By Ishtiaq Ahmed
All social and economic indicators related to Bangladesh are very encouraging and strongly indicate the potential of the country to get into the next phase of growth. If we can reach an 8% GDP growth level and sustain it, we will become a middle income nation. There are number of driving factors already identified to fuel the growth of GDP with one of the most important being the development of human capital. It has been witnessed that developed nations have a more evolved level of skill in terms of human capital; a development that can only be brought about through Personal Social Responsibility (PSR), a tool that has been proven to be both powerful and effective in this endeavor.
f we study the progress of developed countries then we will find that the educated citizens have played a critical role in developing the skills of their manpower and extending their contribution. An example of this is the many reputed universities in the USA. They had been founded and funded by local farmers and communities while competent professionals extended their hands for research activities and offered a part of their time for knowledge sharing, and community scholarships offered by the wealthier population.
The quality of education in Bangladesh is currently on the discussion agenda. We all make robust participation in the discussion and extensively critique it. However, the missing link is that we all hope the Government will address all these issues and hope for the best. It is much easier to throw criticism as opposed to making a constructive move for the betterment ourselves. We fail to understand that this undertaking is not possible by the Government alone.
I would like to question all qualified corporate professionals regarding the following matters: What is our contribution in human capital development in our country? What have we done for our future generations?
There are a sufficient number of competent corporate professionals working in different industries in different local institutions and MNCs. They all have graduated from reputed public or private universities. These individual have the ability to create a definitive change in the country by simply contributing a few hours of their time each month. Sharing their knowledge and experience to the youth and university students of the nation will be a valuable insight of their respective fields. The corporate professionals can share their learning from on the job experiences. This is an extremely powerful means of bridging the understanding of theoretical and execution perspectives. A 2-3 hour session from a corporate professional will aid in learning versatile perspectives of a particular subject. This should include consolidated knowledge of the speaker based on his/her 4-5 years on the job learning.
“The competent corporate professionals can play the most vital role of transforming the skills of human capital in this country as part of their PSR.”
I have been personally engaged in such knowledge sharing sessions since 2002 which have been extremely beneficial for students who have taken part. This model is a robust approach to enhance the quality of education and augmenting the hands of the faculty members. I have run after the University Faculty Members to give me an opportunity to organize such knowledge sharing session. This has led me to attend around 100 knowledge sharing sessions in last 10 years and at my own initiatives. There is a great sense of pride in knowing and sharing the benefits, and contribution in human development capital amongst my peers and comrades. The idea of PSR and the power of the individual contribution towards it must be made more aware throughout the nation.
The competent corporate professionals can play the most vital role of transforming the skills of human capital in this country as part of their PSR. This endeavor should be a personal initiative taken by these gifted individuals, starting with their own universities or the universities that cater to their discipline.
I don’t believe that there is any other activity which is as respectful and rewarding as supporting the human capital development of the county because the people of a nation are its greatest commodity.
The writer has 20 years of working experience in reputed MNCs and renowned local companies. He can be reached at ishtiaq00726@gmail.com
