Interview with Cristina Daniela Ene, winner of the Prize (USD 1000) within the Knowledge Economy Essay Contest. Cristina is studying Business Management within the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE) in Bucharest - Faculty of Economic Studies in English Language and she is currently in Spain whereby she has a 1 year study scholarship.

eRG: What does the perspective of knowledge economy in Romania mean for a youngster with economic education?

Cristina Ene: In the context of globalization, the cultural pluralism has become a reality and the 20th century has transformed the entire planet from a finite world of certainties into one of questioning and doubt. In this new environment, education (in general) and economic education (in particular) are considered key elements within the development process of each society transitioning to knowledge economy. Thus, each individual will play a crucial role in reaching this type of economy and we have come to grips with the fact that the simple assimilation and application of the latest technology is no longer enough, because man has to be ready to initiate, evaluate and dominate change. Therefore, I believe it is ever more necessary to cultivate human creativity, so that in our climate of rapid changes, individuals, communities and societies could adopt the new and transform the reality only through creative imagination and initiative. The main characteristic of knowledge economy is represented by the amplification of the importance of human capital. All around the world, top managers set as target the creation of a new business world which can guarantee the success and the future performance. Thus, in order to achieve this, they must acknowledge the idea that the new economy is shaped in a world where emphasis will be put on human resources, the leading part belonging to man himself. Another aspect, which I believe ought to be thought about and taken into consideration, is that human development, investment in people, mostly investment in education should be seen as a major contribution to sustainability. As it is recognized in every corner of this world, the Earth is one, but the world is not. We all depend on biosphere for sustaining our lives. Yet each community, each country strives for survival and prosperity with little regard for its impact on others. That's why the organizations top managers are running have to be learning organizations and by that I mean places where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together. In the end this is what matters the most and hopefully in the future, more and more companies will understand the fact that being a learning organization is part of a plan they have to follow in order to reach success on the long run.

eRG: In your opinion, what are the things to be done differently in what concerns the academic curricula in the economy and business administration area?

Cristina Ene: Education plays a key role in preserving the elements which define the identity and cultural diversity of national communities. Following the impact of globalization on education, it is necessary for institutions to conceive flexible curricula based on the principles of innovating learning and on implementing interactive educational technologies which can thus assure the mobility of the learning process viewed from the perspective of permanent education. The academic curricula in any field is extremely important, moreover now, when the knowledge revolution that we witness must not be seen as something to happen in the future, but in the immediate present. Thus, the only real power source from now on will be creating new knowledge. Certainly, in the business administration field this is essential and its growing importance must not be diminished. Adapting and adjusting the contents of the courses to the reality of this era, but bearing in mind the importance of the achievements in the past would allow students to understand much better certain concepts and later on, better integrate in the 21st century society. Moreover, I believe that the emphasis should not be put so much on "what" we learn, but on "how" and "why" by assuring the transfer from the priority of contents to that of abilities. No doubt the academic curricula play a crucial role within the logic of progress which can be controlled only through performance and reaching it is not such a difficult task.

eRG: Why do you think the World Bank promotes and supports this concept?

Cristina Ene: The knowledge based economy gave birth to a considerable interest in the advanced economies which are undergoing a quick process of development. Globalization itself represents a starting point for many challenges and controversies. At the same time, it offers real opportunities so that education in general and higher education in particular could play a key role in shaping the future. This is, I believe, one of the World Bank's main targets: looking at the future from a whole new perspective, one that involves world's greatest "asset": people. I think that this institution is aware, like many others ought to be, of the fact that the transition towards the knowledge based economy takes place under our own eyes and will determine significant changes in the individuals' life. Why does the World Bank promote the knowledge based economy? Well, one of the reasons could be the acknowledgement that we live in a world dominated by change. Moreover, the dynamism of the 21st century environment represents everywhere in the world a real challenge for the contemporary educational systems. According to me, supporting this concept, the World Bank tries in a way to let others see and understand that the secret of the future society lies in education. Not just any kind of education, but a permanent one, all throughout life which will enable one to acquire superior competencies: check, conceive, create and invent.

eRG: Can you name the top three benefits following the implementation of knowledge based economy in Romania?

