At the WBUR Festival, exploring the good and bad scenarios for Massachusetts’ future

On Friday morning, I had the opportunity to help kick off the inaugural WBUR Festival in Boston with a panel on “The Future of Innovation in Massachusetts.”

My panelists: Katie Rae from Engine Ventures, an MIT-affiliated venture capital firm; Julie Kim, president of the U.S. Business Unit at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, now the largest biopharma employer in Massachusetts; and Avak Kahvejian, a general partner at Flagship Pioneering, an incubator of new companies in Cambridge.

The group laid out some reasons for optimism about the future of innovation in our state, and also some reasons for concern. All three of them are parents, so I also asked what advice they would give to other parents who have children in school today about the job market.

Reasons for optimism

Rae made the case that federal research funding cuts may paradoxically stimulate innovation by pushing academic researchers to create startups and commercialize their work on a faster time frame. In the short term, “we might get more companies because of this moment than fewer,” she said. She cited Commonwealth Fusion Systems as a prime example — it emerged from an MIT lab that had lost its funding several years ago.

 “They invented the company,” she said, instead of letting the science die on the vine.

• Read more: MassLive’s 12 innovation leaders to watch in 2025

“It’s not that I’m not upset about what’s happening,” Rae said, “but I do think really good things are going to come out of it.”

But over the long term, she acknowledged, “we’re going to get fewer [companies] because there’s less [federal research] funding.”

Kahvejian made the case that, while national and global pressures exist, Massachusetts remains extraordinarily well-equipped to generate breakthrough innovations. Flagship Pioneering, where he is a general partner, raised a $3.6 billion fund last year — its largest ever — to invent and launch new biotech companies.

Kahvejian noted the state has shown resilience in the past: Many big names of the 20th century, such as Polaroid and Lotus Development Corp., have vanished, but new companies have emerged and grown.

Rae offered hope that even in a divided Washington, supporting technology development in areas like advanced chips and energy production has bipartisan support.

“No matter what party you’re in, you’re going to want to fund the things that are fundamental to long-term economic prosperity and security,” she said.

Rae said she was encouraged to see Harvard University standing up to pressure from the Trump administration, despite efforts to block the school’s enrollment of international students and to eliminate essentially all federal funding of research there. Of Harvard President Alan Garber, she said: “He’s doing all those things and actually gaining a lot of support, right? He got a standing ovation at Harvard [graduation] yesterday.”

Is there a way for Harvard to emerge victorious in the tangle with Trump and various federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security? “I think Harvard is winning in a lot of ways,” Rae said. “They’re winning in different court battles. And I think long-term, they will prevail. There’s great research there. It’s an institution that the U.S. should be proud of, and is proud of, and produces so many of our great leaders …”

Reasons for concern

Kim sounded the alarm about China’s scientific momentum.

“There are now 30% of the original publications [in the journal Science] coming from Chinese labs. The U.S. is now at 30%. The number is declining for the U.S., and it’s increasing for China, so … it’s no longer a copycat [economy.] There’s innovation coming from that country,” she said.

Kahvejian pointed to investor hesitation caused by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s inconsistency, and volatile stock markets. With regards to the FDA drug approval process, he said that some biotech companies are reporting delays and “strange responses” — but that’s not universal.

Kim and Kahvejian both expressed concern about a broader societal drift away from believing in science and supporting scientific research.

Kahvejian said that echo chambers, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and misinformation are amplifying anti-science sentiment. “We need to talk about how this stuff works. We need to make it accessible to people,” he said, calling for better science education and public engagement.

Rae echoed that point, warning that resentment of elites and academia is feeding distrust and division.

And Kahvejian warned that the federal government’s wavering stance on vaccines is damaging long-term public health preparedness and also investment in that industry sector.

“We’ve gone back the other way, almost worse than we were before [COVID], where vaccines are seen as a bad thing,” he said.

Advice about the future job market

Kim emphasized that the rapid pace of change makes it impossible to prescribe a single career path. Instead, she advises her own children to lead with intrinsic motivation: “Pursue your passions,” she said. In her view, the key is not locking into one trajectory, but embracing a mindset of continuous learning and flexibility.

In a world where entire industries can emerge or transform within 18 months, passion can be a compass — guiding students to stay engaged and resilient as the landscape around them changes.

Kahvejian took that one step further, recommending that students follow not just their passion, but their curiosity, especially across disciplinary boundaries.

“Pursue your curiosity almost more than necessarily your passion,” he advised, warning against rigid academic silos. A student who majors in chemistry but ignores developments in AI or statistics risks becoming obsolete, he said. “You will be pigeonholed, and you will end up marginalized.”

Rae argued that foundational technical skills are as vital as ever.

“Don’t be afraid of hard sciences. It is so fundamental to the future,” she said, referring to subjects like physics, biology and chemistry. All three of her children, she said, studied chemical engineering.

At the same time, she encouraged students to embrace AI as a partner, not a threat: “AI is your friend.” She also highlighted the importance of forming relationships with other curious, driven people.

“Cultivate friendships. Cultivate other curious people,” she said.

Kim underscored that opportunity doesn’t always require a four-year degree. She highlighted work with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to create “alternate pathways” into biotech and related fields for students pursuing vocational routes.

“There are a lot of things you can do in manufacturing, as well as on the administrative side — marketing, sales, etc.,” she said.