The future of learning and teaching
in the Arab world has for ling been at stake. Enhancing learning and teaching
programs is a recurrent issue. Today, I find myself fully aligned with the
education strategies in the Arab world, which has called for creating new
specializations in universities. I pointed out before that there were outdated
university majors that would disappear soon. I also said that vocational
education is as important as other university degrees, if not more important.
We did not need the coronavirus
pandemic to realize the failure of our education systems in keeping pace with
modern age requirements. It also would not be wise to regard the
coronavirus pandemic as a motive for change, when we have been calling for such
change for years. Developing
the education sector and focusing on qualifying the graduates with the skills
needed in the job market is a need dictated by our contemporary reality:
keeping pace with the technological changes brought about by the Fourth
Industrial Revolution. It is amazing to see that some students still believe
that the academic university degree is the “magic wand” that will pave the way
to the dream job, while some jobs are already on the verge of disappearing.
The education strategy in the Arab
world still associates the economic aspects with the growth of education,
although I do not recognize the relevance of such a concept. That is because
innovation is not restricted to some, especially with education available to almost
everyone. Remote education, therefore, is not a temporary solution imposed by
the coronavirus pandemic. It is an urgent need that is as important as the
traditional (face-to-face) education.
It is about time to establish the
standards of digital, innovative education. There will be no place in the
future except for those who are highly responsive, who would fulfill the needs
of skilled people through those standards that will lead to granting them
accredited and recognized certificates based on various levels, and merge the
current university educational programs with professional, and specialized
certificates in their fields. This will help us step ahead of the traditional
university degrees; universities that their educational programs, learning and
teaching system need basic revision.
To translate the idea of learning
for innovation into a reality, we have established the Talal Abu Ghazaleh
University College for Innovation (TAGUCI), which focuses on innovation rather
than examination. TAGUCI bypasses the traditional method of adopting the
traditional exams as a basis for success, guiding its graduates to the
gates of inventions by making them real innovators.
It is the phase of critical
transformation to the technologies of the next century, which is looming.
Accordingly, we have established the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh for Technologies
(TAG-Tech) company, which designs and produces digital communications devices,
such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones, with world-class standards, and
affordable prices. We have also designed a device called TAG-Edu, which is
equipped to serve as a school bag, to turn digital transformation into a
reality and provide digital (remote) “learning”.
We have also established the Talal
Abu-Ghazaleh Academy (TAG-Academy), which continues to provide professional
courses that keep pace with the requirements of the modern age and all new innovations.
It serves both individuals and companies working in different sectors, while
taking into consideration the continuous developments and the need to
differentiate between the needs of yesterday’s and today's generations.
No matter how different the
approaches of Arab and world universities may be, they all agree on the
importance of qualifying the students for the job market; otherwise, they will
be alienated if the specialization programs do not keep pace with market needs.
Based on that, we all agree on the
importance of adopting technology in the educational process, as it is less
expensive than what universities are currently spending. Our universities
should also use their facilities and halls as vocational training workshops and
knowledge stations supported by internet lines. This will serve all segments of
society; thus, supporting those with innovative skills: the future inventors.