Hard Antelope The "societal benefits" pitch is predictably overblown, except for one major component: "Finally, and perhaps most importantly, by attracting the best science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce from around the world to build and run the EIC, we will be building up a tech-savvy workforce for tomorrow while also building bridges that connect nations of the world." This is the Strategic Brain Reserve I was talking about. The skills these people develop will trickle down to all areas of science and technology and will have unexpected benefits. But these are the benefits that are very difficult to sell to the public.