Featured in the Media – Page 27 – Asia School of Business

HAVING a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) mindset is important for students pursuing these fields. STEM is a mindset and a framework not just for these disciplines, but also for life, said professor of mechanical engineering at the Sloan School of Management at MIT Sanjay Sarma, who has more than 20 patents to his name for radio-frequency identification (RFID) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies. “Once you have mastery of a STEM mindset, you will view the world differently.

Every time you step into a lift or ride in a train, you will think about everything that makes it work,” he told StarEdu. Among Sanjay’s noteworthy achievements was teaming up with a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers to develop a disposable and affordable smart diaper embedded with an RFID tag designed to sense and communicate wetness to a nearby RFID reader which can, in turn, wirelessly send a notification to a caregiver that it’s time for a change.

The process of inventing, said Sanjay, starts with an idea, followed by attempts to make it practical and realistic before a prototype is created and finally commercialised.“Invention is an instinct that is practised all the time. It comes from problem recognition, which is important, followed by a problem-solving mindset and the mindset of connecting dots,” he added.

On encouraging young children to actively participate in STEM, Sanjay, who is also Asia School of Business chief executive officer, president and dean, said the current approach of having them solely solving examination problems and passive listening in classrooms is inadequate. He suggested that a mindset shift towards the practical application of knowledge is necessary to promote deeper learning.

“We need to change the mindset towards the act of doing something with what they learn. This will encourage a sense of urgency, invention, application and commercialisation. “The fire that drives performance is curiosity. Once this fire is lit, it needs to be fanned with information. “The application is a form of internalising the information. The more this becomes a practice, the more likely that they will continue in that field,” he said.

Cognisant of the constantly evolving STEM field, Sanjay said it is crucial to stay updated on the latest trends and innovations. As an avid reader, he sets up news alerts to stay informed about the latest developments. He also takes time out every day to consider the implications of ideas expressed within articles, videos and podcasts. Sanjay said this approach has helped him stay ahead of the curve and be more successful in his endeavours within the field.

“It is not the only future but mastering STEM will pave the way for you to have a lot of options. “Task yourself to understand vaccinations for Covid-19, for example. How do vaccines work? What is mRNA? Grapple with it and you will develop a knack for mastering it. There are so many channels these days to learn from,” he said. Despite his enthusiasm for STEM, Sanjay believes that having an interest in the arts and humanities is crucial to becoming a lifelong learner, of which he is an advocate.

While he played a pivotal role at MIT in developing cutting-edge technologies that now form the backbone of RFID standards used worldwide, he also created innovative programmes for open learning during his decade-long tenure as the vice president for open learning at the varsity. “We are heading for a much more integrated approach in our economies and so, I recommend students to not be unidimensional.

“Study STEM but read a book, appreciate music, and try your hand at an art like painting. The mental muscles, like your body, need balanced activation,” Sanjay said, adding that the act of being committed to learning is equally as important. “In the end, always remember to practise diligence and perseverance. It’s worth it.” Now that you have read the article, test your understanding by carrying out the following English language activities.

Name three technological inventions that you are most thankful for. Explain your choices to your activity partner.
If you could ask Sanjay three questions, what would they be? With your partner, discuss his potential answers. Then, role-play the interview.

Originally published by The Star.

KUALA LUMPUR: As the Asia School of Business for the MBA Class of 2023 graduated today, the Sultan of Perak imparted a short and simple message that he himself believes in. “Keep learning,” said Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah before ending his commencement address at the Asia School of Business here today. Sultan Nazrin said he had decided to offer them the piece of guidance that resonated with his own life’s journey.

“And while today may, for many of you, mark the end of your formal education, I want to end by reminding you that there are always new skills to develop and new discoveries to be made. “So do keep learning as you continue your journey from here, and do not ever close off your imagination to new discoveries and opportunities. “Stay interested, stay engaged and stay curious. And remember that, even after centuries of revolutionary, high-tech inventions – after electricity, the Internet, and now ChatGPT – the human mind remains the most powerful tool on the planet.

“And while you keep seeking the truth through lifelong learning, do also make sure to take actions as well,” said Sultan Nazrin. He said they could also look to Academy Award winner actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, who had delivered an address to the Harvard Law School of 2023 on how to pick oneself up after falling. He said in it, she drew on her own experience of moving unexpectedly from a career in dance to a career in film – of taking on industry barriers and death-defying stunts – to offer the graduating students some sage advice on “how to survive the fall” and get back up again.

“Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, I have never taken on any action movie stunts myself. So, if you want to learn about falling and bouncing back, whether metaphorically or physically, I urge you to look up Yeoh’s wonderful speech,” he said. Sultan Nazrin said empathy and cultural understanding were both so important in the world today as while connected by technology, transport, business and networks, humanity was still plagued by many divisions.

He said there were also other uncertainties and grave risks from artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitics and the impacts of the climate crisis. “To steer humanity through these challenging times, what we need perhaps even more than the excellent understanding of business attained through your MBA programmes is compassion, togetherness and above all a sense of global community.

“We need to be aware of this community as perhaps never before – extending our concerns and applying our responsibilities not only to the rest of humanity, but to all other living creatures in the world and to the planet itself,” he added. He said in the past year, the world has witnessed a development which is as “seismic as the harnessing of electricity for human use was in the 19th century.”

Sultan Nazrin was referring to ChatGPT and the other generative AI tools, which emerged very recently and are being hailed as both saviour and downfall of humans. He said these tools would certainly massively boost productivity as humans, saving time and creating multiple efficiencies across all kinds of processes, let alone helping to spark ideas for anyone struggling with writer’s block.

“But they will also reshape so many aspects of our lives beyond the workplace, in unprecedented, and, yes, unsettling ways. And as far as generative AI goes, especially in combination with other advancing elements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, this is only the beginning. “So while this changing landscape presents exciting opportunities, with challenges in need of solutions and so many discoveries and innovations waiting to be made, it is also daunting.

“It will require members of the workforce of tomorrow to be inventive, proactive, adaptable, in ways never demanded before. Let alone being digital natives, these workers – including yourselves – will be natives of artificial, augmented and virtual worlds, using technology both existing and yet to be created,” he said.

Originally published by New Straits Times
Also published in The Star, The Edge, Astro AWANI, Bernama, Sinar Harian, Oriental Daily News and The Malaysian Insight.

There’s been a bit more buzz around AI this week following an open letter signed by a group of AI experts and other high-profile figures and released by the Center for AI Safety. The open letter had only one line – “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

Listen to the full interview below.

Originally published by BFM.

Singapore Temasek Holding’s decided to cut the pay of the staff responsible for the failed 275 US million dollar investment in bankrupt FTX, in an unprecedented move for collective accountability and good governance. We speak with Elsa Satkunasingam from Asia School of Business, and what this could mean for Malaysia’s Government-Linked Investment Companies.

Listen to the full interview below.

Originally published by BFM.

Apakah kebolehan Tabung Kewangan Asia (AMF)? Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa sebagai contoh.

Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa – bersama-sama Bank Dunia yang menjadi Pertubuhan Perdagangan Dunia – diwujudkan pada Persidangan Bretton Woods pada Julai 1944. Matlamatnya adalah untuk mewujudkan sistem antarabangsa yang akan menyelesaikan masalah yang menjejaskan perdagangan dan hubungan kewangan semasa tempoh antara perang.

Manipulasi mata wang telah membawa kepada dasar perdagangan perlindungan yang membahayakan perdagangan dan perdagangan antarabangsa. Keutamaan tarif dalam empayar British juga telah mengehadkan peluang perdagangan untuk tanah jajahan. Beberapa negara, terutamanya Jerman, telah mengalami hiperinflasi dalam tempoh antara perang, dan secara amnya dipercayai bahawa aliran modal tidak stabil.

Kewujudan sistem antarabangsa dipersetujui untuk menangani kekurangan ini dengan menekankan kepentingan sistem perdagangan pelbagai hala terbuka; ketiadaan kawalan ke atas pembayaran antarabangsa untuk urus niaga yang berkaitan dengan perdagangan barangan dan perkhidmatan; dan sistem pariti kadar pertukaran yang dikaitkan dengan emas melalui dolar Amerika Syarikat.

Sistem Bretton-Wood telah berkembang dari semasa ke semasa melalui dua dimensi penting. Pertama, sistem nilai tara bagi kadar pertukaran yang ditambat telah, di banyak negara, memberi laluan kepada sistem kadar pertukaran yang fleksibel di mana bank pusat di setiap bidang kuasa bertanggungjawab ke atas dasar monetari dengan objektif untuk mencapai kestabilan monetari dan kewangan domestik dan bukannya mempertahankan nilai tara tertentu untuk mata wang.

