‘Demands in Asia need to be met and power of new technology poses challenges’

Funding and feedback have highlighted importance of Asian trade, says Roddy Gow

world’s leading management consultancy firm, spent a day in Edinburgh, meeting with students and investment professionals.

He judged a young entrepreneur competition and spoke to a sold out audience in the university. As a business leader and advisor to the world’s top CEOS, he had a resounding message – the world is changing at an ever-increasing velocity, accentuated by recent political events in the United States, Britain and Europe.

Growing pressures and demands in Asia need to be addressed and the power of technology to change our lives poses challenges – of 60 per cent of all jobs undertaken by people now, nearly a third or 30 per cent can be performed more effectively by robots or machines. The threat to employment in middle America comes less from foreign trade and competition from China and elsewhere than from the automisation of manufacturing processes.

During the coming months our growing number of followers will be able to hear and learn from speakers such as Adam Keswick of Jardine Matheson, Mr Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, Mr S. Ramadorai, founder of Tata Consulting Services, authors, ambassadors and high commissioners.

In schools, colleges, universities and business schools the programme is building and more and more are becoming aware that in this century of Asia knowledge and understanding are key to achieving success and expanding business. It is the power of world class Speakers that has and will effect this change and led to the engagement with the minds of Scotland’s Leaders of Tomorrow. “Well Mr Gow, and what makes you think that you will ever attract anyone of any importance to visit Scotland to speak?”! Roddy Gow, Chairman and Founder, Asia Scotland Institute

For centuries, Scotland has been seen as a leader in imparting knowledge through learning.

In the Renaissance, Scots travelled extensively, carrying a tradition of understanding the Classics and possessing a developed knowledge of mathematics, languages and literature.

More than their English and Irish cousins they secured positions in Europe and beyond as administrators and merchants in foreign courts and countries.

That desire to learn and facility for teaching survives in Scotland’s many colleges and universities and in initiatives to equip the Scotsmen and women of the 21st century with the knowledge and skills to engage with the challenges and oppor- tunities of the modern world. In the Spring of 2012, five years ago, the Asia Scotland Institute was launched in the Playfair Library of Edinburgh University. I outlined its mission to equip tomorrow’s leaders with the knowledge and skills to engage or rather re-engage with Asia and to educate and inspire the next generation to better understand Asia in all its complexities through mounting events throughout Scotland in arts & culture, policy & politics and business & economics.

I shared my thoughts on how experts would be able to impart their knowledge to the audiences that we would attract. At the conclusion of the talk a hand was raised – “Well Mr Gow, and what makes you think that you will ever attract any- one of any importance to visit Scotland to speak?”

Five years later as we begin to celebrate the growth of the institute, we can look back on a global conference and more than 50 events attended by growing audiences and a following of mor than 5000 individuals, institutions and companies.

Reactions and feedback have highlighted the importance felt about the opening up of Asia and the comprehensive analyses of world events by leading economists such as Lord Jim O’neill, Lord Desai, Gerard Lyons, Danny Quah, Stephen King and, shortly, Patrick Minford as part of our Adam Smith series of global economic Briefings. Earlier this month Dominic Barton, global head of Mckinsey and company, the