After the 5th August Revolution, new hope has been instilled to take Bangladesh forward on the path of economic prosperity. This is the hope that we cherished after the bloody liberation war of 1971, when we, the students, dreamed of a bright future. But the past tells us a painful story: political parties have repeatedly failed to fulfill the aspirations of that generation. Many decisions in Bangladesh in the past 53 years have been off target, which has contributed to the ongoing political unrest and instability.
If these wrong steps continue, the country is at risk of further uncertainty and darkness. We need to realize that the current world is completely different from the previous one. Now technology has not only affected the industry, trade and services sectors, but also our daily lives. It is important to take appropriate measures to survive in a competitive world.
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, relying on old methods, knowledge and rigid mindsets regarding economic growth will not be able to meet today's challenges. The real test for older policymakers is their ability to adapt to these complex technologies that are transforming the dynamics of business and services. We need to look both ways—to the past and to the future—with a creative mindset.
What is this Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has brought about a different kind of change in industry, business, services, and even our daily lives? It has fundamentally transformed these sectors through the integration of advanced technologies and has also reshaped traditional practices. It symbolizes a new era of technological advancement, where digital, physical, and biological systems are coming together.
While previous industrial revolutions were driven by specific innovations such as steam power, electricity, and digital computing, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has blurred the boundaries between the physical, biological, and digital worlds through the combination of various emerging technologies. Although it builds on the Digital Revolution (or Third Industrial Revolution), it has brought about new levels of interconnections and automation that are fundamentally changing the way we live, work, and interact.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced robotics, 3D printing, and biotechnology and genetic engineering are at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is driving tremendous advances in productivity and efficiency. These technologies are transforming manufacturing and logistics by enabling smarter decision-making, more responsive systems, and the automation of tasks that previously relied on human intelligence.
These innovations are reshaping operations in areas such as communications, economics, and healthcare. For example, autonomous vehicles, smart assistants, and predictive analytics are improving safety, customer service, and forecasting. Biotechnology and genetic engineering, with tools like CRISPR, have led to breakthroughs in healthcare, agriculture, and environmental management. These include treating genetic diseases, increasing crop yields, and even addressing the challenges of climate change.
Many sectors in Bangladesh still follow traditional economic patterns, which are largely low-skilled, labour-intensive and low-technology. Reliance on these old methods and models can be seen in agriculture, garment manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, leather and footwear, shipbuilding and small-scale manufacturing industries, which collectively form a significant part of the country’s economic activities. Agriculture remains an important part of the Bangladeshi economy, employing about 40 percent of the workforce. However, most of this sector still relies on conventional farming methods, with limited use of modern agricultural technologies such as precision farming, automated irrigation and biotechnology.
For example, crop productivity is often below its potential due to limited use of improved seed varieties, fertilizers and pesticide technology. In contrast, countries that have adopted agricultural technology have achieved much higher productivity. As a result, they are able to produce more with less land and water.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s leading exporters of ready-made garments (RMG), but the industry is largely labour-intensive, with limited use of automation. Although factories have begun to integrate some automated modern machinery, tasks such as sewing and finishing are still largely performed manually. As a result, the industry's ability to scale up production efficiently or respond to rapidly changing market demands remains limited. Competitors, such as Vietnam, India, and China, have increasingly automated their production lines, which has helped them increase efficiency and reduce costs, allowing them to remain competitive in the global market.
A large part of Bangladesh’s economy operates in the informal sector, where small-scale productivity and local businesses are limited in their use of technology. These businesses are typically dependent on manual labor rather than automation, which limits productivity and large-scale growth. While other emerging economies are embracing Industry 4.0 through IoT and robotics, Bangladesh lags far behind in adopting digital technologies.
Despite the growth of e-commerce globally, the e-commerce sector in Bangladesh is still at an early stage compared to its neighbors, including India. Many small and medium enterprises have yet to embrace digital solutions, which is limiting their expansion and growth. The pace of business expansion and market penetration remains slow due to the lack of proper use of digital payments, logistics, and customer analytics. The government’s lack of interest in developing the sector is also hindering rapid expansion.
If Bangladesh is to remain competitive, it will need to break away from the traditional paradigm and invest in the necessary infrastructure, skills, and technology to support innovation. This requires creating a digitally competent workforce, raising the bar for research and development, and establishing policies to encourage entrepreneurship and technological advancement.
Universities play a key role in this transformation. They need to prepare their graduates not only with subject-specific knowledge, but also with adaptive skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, problem-solving, empathy, and resilience. These skills cannot be acquired through the current traditional lecture-based ‘chalk and talk’ teaching methods. To address this, teachers need to know and use alternative teaching methods such as flipped classroom learning, problem-based learning, and experiential learning. These methods help students develop adaptive skills that prepare them to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy.
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, systems need to be understood holistically, not piecemeal. Graduates therefore need to be a T-shaped workforce who have deep expertise in one area, but are able to collaborate across disciplines. University curricula in Bangladesh follow a Cartesian approach, where complex systems are broken down into parts for analysis.
However, this reductionist approach is not compatible with today’s interconnected world, which requires a more holistic view. To survive in a technologically advanced, interconnected world, higher education must urgently embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution-driven economy and transform itself. At the same time, the government cannot afford to ignore the nearly 66 million low-skilled workers. An integrated, innovative solution to this urgent problem is urgently needed—and the nation is eager for its emergence.
MM Shahidul Hasan: Former Vice-Chancellor, East West University and Professor (Retd), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
