The outsourcing debate has moved beyond a discussion of manufacturing or routine service jobs to confronting challenges in a perceived area of core competency for the United States: science and technology. China, India, and others are portrayed as threats, churning out ever-greater number of graduates who stand prepared to seize the mantle of innovation from American hands. Typical articles have stated that in 2004 the United States graduated roughly 70,000 undergraduate engineers, while China graduated 600,000 and India 350,000. Yet are these numbers accurate? What do they say about the future of American innovation? How should the United States respond, and who are the key actors in driving that response?

The CGGC's Engineering Outsourcing project works with questions like these to address the growing debate over outsourcing and high technology jobs. The project grew out of a groundbreaking report, developed by a team of faculty and students led by the CGGC's Dr. Gary Gereffi and the Pratt School of Engineering's Vivek Wadhwa, with consulting assistance from Katzenbach Partners LLC. Their initial report, published in December 2005, concluded that purely quantitative comparisons of engineering graduates are inappropriate; quality must also be taken into account. In addition, such numbers must be put into demographic context. When evaluated on a level playing field, the United States is producing a competitive number of engineers, computer scientists and information technology specialists. The challenge for the United States over the next decade will be to retain its role as a global pacesetter in the education of engineering and scientific talent and thereby to sustain its legacy as a preeminent technological innovator.