The Technology Association of Iowa recently hosted its latest TechBrew event at West End Salvage with guest Iowa Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer.
The event was moderated by Tyler Wyngarden, vice president of strategic partnerships.
Cournoyer has experience in the technology sector and artificial intelligence, according to her bio. She worked as a senior consultant in the Technology Division at Andersen Consulting, the Fortune 500 firm that later became Accenture. After having her first child, she left the corporate world to become an entrepreneur, starting a business as an independent website designer and developer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in computer science from the University of Texas.
Here are five takeaways from the conversation.
State government needs people with knowledge of technology
“More and more technology policy is coming in front of us. It really is important to have people that have some knowledge of that. We’ve got farmers who can pick up the agricultural. We’ve got lawyers that can talk about the judiciary and those types of policies … We’ve got a few retired superintendents that can talk about education, former school board members, but really don’t have a lot of expertise in the technology sector. So I think the more people that we can get in there with just [a] diversity of background and thought and experience, the better the policies are.”
There are many opportunities for emerging technologies and getting K-12 AI standards into classrooms.
“We’re not going to ban [AI] from K-12 schools. They’re going to use it,” she said. “We want them to be able to leverage it, but we need to teach them how to use it responsibly, ethically and not replace their ability to be a critical thinker. And that also involves … professional development for our educators, who are constantly having to evolve as the technology in their classrooms evolve.”
“You can earn a certificate in AI now at Iowa and Iowa State, and we want to make sure that what we’re doing at the K-12 level aligns with what they’re doing at the collegiate level, so that we’re all swimming in the right direction, and we’re complementing each other and not competing [with] each other.”
(Read more: Pi515 report calls for funding for AI education in K-12 schools)
Access to internet, the cloud and quantum computing allows for innovation anywhere
“Why not enjoy the cost of living and the quality of life that we have here in Iowa and be able to do that innovation here?”
Cournoyer said “it’s been a real drag with the BEAD [Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program] funding, with all those strings attached with the federal funding, and we’re working very closely with the current administration to be able to unleash that, because there are just millions and millions of dollars, and we had a state program to expand broadband, and all of our providers were saying that was just such a great program, because they could actually go out and implement what they needed to.”
Cournoyer said it makes sense to have an “all of the above approach” when it comes to internet access.
“Sometimes it’s going to make sense to lay fiber,” she said. “Sometimes cellular makes sense – a tower in the middle of town. But sometimes, we need to leverage that satellite technology, and it gives customers a choice.”
(Read more: Advocates decry changes to federal internet expansion program)
Empower Rural Iowa’s role in rural innovation
The Empower Rural Iowa task force started out as an executive order by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds several years ago, Cournoyer said, and now it “serves as a think tank,” she said.
“We’ve got a task force of about 25 economic developers that are absolute rock stars from all across the state. They’re really focused on rural Iowa. And, we will pilot a program with grant funding. And if somebody has a big idea on innovation that we can implement in rural Iowa, we will put money towards it. We’ll put resources to help you implement it, and then we’ll go out there and try it.”
For example, she said, the task force has helped with succession planning and grocery stores updating their websites so they can take online orders and deliver.
“If we’re talking about innovation in rural Iowa, and innovation can be kind of a scary word to people, but it is remarkable what is going on out in rural Iowa. We have so many towns that are absolutely thriving. They have people that are not afraid to take risks, and technology is a big part of that.”
(Read more: ‘Silver tsunami’ of upcoming small business retirements has advocates paying attention to succession planning)
Evolving the education system to educate students for jobs that don’t exist today
Iowa is evolving its education system, Cournoyer said.
“We’ve got school choice in Iowa. We’ve got some charter schools that are focused solely on trades. We’ve got charter schools that are solely focused on STEM, so I think having those options for kids so that they can think earlier about what they want to do when they grow up and what kind of career path they want to explore,” she said.
She said it’s a priority of the governor “to make sure every student has a meaningful, hands-on workplace learning experience.”
She pointed to “earn while you learn” opportunities, so students understand what career paths look like.
“We are creating lifelong learners,” she said. “High school graduation is certainly not the finish line. … We are really focused on the fact that every student will go on to do some kind of post-secondary training or education beyond high school. We are educating kids right now for jobs that don’t exist today, and making sure that we continue to evolve in the education system with all those opportunities is so important.”
She urged the technology and business community to be involved in the process.
“We’re trying at the same level to create those opportunities where business education is aligned, and we’re continuing to pivot and be agile, and how we deliver that education to prepare your workforce,” she said.