PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

Another candidate for the best PM we never had? See for yourselves ...this is pure parliamentary genius at work.

I recently has the honour of appearing before the Assembly's Enterprise and Learning Committee, alongside the Vice Chancellor of Cardiff University, as part of its review into the impact of Higher Education. The paper I wrote on enterprise education for the event can be found here . The transcript of the committee session can be found here .

As you read this, two and a half thousand business leaders and politicians from 88 countries will have finished a week of discussions at the annual World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland. First conceived thirty seven years ago as a meeting for European industrial associations, it has become the main global event at which the powerful, the bright and the popular meet every year to discuss the challenges facing the world economy. Tony Blair, Bono, Henry Kissinger and even Barbara Streisand are amongst the luminaries rubbing shoulders with the chief executives of the most innovative businesses from five continents, including Bill Gates (above) and Richard Branson. In terms of Welsh representation at this august gathering, it is not surprising to see Sony’s Barry-born chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer , mixing it with the other leaders of world business. However, it is also fantastic to see the founder of one of Wales’ most exciting new companies at this event. Mark Crozier, mana...

Excellent article yesterday in the Western Mail by Phil Cooper, Chief Executive of Venture Wales. In an incisive piece of analysis, Phil said that "there is a duty on all of us involved in trying to improve the economic performance of Wales to think seriously about this matter and consider carefully the best way forward. There is no point in trying to pretend there isn’t a problem when the statistics prove otherwise " . Other key points made in the article include: Serious reservations about the Assembly Government’s recent strategy of trying to pick winners. Rather than focusing on companies that are already successful, it would surely make sense to concentrate on helping start-ups. One of the problems with backing already successful companies is that most of them are in the parts of Wales that have done relatively well economically. That perpetuates a Cardiff-centric, M4 corridor emphasis, when new small businesses should be stimulated in places like the Valleys. It is perv...

Having been away in the USA during the last few days, it was a shock to find out that, of all people, Peter Hain had quoted yours truly in defence of his chaotic deputy leadership campaign at last week’s Welsh questions in the House of Commons. Responding to a question from his shadow Cheryl Gillan, he made the following remark. “She should applaud the statement that, 'the business sector in Wales seems to be going from strength to strength.' It was made by Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, the director of the national entrepreneurship observatory for Wales and Conservative candidate for Clwyd West in last year’s Assembly elections”. Unfortunately for Mr Hain, that statement reflects the shambolic nature of his entire deputy leadership campaign. First of all, I was the candidate for the constituency of Aberconwy not Clwyd West and perhaps the researcher who collected this information was the same person responsible for reporting the donations to the Electoral Commission! If a senior...

I have just arrived back from the USA where I attended the annual meeting of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project in which Wales has participated since 2000. The event brought together researchers from all over the world to examine entrepreneurial activity and its effect on economic activity. As it is ten years since the GEM project was established, it was an interesting meeting to reflect on what has been achieved to date and our agenda for the next decade. As discussed on Friday, the meeting was held at Babson College (above), which is recognised as the leading entrepreneurship centre in the World. As a small private college of less than 3,500 students wholly dedicated to enterprise, its mission is “to educate men and women to be entrepreneurial leaders in a rapidly changing world, and prepare them to identify opportunities and initiate actions that result in genuine accomplishment”. For example, its flagship course - Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship - was recen...

I am currently sitting in Babson College in the USA at the launch of the ninth annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2007 Global Report. GEM is an annual assessment of the national level of entrepreneurial activity and explores the role of entrepreneurship in national economic growth and the characteristics associated with new business creation. Over 150,000 individuals were interviewed across 42 countries as part of the research project. In Wales, the GEM study is undertaken by the National Entrepreneurship Observatory , a joint project between Cardiff University and the University of Glamorgan with a separate annual report produced for the rate of entrepreneurial activity in North Wales. In 2007, the GEM study shows that the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity are to be found amongst middle and low-income countries in Latin America and Asia. For example, nearly half of the adult population in Thailand were involved in some sort of entrepreneurial activity with high rate...

