Be curious to learn, degrees won’t guarantee a bright future: Experts

dubai — A university degree “isn’t sufficient enough” to guarantee a bright future for students as educational institutions create more “robots” than innovators, a top Dubai government official has said.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the GEMS Xhibit event on September 25, Dr Sayd Farook, advisor at the Director-General Office of the Executive Council, said youngsters are “being brainwashed” by adults who limit their ability to be creative.

A panel discussion during the event heard a similar debate on how students must think beyond just getting university degrees and learn to have a “growth mindset”.

“Where I work, we removed the requirement of any degree because we realised it’s more about the ability to learn,” Dr Farook told Khaleej

“The proxy for quality has always been a university degree, but, it’s changing to experience and proven experience.

Sayed Hashish, regional general manager of Microsoft, told Khaleej

that Microsoft is now hiring based on the applicant’s potential and not is he or she has a university degree.

“We want people with a culture who can move from the know-itall to a learn-it-all approach — students who are curious, have the right level of empathy to experiment and are not afraid to try and fail will learn and grow. This is what will be most important to building a brighter future,” Hashish said.

“Anything you know today can be obsolete from a technical point of view in three to four months. But if you have the ability to learn, collaborate and if you’re curious enough to learn and research, this is what will get you going on the longer term.”

Dee Dissanayake, success executive at Oliv — an online student and fresh graduate recruitment firm — told Khaleej Times many companies are “taking a stand” by hiring individuals who don’t have degrees, but, have the potential.

“You see the most successful entrepreneurs of our day — such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg — are all there because they have the curiosity to innovate and learn and have a growth mindset,” she said.

We want people with a culture who can move from the know-it-all to a learn-it-all approach. This is what will be most important to building a brighter future.”

Sayed Hashish, regional general manager, Microsoft