Kedua, liberalisasi aliran modal antarabangsa telah membawa kepada peningkatan yang ketara dalam aliran sedemikian yang membolehkan negara membiayai pelaburan domestik melalui pinjaman luar tetapi juga menyebabkan ekonomi mengalami kejutan yang berpunca daripada pasaran modal antarabangsa. Peranan Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa telah berkembang seiring dengan sistem monetari antarabangsa.

Daripada memberi tumpuan kepada kestabilan kadar pertukaran semata-mata, IMF kini memberi tumpuan kepada dasar monetari, kewangan dan fiskal secara lebih umum dalam kerja pengawasan dua hala dan pelbagai halanya. Ia juga telah berkembang menjadi sebuah institusi yang menyediakan pembiayaan kepada negara yang mempunyai keperluan imbangan pembayaran, sekali gus menyediakan apa yang dirujuk sebagai jaringan keselamatan antarabangsa untuk ekonomi yang mengalami kesukaran.

Pada masa yang sama, peningkatan pesat dalam perdagangan antarabangsa dan aliran modal telah memihak kepada penggunaan dolar Amerika Syarikat oleh sektor swasta sebagai mata wang yang paling sesuai untuk denominasi pembayaran, sehingga setakat ini ia merupakan mata wang yang paling kerap digunakan dalam urus niaga pertukaran asing.

Ini bukanlah satu evolusi yang secara langsung hasil daripada IMF sebagai sebuah institusi. Ia kerana daripada
Amerika Syarikat yang mempunyai pasaran kewangan yang terbesar dan paling terbuka di mana individu, firma, bank, dan institusi rasmi boleh meminjam dan meminjamkan secara bebas dan, sebahagian besarnya, dengan selamat.

Berdasarkan latar belakang ini, apakah masalah sistemik yang mungkin diselesaikan oleh penubuhan Tabung Kewangan Asia?

Kita boleh mula dengan penyediaan jaringan keselamatan kewangan serantau yang membolehkan negara meminjam sekiranya menghadapi masalah pembayaran luar. Kemudahan sedemikian telah pun wujud dalam bentuk Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) yang ditubuhkan oleh negara ASEAN+3 (sepuluh anggota ASEAN ditambah Republik Rakyat China, Jepun dan Republik Korea).

*Gagasan Tabung Kewangan Asia dicetuskan semula oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim baru-baru ini.*

Ini adalah perjanjian pertukaran kontrak antara negara yang terlibat di mana ahli boleh meminjam untuk membiayai keperluan kecairan imbangan pembayaran jangka pendek, dan ia menyediakan jaringan keselamatan kewangan serantau sama seperti kemudahan pinjaman IMF menyediakan jaringan keselamatan kewangan global.

Seperti yang dinyatakan, IMF menjalankan pengawasan ke atas dasar ekonomi negara anggota dengan objektif untuk mengurangkan secara awal kemungkinan mereka perlu memanfaatkan kemudahan pinjamannya. Begitu juga, negara ASEAN+3 negara menubuhkan AMRO-Asia (ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office) yang beribu pejabat di Singapura.

Di samping menjalankan pengawasan dasar ekonomi negara anggota, peranan utamanya terdiri daripada menyokong CMIM dan menyediakan bantuan teknikal kepada negara anggota. Dengan kewujudan CMIM dan AMRO-Asia nampaknya tidak perlu untuk mewujudkan Dana Kewangan Asia untuk menjalankan pengawasan makroekonomi, pinjaman sokongan imbangan pembayaran jangka pendek, dan bantuan teknikal.

Setakat mana fungsi ini perlu diperkukuh atau diubah suai, nampaknya lebih cekap untuk melakukannya dalam rangka kerja institusi sedia ada daripada menubuhkan institusi baharu. Bagaimana pula dengan percubaan untuk mengurangkan peranan dolar AS dalam transaksi pembayaran serantau? Ambil perhatian bahawa kepentingan dolar AS dalam pembayaran antarabangsa telah berkembang secara organik melalui keputusan oleh mereka yang terlibat dalam pembayaran tersebut dan bukan melalui dekri oleh mana-mana institusi rasmi.

Dan seperti yang telah dinyatakan, evolusi kebanyakannya adalah hasil daripada saiz pasaran kewangan AS dan ekonomi AS secara amnya, bersama-sama dengan apa yang dipanggil luaran rangkaian yang membayangkan bahawa faedah kepada unit individu menggunakan mata wang tertentu dalam urus niaga meningkat. apabila individu lain turut menggunakannya.

