Avi Blizovsky
The founder of the software giant Microsoft, Bill Gates, warned that the declining interest of children in the US and Japan in science and technology could weaken the economies of these two countries. This was reported by the AFX news agency.
On the other hand, developing countries such as China and India are improving their competitiveness in global markets thanks to the training of young engineers, Gates added.
"The level of interest of students in engineering, science and computers, both in Japan and in the US, is on a downward trend," Gates said at a conference of Japanese business executives in Tokyo.
"Ironically, in the entire world, there has been a significant increase in the level of interest, mainly thanks to two countries - China and India," he said.
"American and Japanese companies should not simply outsource work to foreign companies, because by doing so they are causing a brain drain in their local workforce," Gates added.
"If you rely excessively on workers in other countries and other companies, then in a sense you are outsourcing your brain," Gates said.
According to Gates, Japan and the US "definitely have to do something" to encourage students to study science and help them integrate into work in the field of information technology.
This type of move may help countries ensure continued economic growth in a world where competition is only increasing.
"If we don't succeed in getting the most talented students to invest energy in these fields and get the appropriate training, our economies will get a smaller and smaller share of the newly created wealth in the world," said Gates.
Microsoft announced this week that it will increase cooperation in the field of technological research with Japanese universities.
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