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Maui News: Here’s How the MaiTai Kitesurfing Camp Could Help Turn Maui Into The Next Silicon Valley

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"In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice, they're different"

Now, fresh on Maui after 20 years in Silicon Valley, I'd like to raise a caution about the pursuit of the past. I'd hope, and want to help, us find our own way, a new way. Some of the dominant personality types I encountered at every Silicon Valley company I worked at are an anathema to the aloha spirit.

We're about the most remote islands on the planet. It's very expensive to live here. It's expensive to get here. It's expensive and slow to get things to or from here (unless they're small and fit in cheap air freight).

Enlightened self-interest is an energy source of Silicon Valley. Bright, innovative people can bring about sustaining economic rewards. We have boundless energy (the pleasures of MECO aside), experienced and insightful people. Silicon Valley didn't happen by a plan, but as a result of a fecund environment in which different people did what they did best in the way they wanted to do it. A shared space (and Y Combinator is a useful example) would afford people the opportunity to do what they want, in pursuit of their goals, draw in others to their vision, and move forward.

It will follow its own path, but we can all be on it.
Very well put...

Jamie Dinkelacker said:
"In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice, they're different"

Now, fresh on Maui after 20 years in Silicon Valley, I'd like to raise a caution about the pursuit of the past. I'd hope, and want to help, us find our own way, a new way. Some of the dominant personality types I encountered at every Silicon Valley company I worked at are an anathema to the aloha spirit.

We're about the most remote islands on the planet. It's very expensive to live here. It's expensive to get here. It's expensive and slow to get things to or from here (unless they're small and fit in cheap air freight).

Enlightened self-interest is an energy source of Silicon Valley. Bright, innovative people can bring about sustaining economic rewards. We have boundless energy (the pleasures of MECO aside), experienced and insightful people. Silicon Valley didn't happen by a plan, but as a result of a fecund environment in which different people did what they did best in the way they wanted to do it. A shared space (and Y Combinator is a useful example) would afford people the opportunity to do what they want, in pursuit of their goals, draw in others to their vision, and move forward.

It will follow its own path, but we can all be on it.
Just a brief note -- I just joined UH Maui College as head of institutional advancement, reporting to the Chancellor.  I have a combination of Maui (grandparents arrived in 1907, father graduated from Maui High in the '30s, other uncles, aunts, cousins), Hawaii (grew up in Kalihi, Farrington graduate, also worked in real estate, like Castle & Cooke), Japan/Asia (lived in Japan for nearly half my life, with much operations experience in Greater China, India, SE Asia), high tech (Digital Equipment Corp., AOL, Nuance, Google), start-up (Tegic Communications, acquired by AOL), and academia (M.I.T.) -- a long story, but I can say that I can discuss Hawaii public schools or software engineering or SNS or my Maui memories of the early 1960s or warehouse leasing in Mapunapuna with some "real-life" experience (I also blog for Forbes).  I extend an invitation for a Maui Techies visit to UH MC this fall, like perhaps early October, and we can have a tour and lunch together -- perhaps if there are topics of interest, I can put together a presentation by the right people at UH MC, like IT or our new BA programs (applied business and IT; sustainable science; electronics technology).  There are many great projects and programs happening at UH MC, great students and faculty -- now with 4,525 enrolled -- the biggest Neighbor Island college.  Connecting to a passionate group like Maui Techies is a great start.

Ray,

Sounds great thanks for the invitation, and update as to what's happening at UH MC!

Ray - I'd certainly be interested in that too.


Jerry - careful grouping public and private primary/secondary education together in Hawaii.  Public schools do test quite poorly, but private schools in the state test quite well.  I'm not saying I'm OK with that, just stating facts...

Ray - welcome to the group! 

Maybe you can host a Maui Techies meetup with some dining on campus!

Its about time we had another one, and Flatbread just does not suit us well.

Love to chat about UH, educating programmers/engineers, software engineering, etc.

Jon..

  Yeah some schools do pretty well on testing.  Not sure they create successful maui biz people but they test well and get into mainland schools.

We need to create reasons for people to stay here... and employment so they can.

Jon Brown said:

Ray - I'd certainly be interested in that too.


Jerry - careful grouping public and private primary/secondary education together in Hawaii.  Public schools do test quite poorly, but private schools in the state test quite well.  I'm not saying I'm OK with that, just stating facts...

I'd like to add my voice to Ray's. The idea of a coworking space came up this summer at the "Share Your Mano'a" High Tech meeting we held at UHMC, and it has been a continuing topic of conversation on campus in the Chancellor's Office since then. Right now, space on campus is impacted during the school year, but we have much unused space during summers, and are looking for activities that would make sense to offer/host during that time. We also were intrigued by the idea of a "Fab-Lab," but that requires appropriate space which would need to be designed for those activities and available year round. We may have possibilities, but those will take some time (and money) to develop--and we're working on that too. We do have great facilities for connecting to other campuses/mainland/other countries (and we're upgrading our television classrooms to high definition capabilities). Finally, if the Tech Hui group would like a regular place to meet, we could start there. We just need to find a way to connect it to our educational activities (which shouldn't be hard if we involve regular faculty). Send me your request/ideas, and I'll see what I can do (swyche@hawaii.edu).

A co-working space would be good.  Note there is a post in the regular Maui Techies forum from a visitor looking for such a place.  Alas many possible places for this and/or FabLab sit unused as the landlords would rather have it sit vacant than rent at low (real market) rates.  If you dont owe $ on building and taxes are low, why spend effort & $ to lease? 