Luaran rangkaian ini biasanya membayangkan bahawa satu mata wang akan menjadi mata wang yang dominan dalam sistem ekonomi bersepadu. Walau bagaimanapun, teknologi pembayaran baharu yang menjadikan sistem pembayaran negara saling beroperasi tanpa perlu bergantung pada sistem pemesejan kewangan seperti SWIFT mungkin menjimatkan untuk menyelesaikan beberapa transaksi dengan wilayah tertentu dalam mata wang tempatan.

Perkara ini telah dibincangkan dalam kalangan negara-negara ASEAN khususnya dan memorandum persefahaman telah ditandatangani dan dilaksanakan bagi tujuan ini. AMRO-Asia sedang mengkaji bagaimana untuk membangunkan lagi penyelesaian mata wang tempatan sedemikian.

Sekali lagi, nampaknya tidak perlu untuk mewujudkan dan AMF untuk mempromosikan penggunaan mata wang tempatan dalam perdagangan dan pinjaman. Institusi sedia ada sudah pun meneroka kos, faedah dan modaliti untuk berbuat demikian. – DagangNews.com

Prof. Hans Genberg merupakan Profesor Ekonomi di Asia School of Business dan Pengarah Kanan Program Perbankan Pusat dan Kewangan.

Pandangan yang dikongsi dalam ulasan ini adalah pendapat beliau sendiri.

Originally published by Dagang News.

ChatGPT, AI, and the Evolution of Education In the rapidly shifting landscape of technology and education, few individuals have their fingers as firmly on the pulse as Professor Sanjay Sarma. With a career spanning decades in academia and innovation, Professor Sanjay has watched the sunrise of AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, and traced their trajectories as they reshape our world.

As these technologies gain momentum, their influence seeps into every sector, not least of which is tertiary education. Professor Sanjay, with his extensive experience in Open Learning, is uniquely positioned to predict and interpret these tidal shifts. The critical question on everyone’s mind is, “To what extent will AI change education?”

About Professor Sanjay Sarma

Professor Sanjay Sarma’s journey in academia and technology has been nothing short of inspiring. This journey began at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, from where he received his bachelor’s degree. Further education at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California at Berkeley resulted in a master’s degree and a PhD, respectively. Armed with this solid academic foundation, Sanjay embarked on a career that would see him break boundaries and redefine norms.

He served as the Vice President for Open Learning at MIT, where he also co-founded the Auto-ID Center. His pioneering work led to the development of many key technologies that form the backbone of the EPC suite of RFID standards, now a staple in industries worldwide. Professor Sanjay also brought his innovative thinking to the entrepreneurial world, founding OATSystems and serving as its Chief Technology Officer before it was acquired by Checkpoint Systems in 2008.

His remarkable journey doesn’t stop there. He serves on the boards of GS1US, Hochschild Mining, and several start-up companies, including Top Flight Technologies, a testament to his wide-ranging influence across various sectors. He was recently appointed as the new CEO and Dean of The Asia School of Business (ASB) where he is set to navigate the waves of change that AI is bringing to tertiary education.

Professor Sanjay Sarma’s varied background, rich with achievements and practical experience, positions him uniquely to comment on the future of technology, particularly the role of AI in education. Professor Sanjay has been living and breathing AI before it became a buzzword, delving deep into its potential for years. As we navigate this new age, his insights become ever more relevant and pressing.

Professor Sanjay Sarma offers a unique perspective on how AI will shape tertiary education. Will it spell doom or deliverance for our future graduates? Let’s delve into this insightful interview.

How do you think AI will revolutionise the education system?

I think that AI’s influence on education can go in both good and bad directions. It’s not unusual to see many educational institutions express concern about how AI could potentially disrupt the education system – for instance, students may misuse it to write essays. Such concerns are valid but futile – it’s akin to shaking your fist at the clouds, demanding the rain to stop.

The imminent influence of AI on education will undoubtedly challenge educators, urging them to wield this new tool effectively to improve education. This won’t be a trivial task. I see two broad areas where AI will make a substantial impact.

Firstly, AI can serve as an excellent coach and a co-passenger on the journey of learning. This requires educators and institutions to identify ways to utilize AI as a mentor. This mentoring role of AI can extend to various areas, from helping write code to diagnose problems. Khan Academy has demonstrated how ChatGPT-4 can function as a tutor, assisting students in problem-solving.

