Ecuador's Digital Agenda: Laying the Foundations for a Knowledge Economy

Nate Singham @ Truthout - In early April, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa visited the United States and met with faculty and students from various universities including Harvard, Yale and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to René Ramírez, Ecuador's minister of higher education, technology, and scientific innovation, one of the goals of the trip was to strengthen institutional ties between the United States and Ecuadorian universities.  Since becoming elected president, Rafael Correa has made higher education (particularly in the field of technology) a key aspect of domestic policy. In 2013, 1.83 percent of public spending as a percentage of total GDP went toward higher education (one of the highest in all of South America).  Read more.