Call for building stronger workforce

Bangladesh MBA Association along with Bangladesh Brand Forum organised a panel discussion on “Academia-Industry Partnerships: Business Education Perspective” today at IBA Alumni Club in Dhaka University.

The discussion consisted of top leaders from both business industry and academics.

The discussants said these days it is becoming a challenge in Bangladesh to create a robust and continuous pipeline of talent. The university system of few countries would be able to keep up with the fast-moving world’s demand, but universities of Bangladesh certainly are not in track of an industry driven education.

The young demography is the biggest strength of the nation, but the challenge is to convert them with the right skill set so that they lead the future sustainable growth of the nation.

The focus of the discussion laid on restructuring the nation’s education system and joint initiatives by the industry and academia that will play an important part in reducing the skill gap in the years to come.

Discussants of the panel were Abrar A Anwar, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bangladesh; Shehzad Munim, Managing Director, British American Tobacco Bangladesh; M Mahboob Rahman, Dean and Professor of Business, North South University; Md Ridhwanul Haq, Associate Professor and BBA Chairperson, IBA – University of Dhaka.

The discussion was moderated by Mehnaz Kabir, Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Rangs Group. Chief Executive Officers and Directors of many other reputed organisations also attended the discussion.