We must prepare students for unexpected challenges

If these past two years have taught us anything, it is that change is the sole constant, and our lack of preparedness can be the greatest hindrance towards our survival as well as our development. The lack of global assessment and planning led to the worst pandemic in a hundred years, since the Spanish Flu. As a generation under siege, we need to deeply understand and prioritize critical analysis of events, particularly the shortcomings.

The widespread economic downturn has highlighted one of the greatest systemic fears that has stemmed from the rapid progression in technology; automation leading to mass job losses. Fighting technological development is not a realistic option for societal development. Our lifestyle now has very much been tied to large scale production, enabling the exploitation of the economies of scale, thus making consumption more affordable. For students who are about to start, or have already started their careers, it is important to build robust mechanisms that build resilience against unexpected downturns like the one brought about by the pandemic. The key to build resilience revolves primarily around doing 3 things: A. Be open to always learning, and staying up-to-date on emerging technologies and industry trends. B. Managing career trajectory and building net worth by taking charge of your goals, both short and long term. To effectively manage this, engaging in deep professional interpersonal relationships is essential, as having a strong professional network can help stem the tide against changes in your career that may extend beyond your control. C. Prepare for the future, and work towards always staying relevant by knowing what will be of value 5, 10, 20, 50 years from now.

There is no perfect solution to the inherent disadvantage of labour obsolescence that is brought on through automation. However, there are ways for the future generations to be well-prepared.

The most realistic long-term solution is developing skills that allow one to, as political commentator John Oliver stated, perform non-routine tasks that require social intelligence, complex critical thinking and creative problem solving.

This starts at a fundamental level in a student’s life, and as the world moves toward technology aided instruction faster, such skills would only bolster the capabilities of students in managing this change. This, however, mandates studying and understanding technology more today than was ever necessary.

The terrifying UN climate report dictated the major climatic challenges to be faced the next 30 years. The climatic disasters in 2020 and 2021 are a model of what kind of disasters humanity will face. The world has been witnessing a surge in cyclones, earthquakes, heatwaves and unnatural forest fires. An urgent need for many comprehensive and radical changes need to be made.

One of the biggest systemic changes in society has been a tremendous increase in social awareness, including criticism of the data economy and identification of rising authoritarianism around the world. Social media activism has become more organised and analytical, causing them to have the ability to influence the social and financial future of everyone from celebrities to organisations. Social media has also allowed the permanency of thought, removing the ability of deniability for the accused.

Any ideology is always subject to moral particularism and circumstantiality. Not only is developing a moral compass relevant for self-fulfillment, but it is also becoming an integral element for developed societies. It is important for students to think critically and understand new and relevant ideas. Understanding change management is critical to this mission. Students should be taught approaches to prepare, support, and help individuals, teams, and organizations in bringing about societal change through relevant and accessible technology.

With the increasing complexity of data management, the threats to our cybersecurity have become harder to keep track of.

These threats range from data theft for commercial purposes to leaking of confidential information leading to international events. For students who are beginning to enter the workforce, it should be a priority to build services and products that highlight the threats of malware, make people more aware of the importance of understanding firewalls and how to understand terms and conditions to protect their privacy.

It is thus important to work on developing cyber intelligence and be prudent about information storage, which might mean prioritising security over ease. Development of technology without precaution can lead to unprecedented disaster.

As perennial learners, we have to decide which tangent we should develop upon, whether to revert back to traditionalistic approach which, despite its relative simplicity, will lead to the end of our evolution, or we can utilise these next few years to prepare for the unexpected challenges to come.

THE WIDESPREAD ECONOMIC DOWNTURN HAS HIGHLIGHTED ONE OF THE GREATEST SYSTEMIC FEARS THAT HAS STEMMED FROM THE RAPID PROGRESSION IN TECHNOLOGY