The second area where AI will influence education is what I like to call “outperformance.” It’s like a tiger that’s always chasing us, pushing us to outrun it. The people and educational institutions that can surpass AI’s capabilities will enjoy significant success.

Despite its many strengths, AI can often be wrong. So, the essential skill becomes the ability to identify when AI errs. This is what outperformance entails – the people who can surpass AI’s abilities. Regardless of our sentiments, it will undoubtedly influence education. We cannot simply wish it away.

What’s your personal opinion on ChatGPT? And do you use it?

Yes, I do use it. It would be intellectually dishonest to say I don’t. However, the key lies in how I use it. ChatGPT is an extraordinary tool – it’s the first time we’re engaging with a system that can carry on a rather cogent conversation. Like humans, it’s not always correct, but it gets it right a significant amount of the time.

The surprise element of ChatGPT lies not just in its ability as a language model but also as a knowledge model. It made me realise how profoundly we are defined by our language, and how language encodes a lot of knowledge. It’s quite astounding and it changes the dynamics of things, even for tech giants like Google.

As for my usage, I employ it as a co-pilot, much like Microsoft’s portrayal. Just the other day, I was drafting my own bio. On a whim, I decided to use ChatGPT to assist. While I had to revise and correct some parts, the overall process became substantially quicker – it probably saved me about 15 minutes. So, I do see it as an assistant, but an assistant that can make mistakes. It’s crucial to remember that you still need to be in control.

The use of ChatGPT on assignments – Is it considered cheating? And how do you manage that?

Yes, if a student is asked to write an essay and they use ChatGPT, that would be considered cheating. But trying to prohibit this entirely is akin to telling someone to swim in a lake but not swallow any water. It’s nearly impossible.

The solution lies in designing assignments in a way that ChatGPT becomes a part of it and students have to work around it. For instance, you could have students generate an essay using ChatGPT and then critique it.

It is about embracing “outperformance.” We need to redesign our assignments accordingly. Just as we don’t check spellings any more thanks to the automatic spell-check in Word, we need to move a step beyond and learn to outrun ChatGPT.

Do you believe AI will help or hinder future graduates?

It will do both, in my opinion. It will help some while it may hinder others. Let me explain. For a lot of graduates who fall in the middle of the pack, AI might hurt them. There’s a risk that AI might take over their jobs, especially if their skills are common or easily replicable by machines. So, yes, for good writers, for instance, this could pose a problem.

However, individuals who possess extraordinary abilities, be it cognitive or physical, are likely to be least affected by AI. For now, robotics can do coarse motor skills but struggles with fine motor skills. It can drive a truck, but can’t, say, perform delicate stitching work or create nuanced art. Similarly, AI can do amazing things within its capabilities, but at the extremes of sophistication, it falls short.

So, for those who can outperform or perform tasks beyond AI’s capabilities, AI can serve as an excellent support system or an assistant. But for those whose tasks and skills fall within the sweet spot of AI’s capabilities, the technology can indeed be highly competitive and possibly disruptive.

What are some of the industries that will benefit the most from AI? And which ones do you think will see a major shift in the way they work?

Clearly, anything related to language is immediately impacted. Coding will also be significantly affected as AI can write remarkable code. However, even within coding, there will still be high-value jobs – the outperformers as I call them. Architect roles, for instance, will become more valuable, while those who write more basic code may see their jobs diminish.

Similarly, for someone who crafts the theme of a magazine or a story, their jobs will become more valuable, while routine tasks of writing based on prompts and facts might be automated. Someone still needs to edit the output and find errors. So, jobs that require outperformance will increase, while the standard ones will be impacted.

Look at the banking sector for an example. ATMs replaced the job of dispensing cash, but it led to an increase in the need for roles that give financial advice. In conclusion, I truly believe that education and learning are the oxygen of the new modern economy.

The Asia School of Business: Revolutionizing Learning

In the midst of this technology-driven evolution, the Asia School of Business (ASB) stands as a beacon of innovative education. Established by Bank Negara Malaysia and MIT Sloan School of Management, ASB is leading the way in management education, championing transformative and principled leaders through its award-winning Action Learning-based curriculum. With Professor Sanjay’s guidance as the new CEO and Dean, ASB is set to navigate the waves of change that AI is bringing to tertiary education.

Find out more about their MBA program.
Originally published by The Peak.

Image courtesy The Edge Malaysia

When it comes to retirement, it is first about setting your retirement goals. And then it is about coming up with a sound and prudent savings programme that helps you achieve those goals. In Malaysia, we are lucky to have a national social security savings system, also known as the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), to help us save for retirement, so we can sleep soundly at night.

