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THE STUDENTS
2MM shows the priorities and pressures of six students ?two each from the United States, India and China. Their personal stories show how these three countries educate their youth and lay the foundations for future economic growth.
Brittany Brechbuhl, 17, Carmel, Indiana.
Brittany is in the top three percent of her graduating class and dreams of becoming a doctor. She wants to balance a professional life with a family once she finishes her studies.
Neil Ahrendt, 18, Carmel, Indiana.
Neil is senior class president and a National Merit semifinalist. He is unsure of what he wants to be when he grows up, but is confident he will find success.
Apoorva Uppala, 17, Bangalore, India.
Apoorva aims to become an engineer which she says is the safest profession in India. She spends her Saturdays in tutoring sessions with many of her friends as she prepares for admission exams.
Rohit Sridharan, 17, Bangalore, India.
Rohit wants to gain acceptance to one of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology, the top engineering schools in the country. He spends nearly all his time preparing for the IIT entrance exam.
Hu Xiaoyuan, 17, Shanghai, China.
Xiaoyuan is one of her school’s most well-rounded students. She plays violin and hopes to study biology at a top university. She has applied for early admission at Yale University.
Jin Ruizhang, 17, Shanghai, China.
Ruizhang is the top math student at his school and competes in international math tournaments. He dreams of studying in the advanced math program at Peking University when he graduates from high school.
THE EXPERTS
2MM covers a wide range of viewpoints from experts on the state of global secondary education and its impact on international competitiveness.
Robert Reich
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Professor at U.C. Berkeley. Reich regularly comments on education and economics for the nationally broadcast daily radio program, Marketplace. He speaks often of the need to prepare students for the global knowledge economy.
Shirley Ann Jackson
Physicist, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, former Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jackson received the National Science Board’s prestigious Vannevar Bush Award in 2007, for a lifetime of achievements in scientific research and education. Jackson has called the math-science gap in the U.S. “The Quiet Crisis.?/p>
Bart Gordon, (D-TN)
Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology. Gordon, a 12-term congressman introduced legislation to implement key recommendations for scientific research and education from the National Academy of Sciences report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm.
Vivek Paul
former Vice Chairman and CEO of WiPro technologies of India. Paul came to the U.S. from India as an M.B.A. student in 1980. He was one of Thomas L. Friedman’s main guides as Friedman framed the thesis for The World is Flat.
Tim Draper
Founder and Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson venture capital firm. Draper has served on the California State Board of Education and chairs BizWorld, a 501c3 organization that teaches entrepreneurship and business to children.
Vivien Stewart
International Education Specialist, the Asia Society. Stewart leads educational exchanges to share expertise between American and Asian educators on reforms to meet the demands of the global economy. She was the primary author of, Math and Science Education In a Global Age: What the U.S. Can Learn from China.
Richard Freeman
Economist, Harvard University, and Director of the Labor Studies Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Freeman, the author or editor of over 35 books, writes regularly on a wide range of issues including the science and engineering job market, Chinese labor markets, and youth labor market problems.
Vivek Wadhwa
Executive-in-Residence, Duke University, Master of Engineering Management program. Prior to coming to Duke, Wadhwa launched two software companies. His reports ?Where The Engineers Are, and Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog, and a Reverse Brain-Drain: America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs ?focus on the impact of globalization on the engineering profession.