Belgium Campus ITversity | Thought Leadership

How to Prepare for a Career that Doesn't Exist Yet

On 12 September, 2018, UNICEF hosted the TomorrowReady event — a discussion about how tech and innovation are going to shape the future for children and young people."We have to prepare the children across the world for the churn that's coming" – Nicholas Thompson, WIRED

The Time is Now to Future-Proof Learning

CEO of Belgium Campus, Enrico Jacobs, explains the importance of preparing students and the workforce for Industry 4.0.The world labour market is at the dawn of a significant transformation as it prepares to maintain pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Industry 4.0 is here and it is calling for future-oriented skills and educational reform. Nowhere is this felt more than in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25, making it the world's youngest region.

Dare To Disrupt

In the tech space, it's expected that people who choose to work in this world are natural game changers and innate innovators. But it's important to realise that you don't get to that place of vision and excellence overnight. The greatest tech geniuses in this world have wisdom to share on how to find the inner and outer resources you need to, well, change the world. But as any tech icon will tell you, it takes time, patience, multiple failures, and a good, hard look at what makes you tick.

The democratisation of space… and science!

When Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy took to the skies on a balmy afternoon on February 6th this year, the event marked more than just the thrilling launch of the most powerful rocket booster in the world. Impressive as the launch was, what was really significant was that it signaled what Bill Nye, charismatic CEO of the Planetary Society, called 'the democratisation of space.'

Let technology set you free

We're moving towards an increasingly virtual world, which, in spite of the pitfalls, offers us tremendous personal freedom. Think of driverless cars and smart supermarkets like Amazon Go, which promise queue-free, check-out free shopping. With technology set to liberate us increasingly as the future unfolds, we can look forward to the advent of dramatically increased individual autonomy. But, as always, with great freedom comes great responsibility.

From 'tweet to street': Real world applications in real time.

The gap between an idea and its execution – between thought and app – is growing increasingly narrow, opening up a rich playing field for youthful innovators. Today, more than in any previous historical epoch, the arc from the conception of an idea (dreaming it up) to its execution (creating a product in the real world) is shorter than ever before.

Be the change, because change is opportunity.

As we embrace change and disruption as the new normal, we need to abandon a fear-based response, and see the challenges of change as a gateway to new opportunities. Our typical human response, when confronted by the new and unfathomable, is the 'fight or flight' instinct with which we are all hardwired. We either try to deny that change is happening, and cling to outdated beliefs and stratagems, or we kick back with resistance.

How do we set our youth up for success in 2018 and beyond?

Another academic chapter has closed, and while we reflect on the achievements of 2017, we also look toward the future. It's increasingly obvious that the way we do things is changing at a faster rate than ever before. Society, communities and businesses are advancing rapidly and becoming smarter.

Women Inventing Tomorrow

Africa is on the cusp of a digital revolution. A new paradigm of creativity and innovation is manifesting in virtually every pocket of the continent, stemming from a surge in information and communications technology (ICT), accelerated by its most powerful resource – its people.

Thought Leadership

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