What is current reality?

Universities have been playing great role in nation's development. Their research and innovations shape societies. They produce high quality professionals who lead new initiatives, run coporations, create wealth and provide millions of job. These still remain valid even today. However, scenario has changed drastically now. In a short period of time, particularly 25 years post-internet, we have seen so many changes around - a heavily technology layered living. We are surrounded by more and more real time systems where actions and responses are instant. Our private space in shrinking, while most of our digital assets are in others' hand. Frankly, we are moving towards a very complicated time. Refer to all that's happening in AI world. It is raising questions about human ability to deal with a full blown AI-world. Predictably society of the future will have some form of 'Technology Order' that will define new norms of global order. Quoting Klaus Schwab, Founder, and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, who rightly described the current trend - a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres’, a scenario that is fundamentally altering the way we live, work, and relate to one another— organizations are connecting everyone and everything, everywhere, all the time. They are becoming capable of delivering instant, intimate, frictionless, incremental value on a large scale. This is unthinkable before!

Do universities keep pace in their setting and remain as influential as they used to be? Answer lies in peeping into future. Let us make an attempt. Economics is always very fascinating subject. Within that, the rise of digital economy is further creating special interest among nations, as its share in the overall economy is increasing while spill-over effect is tremendous. As per UNCTAD's first-ever Digital Economy Report-2019, digital economy share is 4.5 to 15.5 per cent of world GDP. United States and China together accounts for almost 40 per cent of the world total digital economy. It is expected to generate employment opportunity up 50 million. East Asia led by China will remain major center for value added ICT manufacturing. In 2018, digitally deliverable service exports amounted to $2.9 trillion, or 50 per cent of global services exports. China and India together account for the biggest consumer market. Unfortunately, universities have rarely made an attempt to visualise how they can play more important role in digital economy sphere, than just producing skilled manpower. 

This scenario is irreversible. Hence, opportunity for universities lies into re-orienting and working in tandem with industry and government and feeding them with innovations, standarsd, policy input, frameworks and business models etc. Corporations of the world are changing in character. Many in fortune 500 exist purely because of cyber world. They bring a new belief and culture of business driven by continuous innovation. So entire focus is on innovation, which anyway results into wealth. Think of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba, Airbnb, Tencent, Tesla and Uber …etc. In these firms, profits are the result, not the goal that defines 21^st-century thinking. Talent drives strategy; small teams may be enough in dealing with big issues; complex systems are descaled; and new age companies create wealth by innovating and not necessarily by focusing on money.

Do universities rise to the new expectations? May be- however, change often is small and change cycle is long. The utility of research carried out in university schools is also not convincingly established as its remains a ‘Library to library’ journey. The fact is that most businesses reach out to consulting firms, and not to university Schools for guidance.