Hot Topic Title: “The Role of Mathematics and Computer Science in Developing Countries“ Presentation: "Viewpoint from India"

1. Hot Topic Presentations
Abel, Fields and Turing Laureates
Meet the Next Generation
2nd Heidelberg Laureate Forum
September 21 - 26, 2014
The Role of Mathematics and Computer Sciences
in Developing Countries
PJ Narayanan
“Viewpoint from India”
September 23, 2014

2. IIITHyderabad
Viewpoint
from
India
P
J
Narayanan
Director,
IIIT,
Hyderabad
Ex-­‐President,
ACM
India
Council
September
23,
2014
hEp://www.iiit.ac.in
Role
and
Poten6al
of
Mathema6cs
and
Computer
Science
in
Developing
Na6ons/Emerging
Economies

3. IIITHyderabad
CompuJng:
Dream
Run
• Costs
falling
very
dramaJcally
– ComputaJon,
communicaJon,
storage
• $0.3
per
hour
of
voice
conversaJon
• Negligible
costs
per
FLOP,
MB
of
storage,
etc.
• Access
improved
significantly
– $30
smartphones/computers,
$10
feature
phones
– Close
to
universal
access
to
cellphones
• Dream
come
true
for
resource-­‐scarce
socieJes
– Economical
access
to
the
drivers
of
modernity
– How
can
we
exploit
it
effecJvely?
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
2

4. IIITHyderabad
Solving
the
Big
Problems
• Basic
ameniJes
at
high
quality
and
affordable
costs
– Food,
water,
healthcare,
educaJon,
livelihood
– CommunicaJon,
recreaJon,
entertainment
• Role
for
CompuJng/CommunicaJons
– Best
pracJces,
plans,
delivery,
opJmizaJon
– Small
Sensors,
Small
Devices,
Small
Budgets
– Big
Data,
Big
AnalyJcs,
Big
Impact
• Lowering
the
boEom
line
a
key
concern
– Doing
things
with
less
and
less
• Greatest
challenges
come
from
unstructured
socieJes
– Everything
is
more
complicated
in
such
environments
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
3

5. IIITHyderabad
Self
Driving
Car
Challenge
Similar
challenges
in
access
to
educaJon,
healthcare,
food
distribuJon,
etc.
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
4

6. IIITHyderabad
Who
will
solve?
How?
• These
ulJmately
have
to
be
solved
locally
– Advanced
naJons
have
liEle
real
interest
– Neither
do
they
truly
comprehend
the
problem
• Prepare
people
with
educaJon
in
CS/Math/Science
but
also
in
creaJve
applicaJons
– Livelihood
enabled
by
cheap
computaJon,
communicaJon,
and
storage
– Translate
na#ve
human
intelligence
to
livelihoods
• Hardest
problems
to
be
solved
for
the
future
– Well
prepared
researchers
are
central
to
the
scheme
– Educa6on
and
research
are
key
to
success
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
5

7. IIITHyderabad
India
and
IT/CS/Math
• Large
country
with
big
hunger
for
educaJon
– 400
million
below
15
years.
25
million
in
any
age
– Half
a
million
students
join
CS
educaJon
each
year
– MathemaJcs:
Numbers
may
be
good,
but
not
enthusiasm
• So_ware
jobs
to
a
large
number
of
people
– Over
3
million
IT
and
ITES
professionals
– High
paying
jobs
that
also
provide
a
lot
of
dignity
– Made
possible
by
educaJon
and
MathemaJcal
bend
of
mind
• InternaJonal
visibility
and
respect
– Snake
charmers
to
Python
programmers
• High
social
mobility
for
the
bright
students
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
6

8. IIITHyderabad
Knowledge
CreaJon
• Anomalous
situaJon
– Top-­‐end
of
academia
well
connected
globally
– Average
level
of
the
country
quite
poor
• Knowledge
creaJon
has
lagged
seriously
– About
500K
bachelors
CS
students
per
year
– Only
about
150
PhDs
per
year
from
top
30
insJtuJons
– Fewer
than
1000
Indians
join
PhD
anywhere
annually
• India
is
10th
or
beyond
in
research
output
– PublicaJons,
citaJons,
H-­‐index,
etc.
– Behind
Jny
countries
like
the
Netherlands,
Israel,
Canada
• IT
RevoluJon:
Solving
others’
problems
but
not
own!
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
7

9. IIITHyderabad
What’s
the
Problem?
• A
highly
u#litarian
view
of
educaJon
(including
CS/Math)
– Means
to
a
specific
end:
glamorous
and
lucraJve
jobs
– Made
worse
recently
by
abundant
so_ware
jobs
• UJlitarian
view
prevails
at
all
levels
– In
top
schools
where
the
brightest
study
– Largely
even
for
those
who
do
a
PhD
• Risk
largely
avoided/shunned
– Startups
and
jobs
in
them
not
too
aEracJve
– Research
career:
More
risk
than
a
big
company
job?
• UJlitarian
and
risk-­‐avoiding
agtude
prevalent
– Pursuit
of
beauty
difficult
and
poets
rare
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
8

10. IIITHyderabad
PromoJng
Research
• College/School
students
to
see
research
passion
– ImaginaJve
and
creaJve
teaching
methods
– InteracJon
with
research
rock-­‐stars
to
enthuse
• HLF/Lindau
events
to
be
held
locally
• ACM
India
has
been
doing
that
in
a
small
way
• Research-­‐led
educaJon
at
UG
levels
– Direct
experience
of
research
will
given
them
ideas
– Last
page
of
text
book
isn’t
the
last
word
on
the
subject
• Nurture
the
fountain
of
future
creators
– Youth
of
the
future
reside
in
countries
like
India
– It’s
the
whole
world’s
problem
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
9

11. IIITHyderabad
CollaboraJons
Needed
• CS/Math:
great
transformaJve
potenJal
to
poorer
naJons
– Greater
need
for
beEer
soluJons
• InnovaJve
soluJons
have
to
emerge
– How
do
we
teach
effecJvely
at
that
scale?
• Diversity
of
languages,
background,
aspiraJons
– How
do
we
address
big
societal
problems?
• Food,
livelihood,
healthcare,
educaJon,
…
– Enrich
our
areas
as
well
as
the
lives
of
ciJzens
• True
challenge:
Working
together
to
achieve
these
– Perhaps
the
only
way
to
address
the
issues
– Ideas
and
collabora6ons
invited
September
23,
2014
HLF
HotTopic
10

12. IIITHyderabad
Thank
You!

13. Join us on:
www.facebook.com/HeidelbergLaureateForum
www.twitter.com/HLForum
www.youtube.com/LaureateForum
www.flickr.com/groups/heidelberg-laureate-forum
www.scilogs.com/hlf
Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation
Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 33
69118 Heidelberg
Germany
info@heidelberg-laureate-forum.org
www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org