 

As for FabLab, perhaps UH could get behind the maker space push over at Pu'unene.  We're willing to do the work if we can get the space.  Some UH/DoE coverage for liability, and professional introductions would also go a LONG way.

 

Maybe there is space there for some co-working too?  Wont be fancy but it would be a space.

Here's a conference that might be of interest to folks here:

 

CFPs: International Conference in Hong Kong

Topics

We are seeking submissions that present original and unpublished contributions addressing various aspects of e-Commerce, e-Administration, e-Society, e-Education, and e-Technology, including empirical studies, application, case studies, reports on new ideas or emerging trends, fundamental theories, practical methodologies, literature surveys, and meta analysis.

 

Submission Deadline

The submissions should be prepared in all-in-one PDF or Word files (not exceeding 20 pages, including figures, tables, and references) and submitted via the following web system before October 15, 2011:

 

====================================================

The conference website:  http://www.e-case.org/2012/ 

====================================================

 

Awards and Publication Opportunities

Competitive papers would be recommended for fast-track reviews to the International Journal of Business and Information and International Journal of Cyber Society and Education that agree to publish special issues from the conference collections. Of the competitive papers, around 8-10 percents will be awarded as Distinguished Papers. Among Distinguished Papers, top three will be awarded Best Papers with a medal and cash prize of US$ 500.

 

Please pass this information to your colleagues and academic communities who may be interested in this conference.

 

Kind Regards,

 

The Secretariat of e-CASE & e-Tech 2012

Email: eCASE.eTech.IC@gmail.com

ISSN: 2074-5710

 

[Cross-posted to Maui Co-Working Group]

 

I'm very interested in a co-working space on Maui. I'm ready to sign up for two days a week, and might even sign up for one slot full time so that I had flexibility to come in throughout the week. I'll also donate an XBOX 360 and a bunch of multiplayer games to the break room. 

I like the positive attitude of the group: you all take interest and pride in UH Maui College -- the institution that has worked with the Maui community for decades, and has listened to Mauian voices for our beautiful island's future.

We will explore ways to update you – as each of you is a Maui Ambassador -- on a regular basis on UH MC highlights -- and you can Tweet, Facebook, Email, blog, talk/phone to all your friends in Hawaii, Mainland, and globally.

(Some of you may be unaware that UH MC now has student dorms, across the street – a residential base for attendees for a wide range of future summer workshops, training, seminars, conferences).

There are many exciting projects that can be done by an "island" college such as UH MC.

For example, recently UH Maui College was in the news to lead a $300,000 U.S. Dept. of Energy feasibility study on EV adoption that has the potential to transform Maui Island to becoming the EV showcase for the world -- with the alignment of the County government, Rent-A-Car firms, hotels, shopping centers, major land-owners, and tourist attractions: already >30 partners have signed up for this study, and the goal is a critical mass of EVs and re-charging stations all over Maui (what if Rent-a-Car firms sold their used EV cars to local Mauians, adding daily to the EV population?).  At UH MC are plans for a "smart grid" and a car lot with solar panel electric production for the EV chargers -- so no fossil fuels are used for the electricity re-charging for the EVs -- a "total" "green" eco-system.  For more background:

 

http://mauinow.com/2011/09/12/doe-awards-300000-for-electric-vehicl...

 

More recent highlights/UH MC Facts – list all or any in all conversations that you have with people outside Maui:

 

-      UHMC’s 2011 fall semester had 4,533 students enrolled, nearly 90 more students than last year – the highest enrollment of any Neighbor Island College.

-      New $26M Science Building to be open in Fall 2012 for students to embark on new science-based careers

-      In addition to technical and associate degrees, three four-year accredited degree programs have been launched: Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Science Management, Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Business and Information Technology, and Bachelor of Applied Science in Electronics Technology.  These baccalaureate degree programs were developed through community inputs and expert advisers.

-      A new Hawaiian music program, the Institute of Hawaiian Music, was launched to train young artists.  (Grammy Award winner George Kahumoku is director)

-      New Farmer’s Institute for sustainable agriculture studies.

-      The Kaiao Student Success Center, a new Hawaiian Studies center, built with support from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

-      First Neighbor Island college with Voice over IP (VOIP) telecommunications.

-      17 New Faculty hired.

-      A new $20 million grant was awarded to the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College as part of the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) project.  The grant funds will be used to train Native Hawaiians on Maui in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.  A portion of the funding will go directly to Native Hawaiian students in the form of performance-based financial support and paid internships.

 

And Maui College hosting international groups:

  • In August six interns from Shanghai Normal University arrived on Maui to enroll in UHMC’s international Hospitality and Tourism internship program.  The interns are being housed and are receiving their training at the Westin Maui Resort and Spa and the Makena Beach Golf & Resort.  UHMC is the first neighbor island UH campus to host a J-1 visa student intern program, which is intended to provide opportunities for foreign nationals to study in the U.S., learn about American culture and business, and obtain practical experience in their chosen occupational field. 
  • On September 21 – 22 UHMC Hospitality and Tourism faculty hosted a visiting delegation from the Shanghai Institute for Tourism.  The visit is a prelude to possible future collaborative programs.

Many more updates are coming!  Buy your UH MC T-shirt at the UH MC Bookstore, too -- take pride in Maui County's leading institution of higher education!

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