Awami League's sub-committee on science and technology is going to organise an international conference on the fourth industrial revolution (IC4IR) in the city for the first time. The two-day conference titled ‘International Conference on 4IR for Emerging Future’ will be held on November 4 and 5 at the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB). The theme of the conference is "Journey to Build Smart Bangladesh and Implementation of Delta Plan", according to a media release ahead of the event. Engineer Abdus Sabur, member secretary of the sub-committee said this conference will create great opportunities for interaction and knowledge sharing among policy makers, industrialists, academicians, engineers, scientists and researchers from home and abroad which will contribute to building a technology and knowledge based society. Read: PM Hasina: Time to groom the labour force to face challenges of 4IR Those who are interested to participate at the conference need to submit research paper on different social and technological issues, including the 4IR, education technology, ICT, fuel and power, geo and blue technology, disaster prevention and recovery management, health and life science and applied science and emerging technologies. Interested participants are asked to submit a summary of the research topic and curriculum vitae (CV) by September 30. Shortlisted candidates will be notified on October 10 after screening of research content and CV. The participants have to submit their papers for presentation on October 25. Besides, Students can submit their own designed posters by September 30 to participate in this event. Best Paper Award and Best Poster Award will also be presented at the conference. To participate in this conference, the registration fee for Bangladeshi professionals is Tk 1,000 while $ 100 for foreign professionals. Read: Steps sought for re-skilling, upskilling of RMG workers to face 4IR challenges On the other hand, a registration fee of Tk 200 has been set for Bangladeshi students and $ 50 for foreign students. All information about the conference is available at www.4iref.org. Also interested can contact [email protected] or 01550155153.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the youth to grow as the worthy citizens of the country acquiring education and technological knowledge for the coming fourth industrial revolution. “Youth folks are most important for any nation. I want that the youth of the country will be the worthy citizens by getting education, training and acquiring technological knowledge,” she said. The prime minister said this while addressing an event to mark the distribution of Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award 2022 in the city. Youth and Sports Ministry organised the programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium where she joined virtually. She said that the government has taken steps to prepare the youth of the country to be ready for Fourth Industrial Revolution which will be mostly technology based. Read: PM returns home ending 4-day visit to India She described the young people as the builder for 2041 where the government has set a target to make the country developed and prosperous. She also termed the youth of the country as the valuable strength of the nation. Many countries around the world are suffering from not having required youth folks in their population, she added. She briefly described various steps of the government to develop the youths as the worthy citizens of the country. Hasina greeted the awardees for their contribution in the fields of employment, i training and education to the grassroots alongside rendering various social and nation building activities. “I am very happy to see that the youth folks have stood beside the people and imparted education and training alongside creating employment for the masses,” she said. She hoped the next generation will be inspired through their activities and engage themselves in national building activities. The premier said that the government has taken every possible measure that included arrangement of proper education and employment for the development of the youth. She said the AL government has opened everything such as banks, insurance, television and radios to the private sector aimed at generating employment for the youth in large numbers. She said her government has even established Probashi Kallayan Bank so young people going abroad with jobs can take easy loans and thus save their ancestral land and assets. She said youths are also being given loans from Karmasangsthan Bank without any guarantee so they become entrepreneurs and generate employment for others. “Be entrepreneurs and forget running after the jobs and thus generate employment for others,” she said. The PM said youths are being given loans through various government schemes alongside the banking channels so they can stand on their own and make the country strong economically. Read:Momen to be part of PM’s entourage during upcoming UK, US visits She said her government has established data centres up to union levels and community clinics where employment has been created for for a huge number of young people. Hasina said her government has also given the homeless and landless people home free of cost as part of the move to bring all the people under the housing scheme. This is also creating employment. State Minister for Youth & Sports Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel and Youth & Sports Secretary Mesbah Uddin also spoke at the programme. Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on Youth & Sports Abdullah Al Islam Jacob was present on the dais. Award recipients Md masud Alam and Meghna Khatun expressed their feelings at the event. The state minister, on behalf of the prime minister, distributed the awards among the recipients. A documentary on the development of the country was also screened at the programme.

