For centuries, the trade winds, or Trades, have been the
means by which the bounty of the East has enriched the West. These riches were often tangible items such
as precious metals, textiles, works of art and gemstones. The most enduring itinerant wealth, however,
has been ideas that fundamentally altered Western concepts of technology, law,
government and education. The westward
migration of knowledge continues today, and may hold the key to economic
innovation and a safer, more secure cyberspace.
There’s a long history of progressive ideas emanating from
the East. For example, western ideas of
governance by a professional civil service are Chinese in origin. The concept of a civil service meritocracy
originated in China in 207 BCE. Prior to
that, official appointments were based on aristocratic recommendations and the
majority of bureaucrats were titled peers.
As the empire grew and nepotism became rampant, the system broke down
and government became increasingly inefficient and ineffective.
The solution was the “Imperial Examination,” a sweeping testing
system designed to select the best and brightest candidates for civil service. Initiated in the Han dynasty, this system of
examination and appointment became the primary path to state employment during
the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 CE), and remained so until 1905.
The examination curriculum ultimately covered five areas of
study: military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture and
geography, and the Confucian classics. There
were five testing levels, each increasing in scope and difficulty. This hierarchy was intended to match candidates
to levels of responsibility associated with prefecture, provincial, national
and court-level appointments respectively.
This examination is regarded by historians as the first merit-based,
standardized government occupational testing mechanism.
Unfortunately, innovative ideas for government travel less
rapidly than the Trades. More than a
millennium passed before a comparable civil service meritocracy was implemented
in the United States. The Pendleton Civil
Service Reform Act was passed in 1883 in response to the assassination of
President Garfield by a civil service applicant, Charles Guiteau, who had been rejected
under the previous patronage (or spoils) system. The Act required applicants to pass an exam
in order to be eligible for civil service jobs.
It also afforded protections against retaliatory, partisan or political
dismissal, freeing civil servants from the influences of political patronage. As a result (so the theory went), civil
servants would be selected based on merit and the career service would operate
in a politically neutral manner.
Another critically relevant Eastern innovation addresses the
creation, nurturing and maintenance of an innovative, technically astute cyber
workforce. The Israeli Talpiot program
is one of the most successful examples of national investment in cyber
education and training in the world.
In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israeli forces were surprised by
Egyptian use of sophisticated technology, including surface to air missiles and
guided antitank missiles. In response,
the Israeli government set out to ensure that its forces would have a dominant
technological superiority in all future conflicts. In 1979, Israel implemented Talpiot. Talpiot creates a synergy between the Israeli
national defense infrastructure and the country’s most prestigious universities
that produces an elite talent pool dedicated to the most pressing security
technology issues.
Approximately 50 students (out of a candidate pool of 3,000
to 5,000) who demonstrate excellence in the natural sciences and mathematics
are selected for Talpiot annually. Their
university tuition and fees are sponsored by the Israel Defense Force (IDF)
(specifically the Israeli Air Force (IAF)) and they graduate with an officer’s
commission.
The Talpiot application process begins after the equivalent
of junior year in high school. After an
initial down selection, candidates are tested on basic knowledge as well as
reasoning and analytic abilities. Applicants
who pass these tests then go through advanced screening.
Successful applicants enter a three year training cycle,
which accounts for the three years of mandatory military service required of
Israeli citizens. While university
classes are in session they pursue academic studies. Military training takes place during the rest
of the year. Upon graduation and
commissioning, the candidates spend an additional six years in regular IDF
units where they assume senior roles in organizations dedicated to technical
research and development (R&D).
Talpiot builds on a unique, three-part curriculum that
features academic, military and ethical cores.
The academic core is based around a bachelor’s degree in physics and
mathematics. The military core includes
combat and specialized military occupational professional training, projects
emphasizing both basic and applied research, and a thorough grounding in the
Israeli technology and defense establishment.
The ethical core stresses Israeli culture, geography and history,
leadership, the IDF mission, and core IAF and IDF values.
The academic core is rigorous. Graduates earn a Bachelor of Science degree
from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the Hebrew
University. The course of study includes
a degree in physics augmented with mathematics and computer science based
studies.
Upon completion of their studies, Talpiot graduates take
positions with operational technology development organizations within the
IDF. In these roles, they conduct
advanced technology research, develop advanced weapons, design algorithms and
computer applications, or conduct systems analysis. While most Talpiot alumni serve in R&D
units, there is an operational option available. Those choosing this option serve in army
ground combat units, on naval ships and submarines, or as air force
pilots. After approximately three years
of service in operational units, graduates are assigned to R&D organizations
where they contribute the perspectives and insight gained in the field to the
R&D effort.
Through Talpiot, Israel has gained a well-trained, highly
competent cadre of technical specialists conducting R&D that is
extraordinarily responsive to national security needs. Talpiot research leads to rapid fielding of
advanced technical solutions to both physical and cybersecurity problems. Talpiot alumni are actively courted by global
venture capital firms and have created a significant number of successful technology
startups that have benefitted both the Israeli and global economies.
As with ideas of a civil service meritocracy, notions of state-sponsored
training and education of a technocratic elite to meet public and private
sector needs has moved west. On January
1st, 2015, British national morning newspaper The Independent reported
on ideas coming out of Whitehall and Government Communications Headquarters
(GCHQ) (the UK’s counterpart to the US National Security Agency (NSA)).
Impressed by Talpiot’s success in the defense and commercial
sectors, the British government is seeking to emulate Talpiot with a variant of
the successful Teach First program
(itself an offshoot of the Teach for
America program in the United States). The program’s (informally known as “Spook
First”) goal is to convince promising young university graduates to work for
and with GCHQ to develop new technologies that can be transitioned to the
commercial sector, driving economic growth.
After a two year commitment, program alumni would be free to move to the
private sector.
Unfortunately, something appears to have been garbled in
translation as the Talpiot concept moved west.
Britain’s best and brightest technical graduates, already courted by
prospective employers, have little incentive to take a relatively low paying
government position. The British
proposal does not cover a candidate’s educational expenses, which are not
trivial. University tuition in the UK
averages approximately $14,000 per year.
And that’s without accounting for the cost of room, board, books and
other living expenses. Given that the UK
does not have mandatory military service, there is little incentive to drive
quality candidates into the Spook First program. From a student’s perspective, Spook First
just doesn’t add up.
The keys to Talpiot’s
success are clear:
- a fully funded world-class education;
- leadership positions in exciting, relevant technical R&D organizations; and
- a high probability of venture capital funding for technology startups.
The translation in
Britain yields: “We’ll let you play with
us, in a low paying job, after you’ve paid your own way.” This does not set the UK up for success.
And what of the United States? Innovation is part of the American DNA. Unfortunately, so are skyrocketing education
costs (average annual cost for a private university in the US is $32,000 per
year), a national critical infrastructure that is increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attack
and a desperate shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals. Given this perfect storm, bringing Talpiot
even further west in a way that both replicates all of its key components and
applies them in a uniquely American way makes a great deal of sense. Providing qualified students a means to
afford higher education and a mechanism to translate drive and innovation into
private sector growth is a winning proposition for students, the economy and
the nation.
