Government plans to train children in IT for future automation, says Joy

Information technology will become the basic infrastructure for garment manufacture, shipbreaking, agro-industry and food in future, Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 7 Dec 2017, 12:25 PM
Updated : 7 Dec 2017, 12:25 PM

He referred to Industry 4.0, a name for the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technology, to lay down his vision for Bangladesh’s IT. It includes cyber-physical systems, the internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing.

Joy described it as an era where cyber systems will be interconnected with the robotics system, with the management system and to human interface.

Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, spoke on the second day of the Digital World-2017 in Dhaka on Thursday.

Promising to take IT training further to the primary level of education, Joy said: “Every youth enrolled in Grade VI in Bangladesh is familiar with IT -- not just in the city but in every village.”

Alongside learning to read and write, children in Bangladesh must learn how to use a computer, a smartphone and the internet, he said. “They will become the innovators of tomorrow,” Joy said in his keynote speech.

“If we can train your future generation to be comfortable with technology, they will no longer need to aspire to work in a garment factory or some other factories. They can aspire to offer services online, on their smartphones in cyber space.”

Recalling the beginning of the Digital Bangladesh journey in 2008, Joy said: “Vision 2021 is where 90 percent of services in Bangladesh will be delivered electronically; 90 percent of all the citizens will be connected to the internet.”

“We have been digitising government services. Tomorrow your entire life will be at your fingertips in your hand, in your smartphone. You will be able to avail all government and most public services right through your smartphone.”

“Our goal is to make 80 percent of all government services available at your fingertips, in your handsets,” Joy went on.

He said he looks to a future when there will be self-driving cars in Bangladesh.

“Imagine if all of these cars were driving themselves. There would be no more traffic jams. The cars would coordinate among each other, they would all travel at 40 kilometres an hour; there would be no need for stop signs.”

He highlighted how intelligent robots are performing many of the functions in the city.

“Many of you had the opportunity to meet Sophia and now in Bangladesh we have restaurants served by robots. This is the future, this already exists in Bangladesh,” he said.

He pledged to work towards Industry 4.0 highlighting some biomedical technical advances that the Awami League government is working on.

“Eventually your smartphones could directly connect to your central nervous system to provide certain services. Genetic editing to eliminating certain diseases -- these are all we are working on in Bangladesh today.”

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Congo Prime Minister Diedonne Kalombo Nkile, Congo State Minister for Post and Telecoms Kan Channmeta also spoke on the occasion.