The government plans to increase the number of students in technical education to 30 percent by 2030, from the existing 17 percent. The government has taken the move as one of its principal aims to create skilled human resources in information technology compatible with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To that end, the government is laying emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) based education and training, according to an official document. To meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution the government is giving importance to teaching appropriate technology-based subjects in the classroom and is allocating a budget to the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, or NCTB, for bringing necessary changes in the curriculum. Also read: MoFA, Technical and Madrasa Education Division vow to modernize technical and madrasa education In addition, the government has undertaken several important training programmes aimed at creating a skilled IT workforce. For example, the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority has set a target to train more than sixty thousand young people by 2025 and one lakh by 2030 to fulfil the demand of the IT sector. More than 36,000 people have already been trained under various projects and programmes. The project implemented by the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) has provided training on Information and Communication Technology to about 2.34 lakh people and most of them are doing jobs in various ICT companies/organisations at home and abroad. To adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including augmented reality and virtual reality, the document said, specialised labs will be set up at every university of the country and work is underway to set up 57 such specialised labs. Work on establishment of Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centres in 64 districts and 10 Digital Village is in progress to provide proper training for young people. Besides this, the training programmes on emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, block-chain, robotics, big data, cloud computing etc. are in progress. Also read: Dovetailing higher and technical education needed: Dipu Moni Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently in the first meeting of the Governing Board of the National Skill Development Authority (NSDA) held at her office (PMO) directed the officials to take necessary steps for realising the demographic dividend. She mentioned that each year some 2.2 million individuals enter the job market. If this huge manpower could be trained up properly with appropriate training it would bring enormous benefits for the country. She also asked the officials to pay attention to technology-based training programmes for grabbing the opportunities in the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to the official document, the enrolment rate in technical education, which was less than 1.0 percent 12 years ago, is now 17.25 percent. The technical education enrolment rate is the percentage of secondary students enrolled in technical / vocational education programmes, including teacher training programmes. In the 2022 academic year, 26,846 students have been enrolled in pre- vocational courses from 6th to 8th grade and 20,613 students from the 9th grade of 134 technical schools and colleges have been enrolled up to January 2022.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said the government is preparing the country for tapping the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) to accelerate its economic growth towards the desired level. “We’re formulating an innovative education ecosystem (IEE) by increasing the budget for research and innovation. We’re framing the National Blended Learning Policy-2021. Through this policy, we’ll be able to introduce an education system bridging the technological gap,” she said. Sheikh Hasina said this while delivering her speech at the closing ceremony of a two-day international conference on the 4th Industrial Revolution-2021 held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. She joined the programme, which was organised on the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of independence, virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Hasina said the use of technologies is increasing day by day along with invention of new ones. “Bangladesh has to move on keeping the pace of that.” Read: Long-term policy sought for 4IR, technological shift She said Bangladesh needs industrialisation while its economy is an agro-based one. “But we need industrialisation, we need agriculture and industries both, we’re taking various steps keeping that in our mind.” Given the perspective of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, three issues are gaining importance -- development of the industry through innovation of sophisticated technology, creating skilled workforce, and protecting the environment, the PM said. “Industrialisation aims to improve the lifestyle of people, create a market for new products, and accelerate the pace of the economy through employment,” she said.

State-owned telecom operator Teletalk will roll out fifth-generation (5G) technology for broadband cellular networks by December, with other operators following in 2022, Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar said Saturday. "The technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) would be 5G. We have already tested 5G through Huawei and Robi, which has boosted our confidence," the minister said. Read 5G: Oppo teams up with Ericson to launch updated communication lab He was speaking at the webinar "5G Ecosystem in Bangladesh and Upcoming Technologies" organised by the Telecom Reporters' Network Bangladesh (TRNB). Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said the process of launching 5G in Dhaka city by this year is at the final stage. "Teletalk has started making preparations for the launch. Work related to the formulation of a broadband policy is also underway." Read: Planning to launch 5G by end of this year: Joy

