Experts on Friday stressed the need for sustained international knowledge exchange and for preparing a technologically capable workforce for the country鈥檚 future growth.
They also called for stronger cross-border collaboration and deeper industry-academia partnerships as Bangladesh aimed to shift from labour-dependent manufacturing to a more innovative and sustainable economic model.
They were speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day International Conference on Economics, Business and Technology Management, organised by School of Business and Entrepreneurship of Independent University, Bangladesh, at a hotel in the capital on Friday.聽
In his speech as chief guest, Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre and chairman of BRAC, said that the exchange of knowledge was central to building a common, shared understanding.聽
鈥楾he challenges being faced by Bangladesh are not unique. They are being faced across the world 鈥� across the global south and also the developed world,鈥� he added.
There are commonalities and differences, and hopefully this conference will come to grips with many of these specific challenges that should be at the forefront of those present here, he added.
IUB board of trustees chairman Didar A Husain said that Vietnam and China were introducing artificial intelligence at the school level.
鈥楾hey are ready for the 5th Industrial Revolution and we are only trying to graduate from the 3rd. So, there is a long way to go,鈥� he added.
Professor M Tamim, vice-chancellor of IUB, said that they had 70 student papers in this conference, which was a great encouragement for them.
鈥榃e have representatives from more than 12 countries who have come here with ideas and will share their research topics and industry experience,鈥� he added, saying that it was a great exposure for the students.聽聽
At his speech as a guest of honour, Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Footwear Limited said that, as Bangladesh transitioned from a manufacturing system based purely on arbitrage of labour to one grounded in sustainability and core values, industry-academia connections were critical to success.
鈥楤angladesh is privileged to have some of the youngest people in our workforce, but creating the kind of quality jobs that are needed for these people is the challenge for modern industry in Bangladesh,鈥� he added.
Professor Md Mamun Habib chaired the conference, where IUB pro-vice-chancellor professor Daniel W Lund, acting dean of SBE professor Raisul Awal Mahmood, and academicians and industry leaders from Bangladesh and abroad also spoke.聽
Their discussion also focused on shared global challenges and the need for Bangladesh鈥檚 education and research ecosystem to adapt quickly.