PUTRAJAYA: Virtual classes and assessments without examination are among the things that the country’s higher education institutions (IPTs) need to adapt amid changes brought about by Industry 4.0, says Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said.
Industry 4.0 refers to the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.
“Changes need to be made so that the country’s IPTs can position itself in line with the changes brought by Industry 4.0, which will create a lot of new jobs,” he said when delivering his 2018 mandate to ministry staff here, yesterday.
Idris said among the new jobs which would soon be popular are cyber security experts, digital marketing specialists, 3D printing specialists, urban farmers, data scientists, robotics engineers and aerospace engineers.
In line with this goal, he said the ministry’s slogan this year would be ‘Higher Education 4.0: Knowledge, Industry and Humanity’.
“This change will ensure IPTs remain relevant. In today’s world, those with no degrees are able to generate high income and even become millionaires if they are wise in terms of using technology,” he said.
Idris said the CEO@Faculty programme which has been implemented at public universities will be extended to polytechnics and community colleges this year.
The ministry would also ensure that 80 per cent of students get entrepreneurial exposure while studying, so that they could become job creators rather than job seekers after graduation, he added. — Bernama