Why is it that more schools are promoting students to come up with innovative business models focused on technology, or social media related games and applications? There are far too many brilliant minds out there in the Silicon Valley, specifically in the tech industry, and it’s understandable why they would choose the tech world over the life sciences or medical device industry-basically, you can get rich faster.

There is a trend we have been seeing in the world today. More and more people are making thousands and millions of dollars in a short amount of time, and at a very young age. At 23 years old, Mark Zuckerberg the CEO of Facebook is already a millionaire, and in some aspects has created a site that’s contributed to the social good of the world. Obviously, there are bigger problems in this world today, that can endanger the human race if we don’t act now. For one, we’re at risk for global warming, which is already threatening the existence of other animals. Millions of people are still suffering and losing their lives from cancer, HIV and AIDS, heart disease, diabetes, and the list just goes on and on. The road to becoming a doctor or medical research scientist takes many years of dedication and so much investment of your time and finances. Which brings up the question, would someone rather take the long journey to receive greater rewards by helping man-kind and getting a decent salary in return, or can we not overcome our human instincts of instant gratification by getting rich quick? In America, the cost of achieving a higher education comes with a big price tag-tuition, books, rent for housing, etc. If you were to go to school outside of the U.S., that’s a different story since the government provides financial assistance to students.

How can we encourage students to put in more human capital investent, to help solve the Grand Challenges in the world today? In my opinion, if students in the U.S. didn’t have to worry about paying for school, I think there would be a greater commitment on their part to stay in school to geth their PhD or MD.

I had a colleague tell me about her ex-boyfriend’s educational path, who had come from Switzerland. When it came time for him to go to college, he decided to attend school in the U.S. He went to Stanford University for undergraduate degree, then Harvard for Business School. He was able to attend both very prestigious and expensive schools because the Swiss government paid for his education. Many college graduates in America are still paying off debt, either from their undergraduate education, so why would they want to go back to school to get a masters or doctorate, if they’re just going to put themself deeper in debt?