R&D should get priority in universities to get skilled manpower: Speakers

Research and development (R&D) should get more priority both in public and private universities to get skilled graduates to meet the local demand as well as global market demand, speakers said at a roundtable in Dhaka today (6 July). 

Moreover, focus is needed on how to mitigate the requirement and skill gap, academicians and industry owners said at the roundtable discussion titled “Strengthening Collaboration between the Private Sector & Academia: The Way Forward” organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Academicians from different renowned public and private universities took part in the discussion to identify the challenges of industry-academia collaboration.

DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed said, “Every year around 2 million graduates are coming into the job market, however, we are unable to accommodate all of them. According to the BIDS, unemployment among graduates in the country is 66%. Furthermore, a World Bank survey reveals that 46% of employers struggle to find job seekers with the necessary skills, while 69% report shortages of skilled manpower for technical and managerial roles.” 

“Experts are being hired from outside for key positions to run the industry and billions of dollars are flowing out of the country. On the other hand, due to lack of skills our manpower is not getting high paying jobs abroad. Industry and academia need to work together to develop both soft and hard skills of our graduates,” he added. 

Besides, shared efforts and contributions by universities and the private sector on research of contemporary matters can enrich and create new learning on macroeconomic matters, he further said.

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh Vice Chancellor Professor Imran Rahman said, “Around 40% of youth graduates are still unemployed and for them we need to do something. In our country, university students actually learn a little through their internship.” 

He, therefore, suggested an apprenticeship for better learning out of the theoretical background. 

Claiming that many of our subjects or curricula studied in the universities do not have much demand even in the global market, he called for popularising ICT and science based education more and more to compete with the rapidly moving world. 

Moreover, private funding in university R&D or students’ projects should get tax benefits, he recommended.

Dr Muhammad Anisuzzaman Talukder, Professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said there should have been a strong trust between the industry and academia sector. 

“In Bangladesh, our university curriculum is quite good but in some cases few more good things can be included. But frequent changes in curriculum will not bring any good result for the students,” he added.