Plan to create 1,400 Steve Job 'clones'

The Chinese city of Ningbo is aiming to do the unthinkable: it has launched a new training programme that it claims is capable of producing 1,400 new Steve Jobs in the course of five years.
 
The Business Insider reports that the city is investing 50 million Yuan (RM24.6million) in the Ningbo Innovative Talent Training Programme.

Candidates will be chosen from government-affiliated companies and organizations in Zhejiang Province.

BI said the programme is searching for people “young and middle aged who are experts or specialise in emerging technologies, traditionally superior industries, or a field critical to economic and social development.”

The city's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau Director Jin Junjie said that from now through 2020, the programme will turn a group of intelligent people into an army of "innovative leaders."

Applications are already being accepted for the first class of 700 trainees, which will be divided into three tiers. Applications are due by October 31.

Ningbo estimates that it will have produced 2,800 Steve Jobs clones through the training programme by 2020.

Steve Jobs died last week at the age of 56. Beyond this odd "Steve Jobs factory" in China, his death has prompted a flood of tributes online, in print, and in person across the globe.

Hordes of people including world leaders, celebrities, and tech icons have spoken up to pay respects to jobs.

Although Jobs is gone, his influence will likely be felt for many years to come.

One report claims that he left behind four cycles worth of plans for products including iPads, iPhones, and iPods.

Additionally, there is a wealth of Steve Jobs material planned.

The biography, Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson, is due out October 24, and it’s rumored that Sony is trying to buy the rights to the book to adapt it into a biopic.
Source: pcmag.com

Published Oct 13 2011