CA for impact-driven connects among varsities, cooperative learning to make youth skilled

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today (19 December) proposed building impact-driven connections among universities and introducing cooperative learning to make the youth skilled by taking fuller advantage of digital revolution.

"... let us build and strengthen functional, impact-driven partnerships between our universities and equivalent knowledge institutions, with a particular focus on preparing boys and girls for entrepreneurship beyond its own sake, especially in applied science disciplines, " he said while addressing the 11th D-8 summit in Cairo, according to a message.  

He observed that the D-8 member states must bring the entrepreneurs and higher learning much closer than what is today, while their aim should be to generate knowledge output that can produce global secure business and industry from leaders of D-8 countries' fiercely competitive global marketplace, with their niche.

"If this asks to re-look at the D-8 trade and investment frameworks afresh, we should do so. Transforming the business to impact peoples' lives, not just an occupation to be our wealth. They will engage in social business to create a new civilization," he added.  

The 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, said for years, they tried to impart basic education and skills to millions in the D-8 countries through conventional in-person institutional architecture.  

"In 1.2 billion people, so often that is an increasingly daunting task. To reach 'scale', we tried through distance learning, for instance. We need to think deeper as to how to skill millions of young adults in a workplace."  

"And, then we also confront the challenge to re-skill many millions at different vocational streams, on a continuous basis," he said.  

Mentioning that basic AI-based tools and applications are accessible now, Prof Yunus urged the D-8 leaders to consider a cooperative learning agenda that can complement their national undertakings.

He said the ways the 'world of work' is evolving fast as the world of youth entrepreneurship, the D-8 countries have to re-invent 'learning' to make room for their boys and girls to become leaders of the economy.

"In our countries, we have great heritage, wisdom and accomplishments. We have to see how we can blend and build on those. We are yet to take fuller advantage of the digital revolution that has been with us for years," Prof Yunus said.

"Now that AI is here, let us think if we can leapfrog and catch up with the disruptions, to the advantage of our entrepreneurial boys and girls. As a way forward, I would like to propose (the) two specific actions, for our consideration," he added.

Highlighting the significance of the D-8 summit, the chief adviser said the D-8 leaders have met at a time when the world is witnessing unprecedented challenges, while so many opportunities beckon them as well.  

He mentioned that the theme of the Summit, focusing on youth and the SMEs, aptly resonate with shared aspirations.  

Each of the D-8 countries has sizable youth population while median age in Bangladesh, for instance, is just 27 years, he said. Around two and a half million young people enter the labour market every year, Prof Yunus added.  

"In a private sector driven economy, as we endeavour to get them fit for the market or, encourage them to emerge as agile entrepreneurs, we see how emergence of technologies is posing challenges and opportunities like never before," he added.

The chief adviser said manufacturing landscape in the countries has millions of workers who generally have low skills but the manufacturing and service economy of tomorrow is fast transforming, largely riding on artificial intelligence, machine learning, data-driven tools and applications.  

In Bangladesh, where agriculture is still a critical mainstay for the society and economy, it has been seen that children of the majority of small farmers are little interested to pursue back-breaking, risky and often uncertain farming-on-field the ways their parents took upon as a matter of tradition, he said.

Yunus said travelling to rural Bangladesh, even across Asia, Africa and Arab world, he saw how millions of today's youth are fast embracing technology and innovation, in everything around - either to turn around long-persistent challenges or, eke out newer opportunities that many thought impossible even a few years before.

Often, he said, the younger folk show uncanny imagination in tacking intractable climatic stress on-the-field.  

"I particularly underline this as our agriculture and food are changing about securing our economies, and creating wealth, within our own societies, with little outside inputs," he added.

About the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), the chief adviser said this brings into their consideration the millions of SMEs and most of those thrive within informal economy.  

"They aspire to grow and connect to global supply chain. Most often, they lack formal structure, access to institutional finance or support architecture and are unfamiliar with market norms-practices-standards. Yet, I see how amazingly capable and competitive the SMEs are," he said.

In the D-8 countries, he said, collectively they possess enough of wealth, even in private philanthropy, to stand by these scores of SMEs.  

"With our modest support, we can shape a virtuous 'cycle of good', for them and for our people. We need to let money flow to them, through de-risking finance, for instance," the Noble Laureate said.  

He urged the D-8 governments to convene candid, result-oriented conversations involving communities of youth - startups - business - finance, and see if they can carve out new platforms amongst them.

Prof Yunus asserted that Bangladesh would be ready to take such an initiative forward; and convene a first multi-stakeholders meet in 2025.

"As we adopt the Cairo Declaration and the Summit outcome reflecting our collective aspiration and shared commitment to addressing pressing issues, I may call upon Excellencies to re-look at our collective agenda, afresh," he concluded.

Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the leaders of D-8 member states and the D-8 Secretary General were present on the occasion.