SINGAPORE, 17 December 2018 – ASEAN youth representatives convened for the 2nd ASEAN University Student Council (AUSCU) Conference to discuss challenges and opportunities of Industry 4.0 on 15-16 December in Singapore.
The 2-day event brought together around 100 youth participants, including university student leaders from across ASEAN Member States and advisors from the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY).
Under the theme “ASEAN Youth as Thought Leaders: Developing 21st Century Skills for Youth Leaders”, the conference highlighted panel discussions on: Optimising the Role of Social Media in Youth Employment, the Rise of the Gig Economy: Employment Pattern Redefined, and Current Education in Sync with the Industry 4.0.
Lively discussions throughout the conference were made possible by the participation of social media influencers such as Indonesian actor-cum-entrepreneur Glenn Alinskie and Sylvia Chan of Singapore’s Night Owl Cinematics, as well as representatives of LinkedIn, Grab, Quipper and tech-preneurs from InvestEd and Zestaly. ASEAN youth activists and representatives from the ASEAN University Network and Passage to ASEAN also enriched the discussions through the sharing of their vision and experience.
Through a series of focus group discussions and World Café sessions, the students agreed that the dynamics of employment patterns were inevitable and would continue to evolve. The education system was suggested to be transformative and constantly realigned to meet the dynamic needs of employment patterns at all times.
The conference reaffirmed the important role of the ASEAN youth in creating innovative solutions to overcome any challenges that may emerge from Industry 4.0. Youth volunteerism was also underlined as an effective approach to develop 21st Century Skills among ASEAN youth while at the same time, promote equitable access to the potential gains of Industry 4.0.
Consistent with its objective, the conference delivered a set of recommendations to ensure the readiness of ASEAN students and youth for Industry 4.0.
AUSCU was established in March 2017 as a platform of cooperation and collaboration among university student leaders and organisations that aims to, among others, raise ASEAN awareness.
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