Last Thursday, the UK Government gave its backing for a new nuclear power building programme , reigniting the debate on the safety of this power source despite its potential for solving the UK’s growing energy problems. For those supporting nuclear power, it is a cheap and safe form of energy that does not produce global warming in the same way that gas and coal power stations do. Whilst the spectre of Chernobyl is continuously raised by nuclear objectors, it is easy to forget that France, with the majority of its nuclear power stations within a stone’s throw of the south coast of England, has generated the majority of its power from this source for decades without one single accident. A strong case can be made that the construction of nuclear power stations is strategically vital in reducing the UK’s growing dependence on imported energy. With oil being largely generated in the Middle East - one of the most politically unstable regions in the world - and the majority of gas coming fr...

Despite an economic slowdown, there will be hundreds of millions of consumers who will be looking to spend money in 2008, wanting something faster, cooler and smaller (or bigger) than their fellow consumers. For businesses, the key question is where will the majority of these consumers be based? Well, if we believe the doomsayer economists analysing the US and European economies, it is unlikely that there will be a consumer boom in the West over the next twelve months. However, this does not necessarily mean that there will be any slowdown in consumer growth elsewhere, and with the expansion of the middle classes in the so called BRIC countries, namely Brazil Russia, India and China, there is certainly scope for businesses to trade successfully in a number of emerging markets. As these countries get richer, they will follow the pattern of the developed world, with the majority of the wealth being concentrated in a small number of high net worth individuals i.e. those with net assets of...

If, as the old saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity, then Richard Brunstrom’s latest missive stating that the illegal drug ecstasy is safer than aspirin has certainly raised the profile of the Chief Constable of North Wales, not only in national newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Times, but across the World. There are clearly differing views regarding the Chief Constable’s public profile, but in the debate over the content of his recent comments, we seem to have overlooked one simple thing. He may have valid opinions on the dangers of alcohol and tobacco and the legalisation of drugs but with respect to his role as Chief Constable, many would suggest that his job is not to be a politician but to manage the North Wales police force efficiently and effectively. As far as his job as Chief Constable is concerned, this is not a philosophical issue, no matter how much he likes to make it so. It is a matter of applying the law as it currently stands and, more importantl...

Predictions in science and technology are always fraught with the potential for extreme embarrassment. Never forget the case of Tom Watson, chairman of IBM, who said, in 1943, that there was a world market for “maybe five computers”, or the genius at Western Union who wrote a memo stating that “this ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us”. You can also sympathise with the engineer from IBM’s Advanced Computing Systems Division who, in 1968, asked, referring to the microchip, “But what is it good for?” Even Bill Gates allegedly stated, in 1981, that he believed that 640K of computer memory “ought to be enough for anybody”. While predictions can be hazardous, examining the emerging trends in different disciplines can give businesses and economies a vital commercial edge for the future. Clearly, the main trend affecting society and business is that of environmentalism and it is clear the gree...

At the end of an interesting year in North Wales, who can say what will happen during the next twelve months? Certainly, there is not one political pundit that I know of who, twelve months ago, would have predicted an Assembly coalition partnership between two previously implacable electoral enemies. It is also easy to forget, during this ‘honeymoon period’ given to the new Assembly Government by the media, that the real work remains to be done across Wales. Political anoraks are overjoyed at the creation of a new commission to look at extending new powers for Wales, but for many ordinary voters, it is the way that the Assembly uses its current powers to support hospitals, jobs and local services which is of paramount importance. We have still to see any real decisions made over the future of the health service in North Wales, despite this issue dominating the Assembly election campaign. With a far lower financial settlement from Westminster, it will be difficult to retain the local se...

With the holiday festivities over, time to look forward to the summer sun. On cue, the Boss has released a fabulous new single from his album 'Magic' which says it all. Can't wait to see him live again at the Millennium Stadium later this year.