WEF on Asean 2016: Education System Reforms Crucial, Business Leaders Say
Jakarta. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathers pace, member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations need to reform their education systems if they are to reap the benefits of the digital age.
Countries in the region must reform the way people are educated and be careful not to introduce regulations that stifle innovation, or adopt disruptive business models, business and policy leaders warned during a session on the first day of the World Economic Forum on Asean.
Former minister Mari Elka Pangestu, a professor of international economics at the University of Indonesia, said that with the launch of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), "we have gone from pooling resources to pooling markets, but we have yet to pool our talent."
She added: "Technology is a means to an end. But people are still important – and they have to have the training and knowledge to use the technology."
Developing new skills, such as collaboration and empathy, is important.
"With value chains, you can't work in silos anymore," she said.
Regulators, too, have to be educated, Pangestu argued.
"Regulators and policymakers are still in the old world. We have to regulate but we have to do it in a way that is in line with the new world. Governments tend to over-regulate and control in the old way. Policymakers don't know where all this is going so it is better to tread lightly," the former tourism and creative economy minister said.
"We need a revolution in education" for both young and old people, declared Nazir Razak, chairman of Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings. Embracing the unprecedented wave of technological change means empowering people, particularly the youth, to challenge vested interests, especially the entrenched links between big business and government, he added.
Southeast Asia has key advantages over other regions, the experts reckoned. Being relatively young, its people are fast adopters of new technology.
"There are lots of local platforms being mixed with global brands and platforms," said Ulf Ewaldsson, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Ericsson.
"What Asean has going for it is its young population that can adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution," concluded Shahril Shamsuddin, president and group chief executive of Malaysia's SapuraKencana Petroleum, who co-chaired the meeting. "With a new region, you can implement new structures without having to worry about legacy institutions. It is imperative that business takes the lead to capitalize on our young population."
Shahril predicted that the adoption of new technologies would spawn new supportive industries and business models around them.
"There are opportunities for the young people of Asean to create new industries so the future is bright. I have lots of hope for the coming generation," he said.
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