Three special courses to be introduced at universities to boost employability: UGC member

Three special skill-development courses will be introduced at universities across the country from January next year to equip students with skills required in the job market, said UGC member Prof Dr Abdullah-Al-Mamun.

The courses are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Employability Skills, and Ethics and Professionalism.

He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled “Bridging Academia and Industry for Sustainable Development: Research Excellence, Innovation and Industrialisation”, organised by Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, on Thursday.

“Alongside academic education, students need to develop skills in information technology, job preparation, communication, professional behaviour and ethics,” Prof Mamun said.

He said the three courses would be introduced under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) Project of the UGC.

“These courses will help students acquire the skills required in modern workplaces in addition to their academic knowledge,” he said.

The UGC member also stressed the importance of learning a third language, industry-academia collaboration and the internationalisation of education.

He said learning a third language would create more opportunities for students in both domestic and international labour markets.

“Proficiency in a third language will make communication with foreign organisations and people from different countries easier and expand opportunities for international education and employment,” he said.

He said the government also aimed to create 200,000 new jobs annually in the technology sector and had proposed a Tk500 crore Startup Fund to encourage startups and young entrepreneurs in the 2026-27 fiscal year.

He stressed that universities should prepare young people not only as job seekers but also as job creators.

“For this, emphasis is being given to developing Innovation Hubs, Incubation Centres, Startup Ecosystems and effective links between universities and industries,” he said.

The seminar was organised by the university’s Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC). Begum Rokeya University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Shawkat Ali chaired the event.

Teachers, researchers, students and other stakeholders of the university attended the seminar.