What should retirement be about? It should be about enabling you to continue with your economically and socially productive activities and lifestyle pursuits, be it for work or leisure. Since the proportion of time you allocate to each category will change from your working years to retirement, you have to be sure of three things on the financial front so you can freely pursue your goals and activities, and meet your consumption and healthcare expenses, even while in retirement:

That you receive a reasonable retirement payout every month.
The payouts should last for as long as you live.
It should preferably be indexed to the cost of living.

What could we do to help nudge our nation’s retirement savings path towards a more correct direction? Here are three basic proposals we suggest:

1. The default mode on retirement should be a version of the EPF periodical payment withdrawal scheme. This provides for a regular income stream during retirement instead of a lump sum withdrawal. The latest EPF 2021 annual report states that only 271 members are on this scheme. Down south, Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) has implemented such measures more than a decade ago with the introduction of the Retirement Sum Scheme (RSS) and later, the CPF LIFE scheme.

2. To help the B40 and M40 groups accumulate more retirement savings during their working years, the employer contribution portion needs to be increased for these groups. On the other hand, for the T20 (top 20% income group), the employer contribution amount can be capped at a certain income limit. This capped contribution to tax-advantaged retirement funds has been a feature in many countries including Singapore and the US.

3. Last but perhaps most important, form a “The Future of Malaysian Pensions Advisory Panel” comprising industry financial experts, finance academics, EPF, financially trained civil servants from the appropriate ministries and so on to review Malaysia’s pension and social security savings scheme. It can perhaps be chaired by the most knowledgeable person with reference to pensions from EPF (or co-chaired with a secretary-general from the Ministry of Finance). The panel should come up with recommendations that can be considered by the government and/or parliament for implementation. That’s what Singapore did in 2014 via its CPF Advisory Panel, where the panel made important, value-added changes to the CPF scheme, which were all implemented by 2016 (just two years later).

Given the dire state of inadequate EPF savings in Malaysia, with around 73% of members having too little savings by EPF’s definition, the need to set up some kind of Malaysian SuperFund to support a Basic Pension Scheme appears imminent to some experts — that is, a Basic Living Wage provision within the SuperFund that is means-tested and needs-based given that the well-to-do don’t need subsidies or government handouts.

Prof Geoffrey Williams suggested during the Policy Roundtable to use excesses from a Malaysian petroleum fund (creating one if it doesn’t exist). Just the way Norway funds its pension system via the Norges Bank (NBIM or the Government Pension Fund Global), which states, “The aim of the oil fund is to ensure responsible and long-term management of revenue from Norway’s oil and gas resources, so that this wealth benefits both current and future generations.” This is something the Malaysian pensions advisory panel can perhaps take up as part of its deliberations.

In conclusion, these principles and ideas are presented here to hopefully ensure that Much Ado About Our EPF doesn’t turn into Much Ado About Nothing (of Shakespearean proportions)!

Joseph Cherian is practice professor of finance at the Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur and Cornell University (visiting) in New York. Ong Shien Jin is professor of practice at the Asia School of Business and an international faculty fellow at MIT Sloan.

Originally published by The Edge Malaysia.

ChatGPT is a real threat as a career disruptor and people must figure out how you can master GPT—or any other AI program—and use it as a tool rather than run from it, said Sanjay Sarma, CEO and president, Asia School of Business, Kuala Lumpur. Sarma, also the former vice-president for open learning at MIT, said learning is the new oxygen for the economy and companies need to give learning benefits to recruit good people.

“This is the age of agile continuous education, and the onus is on the individual to keep learning. The transcript does not end when you graduate. If you are not logging on and taking courses, you are logging out of your career,” Sarma said. Edited excerpts from an interaction with ET’s Saumya Bhattacharya Tested:

How are companies adjusting to the new shift in learning?

Companies need to give learning benefits to recruit good people. Employees must reskill and upskill. So, there is a lot of appetite for learning. The challenge is that there is loyalty to the old regime of degrees. Advanced companies are making the jump while traditional companies are still focused on the degree.I do believe in degrees. They give you foundation.

But the way it will happen is that credentials and skills will not replace degrees; they will complement them. As the change begins to happen at some companies, others will follow suit as they risk a paucity of talent. We need to start teaching students how to learn as much as what to learn. We do not tell people how to be chief learning officers of their lives.

