Colleges Must Plug ‘Brain Drain’

* The Orange County Voices column by James Doti and Robert Elliot on Oct. 4, raising the specter of biomedical device “brain drain” from Orange County, is timely because there are already embryonic signs of this happening. The academic and business sectors should address the problems head-on.

The local colleges and universities must play key roles. It is these institutions that train many students who are the work force for these companies. They can provide much of the new innovative technologies that either are licensed to companies or serve as the basis for start-up companies. They can provide cost-effective resources--libraries, conference centers, faculty consulting services, technical facilities--that meet critical corporate needs.

The problem with the rosy scenario painted above is that the academic sector needs to be doing a better job in all three areas.

The academic institutions need to find out what kinds of students the companies need and what kinds of continuing or graduate programs will enhance their work force.

At UC Irvine, for example, there are plans to develop a biomedical engineering program designed to train undergraduates and graduates for careers in the biomedical device industry, a business strength of Orange County.

This program is being developed with the close input and participation of the local biomedical industry. Similar efforts should he considered by the other Orange County colleges and universities, not only in engineering, but also in business management, health care, economics, and computer and information science, just to name a few.

MICHAEL W. BERNS

President and CEO, Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic

UC Irvine