and The International Herald Tribune.

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