How do you view rote learning in this context?

I will not dismiss rote learning completely. A little bit of memorisation is good. Consider multiplication tables—they help in our reasoning. We have created robots and are wondering why robots are taking our jobs from us. We must build creative thinkers.

The future belongs to the humanities: reasoning, logic, questioning, and thinking out of the box. We do not do enough of that. We teach what we can test but not what is needed. Memorisation is easy.

Is ChatGPT a career disruptor? What is your advice to the new generation entering the workforce?

It is a real threat. You have to figure out how you can master GPT—or any other AI program—and use it as a tool rather than run from it. How can you use it to make yourself superhuman, rather than wringing your hands? This is not the first time we have encountered something transformative.

Plato complained about writing—a new technology—arguing that it eroded the need for memory, which in his view was an essential component of the intellect. Yet many would argue that writing, when used as a tool, is the highest form of thinking. My advice is to figure out how to use it to your advantage.

Asia School of Business has just designed its MBA as a one-year programme instead of two. Why?

The opportunity cost of spending two years away from the workplace is too high in the context of digital disruption and advancements in the field of technology, especially artificial intelligence. I feel that the two-year MBA will survive in a few places like MIT. Hanging out in a candy store has its benefits. But in most places, it will go one year.

What factors will be the catalysts for life-long learning for working professionals?

Curiosity. The science is simple. Curiosity generates dopamine and facilitates learning. One has to be hungry to learn, and this is an acquired taste (and skill). Curiosity channelled towards becoming better at one’s job can help us outrun the technologies that are nipping at humans’ heels.

Originally published by The Economic Times.

Millennials and Gen Zs are increasingly becoming the main players in the economy. They are the future of our country, but these younger generations face challenges that have never been experienced before. On the education side, did you know that 390,000 out of 560,000 SPM candidates opted to join the workforce immediately after the exam, while the remaining 170,000 students were interested in continuing their studies?

This goes to show that the Malaysian education sector is taking a back seat. Instead, they are eager to earn money as fast as they can and as much as they can. With that in mind, Smart Investor spoke to Dr Sanjay Sarma, the new CEO, president, and dean of Asia School of Business (ASB), to get his insights on his plans at ASB and about the youths.

Dr Sanjay Sarma, CEO, president,and dean of Asia School of Business (ASB

Smart Investor: Congratulations on your appointment as the CEO, President, and Dean of the Asia School of Business. What makes you join this prestigious organization

Dr Sanjay Sarma: Thank you! Several reasons. First, the previous deans, the staff, and the students have built an amazing platform. Second, Malaysia is, in my view, a geopolitical epicenter, given everything happening in supply chains, sustainability, innovation, and energy systems.

Third, the Malaysian education sector will transform in the coming years for many reasons: the growth of online education, the growth of micro-credentials, the emergence of artificial intelligence, and the changes in how we work. With all this, ASB is a unique platform from across the world from which to embrace the future.

SI: What do you plan to achieve during your time here? And what are some of the ideas that you want to push through?

DSS: The points above set the direction. First, I want to double down on a central tenet of ASB: a pedagogy based on action, which we call action-learning. This pedagogy extends to how we deliver materials (we don’t deliver typical ‘lectures’), how classes become studios, and how we engage with the real world.

Second, ASEAN is a fascinating case study in progress with a diversity of all kinds. This includes cultural, economic, geopolitical, biological, and social forms — and our research-oriented faculty continue to deliver great insights on all fronts. I want to expand that.

Third, I would like to increase our focus on the education of working professionals. I believe that the Malaysian education sector cannot end with a degree. At MIT, we called it agile, continuous education. I would like to embrace that mantra — something the School has already made great strides in — and expand it greatly.

SI: How do you see Malaysia’s education compared to its peers in the region?

DSS: What can be done to improve the situation further? I am of the belief that the way we educate has to change quite fundamentally. The rise of tools such as ChatGPT means we need a new class of graduates who can outperform technology.

Education worldwide — Malaysia, China, India, and the US — is not prepared for these challenges. And it needs to evolve and evolve rapidly. We need problem solvers, critical thinkers, and doers to solve the problems we are leaving for the next generation.

SI: With AI gaining traction (ChatGPT as an example), it opens up many possibilities. Instead of asking Google, we can ask AI and get a comprehensive answer. What will this mean to the future of the Malaysian education sector?