Cristina Ene: Unlike the pre-industrial and industrial societies where knowledge was acquired especially through experience-"learning by doing"-,in the knowledge based economy, people must learn both before entering the labor market, in school and afterwards as well, adapting themselves to the more and more complex demands of the worldwide dynamics. The implementation of the knowledge based economy in Romania is a process which can have significant benefits. One of them is the innovating type of learning which can bring about renewal and reorganization of problems so that we could survive on the long run in times of change. Students, adults will have to be taught, in time, how to react in an environment of new, unpredictable conditions of partial or total uncertainty. Moreover, if in the professional adaptation there exists the tendency to see the future looking at the past, in the process of innovating learning, present must be rethought in terms of the future. Another very important consequence we might witness here in Romania due to becoming a knowledge based economy is represented by a change in mentality and attitude. If in the past the emphasis was put on the classical factors of production, in the context of the new economy, the qualitative aspects of the human factor must be rediscovered. The knowledge based economy gives birth to many other benefits which can be grouped together and they represent people's ability to understand and accept cultural differences, think critically, approach problems from a global perspective, change their life-style in order to protect the environment as much as possible. Romania is a country with great potential and at the same time with many problems to solve, but I believe in its power to overcome them, because as one very good friend of mine told me: "If during your life time you find a road without any obstacles, you will know for sure that it leads nowhere."

eRG: You are now studying in Spain, will you be coming back? If yes, are you interested in getting involved in promoting knowledge based economy, could you think of concrete ways of doing that?

Cristina Ene : Coming to Spain with a scholarship and being part of an international environment has made me understand very many things and perceive the reality from a different perspective. For me the outcome of this experience is incredible and what I consider as being most important is the fact that, when I come back to Romania, I will be able to share my thoughts and impressions with other students. I would be more than interested to promote the knowledge based economy in Romania, because as far as we, Romanians, are concerned, the vocation towards culture and education has represented a specific element of the Romanian cultural model, families and society as a whole, paying very much attention to the individual's socio-professional status. Therefore, the foundation already existing, the task, in time, would be easily accomplished. Finding the most adequate promotional techniques - publicity, expositions and working in teams are just two of the requisites needed in order to make this concept known. Second of all, we would also need the support of public institutions and national business environment, which could help us in our attempts to make the knowledge based economy a reality. What I would also like to underline is the fact that companies here in Romania have to know that the reward for investing in intellectual capital goods is similar to the return on investment in another form of knowledge capital, research and development (R&D). Here, I'd like to mention the study made by Columbia University professor Frank Lichtenberg who measured the return on investment for spending on new plant and equipment-that is physical capital-versus the return on R&D spending. He found that a dollar spent on R&D returned eight times more than a dollar spent on new machinery. A new machine helps you do old work better; it delivers incremental improvement. R&D leads to innovation-whole new products and services that presumably are of a higher value than the ones they replace. I'd also want to point out the fact that the global informational environment generates not only hopes, but fears as well which give birth to ample international debate. The ones most affected are the children and the young people, I mean those who have the greatest creative capacity and who contribute to cultural diversity and development as well. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to make a selection among the information they receive and the ones who play the most important part are the parents. Here, in Romania, an aspect worth taking into consideration, as part of implementing the knowledge economy, but looking at it from a different angle, would be providing parents with the necessary information regarding media so that they could take adequate decisions concerning its type of content to be watched in their homes. We all must know that we have an obligation towards these future generations. More than that, the global civilization, besides the successful technologies that it uses, remains a human civilization. Thus, the individual with his stock of human, cultural and intellectual capital remains the central element of the future, durable development in the centre of which there is the human development. Investing in people, in their education and doing that with hope and responsibility for the future, this could be a safe road towards a new social, cultural and economic development model in the context of the knowledge based economy.