Photo: Collected
The government has appointed Ernst and Young (EY) India to develop strategic foresight for the Smart Leadership Academy (SLA), which was set up to create smart leaders and promote a citizen-centric culture to navigate the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The World Bank financed the Enhancing Digital Government and Economy (EDGE) Project of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) of the ICT Division signed a contract with EY India in this regard.
Meanwhile, ICT Secretary Md Shamsul Arefin at a seminar on Tuesday asked the EY authorities to develop strategic foresight keeping in mind the rapid technological shift and meticulously outlining the tasks essential to effectively operate SLA for advancing the Smart Bangladesh vision.
The workshop was held at the Conference room of EDGE in the capital's Rokeya Sarani on Tuesday. Chaired by Enhancing Digital Government and Economy (EDGE) Project Director Md Shakhawat Hossain, the function was addressed, among others by, Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Ranajit Kumar, EDGE Policy Adviser Md. Abdur Bari, EDGE Policy Development Specialist Amdadul Huq.
Debarchana, Director, People Consulting, EY India, presented the keynote on Strategic foresight tools and methodologies for Smart Leadership Academy. Officials of the ICT Division and representatives from industry and academia participated in the workshop and shared their opinions about the proposed strategic foresight for Smart Leadership Academy.
Shamsul Arefin emphasized the urgent need to adapt to the swift technological transition reshaping our surroundings, cautioning that failure to do so would result in falling behind. He said there is apprehension of losing jobs with the emergence of frontier technologies, but the reality is more jobs will be created due to the use of more equipment in making robotics and AI tools.
“The potential for job creation through domestic robot manufacturing is immense,” he said. Arefin asserted, advocating for the engagement of polytechnic students in digital and hardware skills training initiatives to establish a hub for hardware repair, thereby generating employment and curbing foreign currency expenditure.
Messenger/Tareq
