More than 1,000 people attended the first day of the sold-out Institute of Emerging Issues Forum Monday in the Raleigh Convention Center. 

Hosted by NC State’s Institute for Emerging Issues, the forum attracts leaders from across the state and nation for a two-day long discussion about emerging issues that could affect the future of economic prosperity in North Carolina. 

The theme of this year’s forum is “Innovation Reconstructed,” in addition to a celebration of 30 years of the annual Institute of Emerging Issues forum.

This year’s speakers included James B. Hunt Jr., a former governor of North Carolina; Jim Goodnight, the CEO & Co-founder of SAS; Pat McCrory, the current governor of North Carolina; Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google engineering; Bob Geolas, the president and CEO of Research Triangle Park and other speakers. 

Sessions and speakers address topics related to innovation in North Carolina, including how and why the state’s companies could be more competitive, how technology innovation is changing business, how to develop strategies for responding to the rapid innovation of technology and how to support innovation through policy. 

This year’s forum comes during a waiting period for the Institute for Emerging Issues, as it will soon hear a decision from a working group of the UNC Board of Governors about recommendations for potential cuts to the institute’s state funding. 

As part of the recommended $15 million cut to UNC System’s centers and institutes the NC General Assembly included in the 2014-2015 state budget, a working group within the UNC Board of Governors has been reviewing nine research centers and institutes for potential cuts to funding, including NC State’s Institute for Emerging Issues. 

The IEI receives $750,000 out of its total annual budget of $3.6 million from the state funds each year.

The forum will continue today, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 3:30 p.m. Speakers on the agenda include Kurzweil, McCrory and Geolas.