Speakers at a virtual dialogue on Tuesday said though there is huge potential to boost the country’s apparel export in future, the employment generation would be shrunk in the readymade garment (RMG) sector due to the growing use of automation in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. Since the RMG sector will go through a massive change in the next 7-8 years for the situation given by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Bangladesh’s graduation into a developing country. So, it is time to make prepare the sector, particularly its workers by upskilling and reskilling them, for the changed future, they said. Citizen’s Platform for SDGs Bangladesh and Christian Aid Bangladesh jointly arranged the dialogue titled “Bangladesh’s RMG Sector and Workers: Anticipating the Future” in a virtual platform. Dr Abdur Razzaque, Chairman of Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) said Bangladesh uses some 140 workers to make readymade garments of US$ 1 million, But China and Vietnam use only 48 workers and India and Cambodia use 75 workers. “So, the use of automation and advanced technology would rise massively soon in Bangladesh. That means our apparel export will be increased by 30-40 billion in future, but the sector may not generate new employments,” he said. Dr Razzaque, also Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), said Bangladesh has a lot of opportunities to export RMG goods to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States in future. Prof Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said the workers fell into various uncertainties due to the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, the state, garment entrepreneurs and worker leaders, researchers and civil society will have to lead collectively to ensure the rights of workers, he said putting emphasis on strengthening coordination among the labour unions. Convenor of Citizen’s Platform Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, who presided over the dialogue, said the RMG sector is going through changes centering 3Ps –product, production and productivity. The handling 3Ps would be a big matter for Bangladesh in future, he said. Read: IMF keen to work closely for Bangladesh’s RMG sector’s development “Now Bangladesh should pay its utmost attention to the workers in the changing situation,” he said adding that the real income and non-wage benefits of workers, education and health of the future workforce will be taken into consideration giving focus on the women worker. Dr Debapriya said it is essential to create an emergency fund for the workers to bring them under a universal social protection coverage in any difficult time. Prof Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of CPD, said the RMG sector will go through a radical change in the next 7-8 years. “The country’s apparel sector can’t survive in the global completion without going for automation and modernization,” he said. Bangladesh needs to promote the light engineering sector to generate new employment in future, he said. Former BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq said the light engineering sector has a huge potential. “So, it is high time for us to make investment in the light engineering sector. We should design a mid-term plan, not long-term plan over how we can go to the light engineering sector,” she added. Dr Rubana Huq put emphasis on the preparation for the potential changes in the RMG sector in the 4IR era. Towfiqul Islam Khan, Senior Research Fellow of CPD, presented the report of a study conducted over 500 RMG workers’ households in four districts --Dhaka, Chattogram, Gazipur and Narayanganj—in June last focusing the workers’ dealing with the aftermath of Covid-19. During the first wave, two-third of the workers did not receive the salaries on time and even woven and sweater factories struggled more in paying dues to workers, according to the study. Besides, more than half of the RMG workers experienced reduction in overtime during the first wave compared to the pre-Covid period, said  the study.

The `Hire and Train’ model, introduced by the government to create skilled human resources on frontier technology to utilise the potentials of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), has ensured ‘80% job placement’ in IT companies, officials said. They said the beauty of the training model is that 80 percent or 856 of the 1070 trainees get jobs in different IT companies immediately after completion of the training that concluded last month. Leveraging ICT (LICT) Project of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under ICT Division engaged 32 companies to provide training in `Hire and Train’ model on frontier technologies like AI, IoT, Blockchain to the 1070 persons. The training was part of the Fast-Track Future Leader (FTFL) programme of the Project. “When the government is working to develop a quality training model to ensure jobs for the trainees the `Hire and Train’ model has set a unique example by providing 80% job placement in IT companies,” said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak adding that this model could be replicated in other training programmes of the ICT Division. Palak said the government has taken various programmes, including organising training, establishing Sheikh Hasina Institute of Frontier Technology (SHIFT) and Centre of Excellence (CoE) to create skilled manpower on frontier technologies which are expediting the emergence of 4IR. “We’re taking preparations to face challenges as well as utilise potentials of 4IR,” the ICT State Minister said.    When contacted, Senior Secretary of ICT Division NM Zeaul Alam said the government cannot sit idle at a time when frontier technologies are set to play a pivotal role in accelerating the fourth industrial revolution and boost the digital economy. The government will not only continue to provide training on frontier technologies, but also help provide financial assistance to the potential startups based on frontier technologies like AI, IoT, blockchain, Augmented Realities, Virtual Realities, he said. Project Director LICT Project Tarique M Barkatullah stressed the need for developing the best quality curriculum to ensure quality training and taking steps to introduce it in the educational institution. “Otherwise, we’ll be lagging behind in creating skills to be required to face the challenges of 4IR,” he added. IT-ITES Policy Adviser of LICT Project Sami Ahmed who played a key role in introducing `Hire and Train’ model, said this model has proved to be very much effective as it ensures 80 percent job placement in IT companies.  The training held on 22 different tracks on frontier technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain, Data Science, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT) on hire and recruitment model, he said. Sami said the country’s 55 IT companies -- 35 of Dhaka and 20 of Jashore Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park -- which are desperately looking for frontier-tech skilled manpower have benefited directly from this training.

Speakers at a virtual event called upon the country's youth  to improve their repertoire of skills by adopting fourth industrial revolution or 4IR.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the government has restored academic atmosphere in all the educational institutions and now it is the responsibility of teachers and students to perform their respective responsibilities.

Planning Minister MA Mannan emphasised on collective efforts to use different tools for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to address its challenges and harness its opportunities.