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The state of Massachusetts in the northeastern United States doesn’t have oil, gas, coal or corn – its main natural resource is brain power. Home to Harvard University and many other universities and colleges all within a 90 minute drive of the state capital Boston, it has the highest concentration of higher education in the country.

So when President Piñera, who studied at Harvard on a Fulbright scholarship in the 1970s, visited Boston in September, it’s clear why education was top of his agenda. During his visit, Piñera met with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and proposed an agreement focusing on areas of common interest including education.

On December 1, just over two months after Piñera’s visit, Governor Patrick came to Chile to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in education, energy and biotechnology. The following day he spoke at an AmCham breakfast held at Casa Piedra about how Massachusetts’ experience in these areas can benefit Chile and vice versa.

Patrick, who grew up on the rough south side of Chicago, knows the value of a good education. After winning a scholarship to attend a private school he went on to graduate from Harvard Law. Following a distinguished legal career that included being appointed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights by former President Bill Clinton, he rose to senior executive positions at Texaco and Coca-Cola. In November 2010, he was re-elected to a second term as the governor of Massachusetts.

 “Our strategy has been to invest in education, innovation and infrastructure,” he told members. “Education first and foremost because it’s our calling card… we have an unprecedented level of collaboration between the higher education sector and industry.”

But Massachusetts is also a leader in primary and secondary education with a new bill, approved in 2010, that aims to close a chronic achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Today schools are asked to look after things that whole communities used to look after, so this bill creates the flexibility to tailor education to meet individual needs,” said Patrick.

Education is the foundation of Massachusetts’ future growth, but innovation is also a priority to generate homegrown ideas for a handful of booming sectors including life sciences, clean energy, financial services and IT.

“Because we are making more of the things we invent, precision manufacturing is also coming back,” said Patrick. In the energy sector, for example, Massachusetts is producing wind turbines, solar panels and smart meters.

Recent smart-grid deployments have been delayed by privacy issues, but smart meters, which measure hourly household energy consumption, are an effective tool to manage demand, he said.

Finally, investment in infrastructure is important to create jobs and drive future economic growth. “Infrastructure is unglamorous but it has been neglected for a long time in Massachusetts, so we’re investing in roads, rail, bridges and broadband expansion.”

And the results so far are promising. Unemployment is falling and growth is more than twice the national average: “We are first in America in student achievement, healthcare coverage, energy efficiency and entrepreneurship,” he said.

Chile has much to learn from Massachusetts in these areas, but it’s not all a one-way street and there are also opportunities for trade and investment in goods and services, noted the governor.

In addition, many of the state’s small and medium-sized businesses lack international experience. “Chile is a great place to learn to engage internationally because it’s such a transparent and open market,” said Patrick.

Academics from Massachusetts’ universities could also come to do research in areas such as astronomy where Chile has a competitive advantage. “It’s not just about what we can take away, but also what we can contribute,” he concluded.

Areas of Cooperation

Education:

“We share many of the same challenges and there will be many opportunities for collaboration on the higher education front and in K-12.”

Dr. Robert Caret, president of the University of Massachusetts

Innovation:

“One of our goals after this visit will be see what we can do to assist researchers and companies in Chile to partner with us.”

Pamela Goldberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Biotechnology:

“One of things we are talking about with CONICYT is how to develop internship programs and exchanges that offer hands-on experience, particularly for students in engineering.”

Susan Windham-Bannister, CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

Clean Energy:

“Chile has great renewable energy resources similar to Massachusetts, which means there is a natural alliance between us.”

Patrick Cloney, CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

Julian Dowling is Editor of bUSiness CHILE