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The University Grants Commission (UGC) will introduce three special skill-development courses at universities across Bangladesh from January next year to better prepare students for the job market.
UGC member Prof Dr Abdullah-Al-Mamun announced the decision while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled “Bridging Academia and Industry for Sustainable Development: Research Excellence, Innovation and Industrialization.”
Begum Rokeya University’s Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) organised the discussion, chaired by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dr Md Shawkat Ali.
Prof Mamun said academic knowledge alone was not enough to ensure success in the job market, emphasising the need for students to acquire professional skills alongside their formal education.
“Alongside academic education, students must also develop skills in information technology, job preparation, communication, professional conduct and ethics,” he said.
The three courses will cover information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI), employability skills, and ethics and professionalism.
The courses will be introduced under the UGC’s Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project to equip students with skills required in modern workplaces, he added.
Mamun said the incumbent government’s election manifesto had highlighted plans to modernise education, promote third-language learning, strengthen industry-academia collaboration and internationalise the education sector.
He also encouraged students to develop soft skills and consider entrepreneurship rather than relying solely on traditional job opportunities.
Teachers, researchers, students and other stakeholders of the university attended the discussion.