Sharjah Tatweer Forum (STF), an entity of the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators, held an innovative retreat that explored the future of work through ‘Eduvation.’ The event took place from the 8th of December to the 9th of December, 2017 at the Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert.

The first session introduced the concept of Eduvation, concentrating on critical thinking, learning and applying knowledge, behavioural skills, and the ability adapt to changing environments. Participants learnt that Eduvation harnesses technological innovation in order to develop education processes, whether by increasing access to education, or evolving new and more effective approaches to transferring skill-sets.

HE Jassem Al Blooshi, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators conveyed:

“The focus on Eduvation this year was driven by our commitment to explore the future of learning, skills and the workplace, based on the needs and trends of the local and global markets. This is especially important in response to the statistics that have revealed that a significant number of university graduates do not end up in jobs that commensurate with their educational background. Furthermore, the statistics indicated that some employees do not have the required skillsets for their roles. This has caused a skill gap in the job market and the educational system must provide the required capabilities.”

“Today, we are living in a digital age, and this requires a different and new calibre of employees. Digital innovations have changed the way we work, for example, in the future robotics will replace a lot of jobs currently carried out by humans, and we must cope with these changes that are happening now and in the future. The job market must take a holistic approach, and strong partnerships must be created between the private, public and academic sectors to periodically and collaboratively review the current approaches to learning and education. Equally importantly, we must harness the available technologies to improve education,” he added.

Al Blooshi pointed out those non-educational institutions also play an important part, such as the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators and the institutions under its umbrella, in meeting the job market’s prerequisites. A student learns skills over a period of 25 years, from their school years to a post-graduate level. One of the postgraduate training courses which complement education is the Sharjah Leadership Programme, which is one of the annual programmes organised by Sharjah Tatweer Forum. It is based on three levels: higher education, vocational training, and providing individuals with exceptional skills through job training.

Hazem Galal, Partner and Cities and Local Government Sector Global Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers said, “We were happy to support Sharjah Tatweer Forum once again, to actually bring together a group of talented individuals who worked together towards a common cause. In this case, we focused on what we call ‘Eduvation,’ which we discussed together to find out how we could fill the skill gap and provide the requirements for the labour market in the UAE.”

“We had academics and individuals from the government, private, and public sectors working together in order to find practical implementable solutions, that would help the UAE enhance its human capital to continue to develop its own people and attract global talents.” He added.

The second session explored the education ecosystem and the social and economic institutions within it. It emphasised three key institutions: tertiary education, vocational training, and on-the-job training. Furthermore, it looked at stakeholders that play an active role in supporting the learning processes: the government, academic institutions, the corporate sector, include large enterprises, as well as small and medium enterprises.

The third session introduced a case study about how innovation in education is transforming access and approaches to learning. The study discussed the numerous global approaches such as Coursera, Khan Academy, and Macat, which promote access to skill development and transcend traditional approaches. 

The fourth session examined innovative approaches to transforming learning and development into business results. Deliberated topics included: whether formal learning is the best format to facilitate performance enhancement, how organisations leverage the benefits of informal learning, whether training is the solution, how worker and workplace paradigms are formed, and how to hold training accountable for business results, and defining business outcomes to documenting results. Subsequent to this, there was a short session that encouraged participants to plan for the next day’s team exercises.

The last day of the retreat held a session on the solution development and impact measurement: leveraging innovative education tools for skills-development. This session encouraged the skillsets demanded by a changing economy which require innovative approaches. Participants were divided into four groups: government, academic institutions, corporate sector, large enterprises, and small and medium enterprises and answered a series of questions. Following this, said groups delivered a debrief to the plenary, presented their potential solutions, both short and long term, and how they could be implemented.

 (STF) was established in 2005 after an Emiri decree under the vision of HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.  The forum’s mission is to promote awareness about sustainable development using key international, regional, and local trends. Additionally, it aspires to strengthen the UAE’s connection with economic sectors, whilst adhering to the development and implementation of entrepreneurship, a knowledge-based economy, and innovation.