DSS: Well, it vividly points out the pole star we should shoot for. What are the things that AI and robotics, and other technologies cannot do that we should be preparing our graduates for? Of course, if we prepare robots, we cannot lament the loss of jobs to robots.

But the human mind is boundless. We must break the curricula we have trapped ourselves in — often remnants of the colonial era — and create people who can provide the creativity, ethical frameworks, and inspiration to take on the rising inventory of challenges.

This might all seem like empty inspirational talk, but our students at ASB have convinced me that we have this potential. And at events we have hosted, such as the International Women’s Day and the Leadership for Enterprise Sustainability Asia (LESA) Conference, we saw precisely the sort of role models we could aspire for.

SI: How do you see the importance of education in today’s youth? Are they still interested in furthering their studies?

DSS: I have never met a young person disinterested in learning. Curiosity is the most fundamental aspect of learning and is impossible to extinguish. I have, however, met many people who are disaffected with how we teach. That’s a different matter; as I said earlier, we need to fix that urgently.

That was true before COVID, climate change concerns, and ChatGPT. It is even more urgent today. As mentioned, at ASB, we are all about action – and I believe classrooms need a more engaging, thought-provoking nature for the next generation to be prepared.

SI: What are the different ways of making money today compared to the ’90s and 2000s? Is higher education still necessary to be making a decent living these days?

DSS: The last century saw the growth of corporations — scale was achieved through size. Now we are seeing the rise of the gig economy. Moreover, more and more approaches to generating income are technology and innovation-driven. Just ask a taxi cab medallion owner from a decade ago who did not see Uber coming.

Subscription models are another trend — services are more and more subscription-driven, whether it is Amazon Prime or Netflix. Living and thriving in this world requires mental agility. Education — done right — is one way to ensure that. You can no longer assume you will be employed for life and live in a company town. You have to become the CEO of your own life. In many ways, the MBA is about that too. (Ergo, ASB).

SI: In your opinion, what’s the major concern on their minds? (unemployment, low salary, high cost of education, the high price of a property, etc)

DSS: All of the above, but we also see a much greater emphasis on social, and indeed planetary, good. I recommend reading about the Ubuntu philosophy: “I am because we are.” Young people are similar to young people a generation ago, with one key difference — a sense of the collective good.

SI: What are your thoughts on YOLO (you only live once) and the financial independence, retire early (FIRE) movement that is hugely popular with the youths?

DSS: We live in an era of unicorns. That drives this partly. But unicorns are mythical creatures, and the valuations of some of these unicorns have been mythical too. How can a young person who lives in this era not be tempted? I don’t blame them, though I don’t recommend it. It’s no different from buying lottery tickets today; these young people must bet everything in that YOLO moment. It is up to educational professionals to draw them back into reason and away from betting their lives away.

SI: Are the youths of today more financially savvy? And where do they normally invest?

I don’t believe they are more or less than a generation ago. It’s just the opportunities are different. They live in a far stormier sea and are often likely to bet on extremes (swing for the fence, as Americans might say). Crypto is an example. Again, it comes down to educators to fix the Malaysian education sector so that our youth enter the next decade prepared to take on the challenges we are leaving them.

SI: Any advice to the youths out there facing the future?

DSS: Money chases intelligence, not impulsiveness, and luck sides the brave, not the reckless. Education can help you find the dividing lines.

We would like to wish Dr Sanjay Sarma and ASB all the best!

Originally published by SmartInvestor.

Sanjay Sarma, who became dean of the Asian School of Business in March, may well know more about digital learning than any other academic on the planet. He spent nine highly formative years from 2013 to 2022 leading MIT’s work on digital learning. It was Sarma who, in 2015, conceived of and then led the launch of the MicroMasters, a new credential for working professionals to pursue master’s-level courses online.

Nearly 2 million students have since enrolled in one of the five MicroMasters offered by MIT, and 5,000 learners have earned MIT MicroMasters. Sarma also began MIT Bootcamps, which offers blended learning experiences for entrepreneurs, and which has reached over 2,400 learners. “Digital is a certainty,” believes Sarma. “We should not see it as a replacement for in-person. We have to see it as an enhancement to in-person and for those who don’t have access to skills that are fast moving.”

While many business school deans may think this obvious, Sarma sees a serious challenge in how schools are moving forward with online learning. “What is missing is the strategy. Just throwing your hat into the ring doesn’t solve the problem. If you don’t have a strategy you are just another player among many.”

Read the full article HERE.
Originally published by Poets&Quants.

Category: Featured in the Media