When you are in Stanford, the fact that companies such as Yahoo, Google and Cisco, and HP before them, have emerged from the Silicon Valley attracts your attention. The prototype of acoustic oscillator designed by Hewlett Packard as their MSc project that is exhibited in the entrance corridor of faculty of electrical engineering and the first computer that was involved in the creation of Google as a student project in the faculty of computer sciences make you think. As a guest researcher coming to Stanford, I sought the secrets of Silicon Valley. However, I found the secret of Stanford in two things before that; first, a very dynamic education system: there are no constraints to any of the fields, and you can participate in any discipline. In addition, the programs are extremely interdisciplinary, meaning that it does not matter if you study electronics, mathematics, medicine, or computer, and everyone can learn different topics. The dynamism of Stanford University has affected Silicon Valley. I shared my curiosities in understanding the secrets of Silicon Valley with Dr. Ghasemzadeh, who visited the university and followed this topic. This idea was supported by Ali Birang, who was an intelligent student during his education and thought beyond the codified forms, and now follows up these activities as a manager in the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs. We received help from two experienced Iranian lawyers to accurately understand the legal and financial affairs of the ecosystem of Silicon Valley. Valuable information was provided by Robert Babaei, a patent registration lawyer, and Arman Pahlavan, a lawyer of legal affairs and company registration. These individuals generously shared their experiences with us. Another measure taken in this study was the detailed and accurate compilation of a corporate financial and legal model, which can be emphasized thoroughly and with technical details. In this context, we are faced with more ambiguities:
· How can our educational system be transformed from a rigid and inflexible system into a dynamic and creative system so that innovation and problem solving on the global scale become the ideals of all young people? · What economic, legal, and financial infrastructures are required to create business space for innovative and knowledge-based activities? · How can we create spaces as growth centers across the country in a way that they are not restricted by bureaucracy and rents and are able to actually help the innovation and creativity of the youth? · How can we benefit from the experiences of successful Iranian in the field of entrepreneurship to develop technology in the country and help those who move to other parts of the world as elites to pay attention to entrepreneurship via creative works?
Yahya Tabesh
Stanford, California
March 2015