By Prof. Dr. Mohammad Bilal Khan
- Skills Gap & Digital Opportunities: Universities must address the notable skills gap (communication, digital literacy, critical thinking, etc.) among graduates, leveraging platforms like LinkedIn Learning and capitalizing on the expansive digital economy, as evidenced by PITB’s successful e-Rozgar program.
- Entrepreneurial Initiatives & Policy Revamp: Focusing on entrepreneurship over traditional employment, universities should spearhead freelancing platforms, foster startup ecosystems with accelerators and incubators, and work in tandem with the government to formulate robust entrepreneurial policies, embracing Special Technology Zones (STZs) and R&D-led ventures.
- University Governance & Practical Impact: Proposed changes in university governance include the shift from uni-disciplinary to cross-disciplinary studies, emphasizing real-world impact, and promoting problem-inspired research over mere academic publications. Universities should be proactive in policy-making, collaborating across sectors to ensure their contributions have tangible benefits for the national economy.
Modern education resides on 3 pillars namely knowledge, skills, and behavior. In addition to this universities are trusted with conducting applied research, commercialization, entrepreneurship policy making, and community service. Owing to the dwindling economy and ensuing market conditions, employment rates of university graduates are already low. Human capital development is marked by qualification, employment, and incentive structure. The following modes of employment are identified: self-employment, employment in organizations, entrepreneurship, digital online, and recycling back into educational institutions. The average employment rate is a big merit for university admission and its standing.
Currently, the following gaps are identified in university graduates: oral and written communication, soft skills, digital skills, presentation, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and leadership. There are numerous learning platforms that provide powerful tools to increase graduates’ employment rates, the most prominent being LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn Higher Education. These platforms improve student outcomes by teaming with the world’s largest professional network, consisting of 347M professionals.
These enable online learning as a complement to the institutional curriculum and enable the students to stack up new credentials on top of the degree. In addition, they provide information on real-time skills gaps and foster collaboration beyond the campus. This enables the universities to align educational offerings with in-demand skills. We have to be mindful that skills have an average life of 5 years, therefore, there is a need to impart lifelong learning to the students. In other words, they should learn to relearn.
In times of poor offline economy, the digital economy provides a silver lining in the clouds. The current volume of the digital economy (USD 45 Trillion) exceeds the traditional offline economy. The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) under the able leadership of its DG e-governance, Mr. Sajid Latif has done wonders through the e-Rozgar program. It has trained 55000 freelancers who earned USD 0.5 Billion in 2022, landing Pakistan at No. 4 in the comity of nations. A massive increase in freelancing platforms is required in which universities must stake the lead.
Entrepreneurship as opposed to employment is another platform that shows promise in Pakistan. It requires communication and interpersonal skills, business management skills, financial skills, critical thinking skills, and the ability to convince investors through pitching novel ideas. In some of the universities, accelerators, and incubators provide mentorship training and resources to early-stage startups.
They encourage innovation and access to funding. However, the government policy on entrepreneurship is sketchy, requiring a full-blown national entrepreneurship strategy and optimizing the regulatory environment. Facilitating technology exchange and innovation will also be helpful. In brief, universities should gear up to generate wealth instead of consuming wealth. Currently, the regulatory bodies lend appreciation and acceptance for only academic research. There should be appreciation for clinical, technical, vocational, and allied practices. Faculty should be given venture capital to start their research-based businesses.
The establishment of Special Technology Zones (STZs) for R&D-led enterprises is a welcome step. One should not undermine the potential of universities to contribute to the economy. Whereas industry converts university knowledge into useful products, university patents often give birth to new industries.
Innovation should be considered as an act of high value and dignity in society. Business should be highly valued and appreciated in the society. The role of media cannot be underestimated in this context. Media should spend 30% of their time airing education-related content
Certain policy proposals for university governance are presented below:
Uni-disciplined studies to be converted to cross-discipline studies. Universities should be mission-driven rather than regulation-driven. Isolated working culture needs to be replaced by collaborating culture system. They should strive for impact and excellence rather than striving for compliance all the time. Problem-inspired research needs to be encouraged. In the current scenario publication is primary and use is secondary objective. This needs to be changed to use as the primary and publication as the secondary objective. Concept memorization needs to be replaced by concept application. In-class learning should be complemented by lab and market learning. Finally, development and wealth creation should be ultimate outcome rather than knowledge alone as the ultimate outcome. The mission of the university should include entrepreneurship and emphasize the universities impact on the regional and national economy.
In regards to policy making by the universities, a 3-day all Punjab Vice Chancellors moot was conducted by PHEC at Kohsar University Murree which provided a vibrant forum for intensive discussions on needy areas. Several Vice Chancellors committees were formed for policy making in niches areas e.g. Energy, STEM, Agriculture, National Resources, Character Building, etc. These committees operate under the Chairmanship of Honorable Governor/Chancellor Engr. Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman.
Several meetings have been conducted in the Governors’ House in the areas identified. Each committee presented policy recommendations in their respective area to the Honorable Governor. This exercise is further upgraded to evolve a detailed policy paper for the kind consideration of Chairman PHEC and the Honorable Governor for fruitful implementation.
The writer is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Chakwal and a Senior Fellow at NUST.