The Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) Webinar Talk on Entrepreneurship, Start-ups, Innovation in ASEAN and East Asia for The Post-Pandemic Recovery was held virtually on Thursday, 04 March 2021 and was attended by Awang Adna Shatriremie bin Hj Abdul Rahman, Head of Entrepreneurship Innovation Centre (EIC), Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam who was also one of the speakers. The webinar was organised by the Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). It is in line with the robust development of digital economy across ASEAN region whereas the COVID-19 pandemic plays its role to accelerate this growth. The session lasted 90 minutes.
The title for the session was "Futurecasting: Entrepreneurship – Start-Ups – Innovation in ASEAN and East Asia – 2021 and Beyond". Other speakers included Jonathan Wong, Chief of Technology and Innovation, UNESCAP; Ravindra Ngo, Co-Founder and CEO of Invest in Cambodia and Founder of The ASEAN Network; Veronica Low Kai Lin, President of ASEAN Business Youth Association, Singapore and Nur Kaser, Managing Director of KnowledgeHive International, Malaysia. The session focused on how entrepreneurship and innovation in their respective ecosystems will evolve and develop in the post pandemic.
The session focused on what has been put in place in Brunei Darussalam to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation within the education system as well as the initiatives Ministry of Education has embarked on or will be starting to ensure that the ecosystem on entrepreneurship and innovation will remain vibrant in the post pandemic era. Awang Adna Shatriremie explained when he was heading entrepreneurship in University of Brunei Darussalam back in 2014, at that time there was a focus on higher education in the education system. A test was conducted on students from the Faculty of Business, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Arts to check on their awareness of entrepreneurship. However, as there was National Entrepreneurship Agenda (NEA) to consider before putting entrepreneurship as a focal point, trials and experimentations were conducted first, as a multi-disciplinary approach increases sustainability of start-ups and incubation.
As the Ministry of Education has in plan to promote entrepreneurship being exposed with a functional knowledge of sustainability when it comes to innovation, several efforts have been made in different levels of education. In the primary level, awareness of entrepreneurship and innovation was inculcated. At the secondary level, experiments of success and failure have been conducted while at the higher education level was given the opportunity to try out their business ideas. Students that have been incubated under University of Brunei Darussalam are from multi-disciplinary background and so far they have been sustaining 3-4 years after university.
Awang Adna Shatriremi also mentioned that promoting entrepreneurship is not just to create entrepreneurs but also to inculcate entrepreneurial mindset. Hence, for that to happen, the students must be able to make sense of what they learn, in which should be applicable in their daily lives.
The Head of EIC also mentioned that the ministry is preparing to ensure easy fundamentals so that students and future youth can feel, know and test how it is like to be an entrepreneur and most importantly how to develop entrepreneurial mindsets. The role of EIC at the ministry is to mainly create awareness of entrepreneurship and innovation in education that will assist students in sustainability and employability in their career path. The ministry is aware that creating the awareness and ensuring Industrial Revolution 4.0 is also part of it is important. The syllabus that the students learn in school should also be practical and pragmatic.
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KEBERKESANAN DALAM KEUSAHAWANAN MELALUI INOVASI
PASCA PANDEMIK DI ASEAN DAN ASIA TIMUR
Webinar The Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) mengenai Keusahawanan, Syarikat Permulaan, Inovasi di ASEAN dan Asia Timur untuk Pemulihan Pasca Pandemik telah diadakan pada hari Khamis, 04 Mac 2021 dan dihadiri oleh Awang Adna Shatriremie bin Hj Abdul Rahman, Ketua Pusat Inovasi dan Keusahawanan (EIC), Kementerian Pendidikan, Brunei Darussalam sebagai salah seorang pembentang. Webinar tersebut adalah anjuran The Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Ianya sejajar dengan perkembangan ekonomi digital yang pesat di rantau ASEAN yang telah berkembang dengan lebih cepat dengan pandemik COVID-19. Sesi tersebut berlangsung selama 90 minit.
Tajuk sesi tersebut adalah "Futurecasting: Entrepreneurship - Start-Ups - Innovation in ASEAN and Asia East - 2021 and Beyond". Antara penceramah lain adalah Jonathan Wong, Ketua Teknologi dan Inovasi, UNESCAP; Ravindra Ngo, Pengasas Bersama dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Invest in Cambodia dan Pengasas The ASEAN Network; Veronica Low Kai Lin, Presiden Persatuan Pemuda Perniagaan ASEAN, Singapura dan Nur Kaser, Pengarah Urusan KnowledgeHive International, Malaysia.
Sesi tersebut memfokuskan kepada bagaimana keusahawanan dan inovasi dalam ekosistem masing-masing akan berkembang dalam pasca wabak dan usaha yang telah dilaksanakan di Negara Brunei Darussalam untuk memupuk semangat keusahawanan dan inovasi dalam sistem pendidikan. Ia juga memfokuskan pada inisiatif yang telah atau akan dilaksanakan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan bagi memastikan bahawa ekosistem keusahawanan dan inovasi akan terus hidup dalam era pasca wabak. Awang Adna Shatriremie menjelaskan ketika beliau mengetuai bidang keusahawanan di Universiti Brunei Darussalam pada tahun 2014, fokus sistem Pendidikan pada ketika itu adalah kepada pengajian tinggi. Ujian dilakukan ke atas pelajar dari Fakulti Perniagaan, Fakulti Sains dan Fakulti Sastera bagi memeriksa tahap kesedaran mereka mengenai keusahawanan. Oleh kerana terdapat Agenda Keusahawanan Nasional (NEA) yang harus dipertimbangkan sebelum meletakkan keusahawanan sebagai titik fokus, percubaan dan eksperimen telah dilakukan terlebih dahulu, kerana pendekatan pelbagai disiplin meningkatkan keberlanjutan Syarikat Permulaan dan inkubasi.
Seperti perancangan Kementerian Pendidikan untuk mempromosikan keusahawanan dengan pengetahuan di dalam inovasi, beberapa usaha telah dilakukan di beberapa peringkat pembelajaran. Pada awal peringkat rendah, kesedaran tentang keusahawanan dan inovasi telah diterapkan. Pada peringkat menengah, eksperimen kejayaan dan kegagalan telah dilakukan manakala pada peringkat pengajian tinggi peluang untuk mencuba idea perniagaan telah diberikan. Pelajar yang telah melalui program inkubasi di Universiti Brunei Darussalam adalah dari latar belakang pelbagai disiplin dan setakat ini mereka telah bertahan 3-4 tahun selepas universiti.
Awang Adna Shatriremi juga menyebut bahawa mempromosikan keusahawanan bukan hanya untuk melahirkan usahawan tetapi juga untuk menanamkan pemikiran keusahawanan. Oleh itu, para pelajar haruslah dapat memahami apa yang mereka pelajari dan harus diterapkan di dalam kehidupan seharian mereka.
Ketua EIC juga menyatakan bahawa Kementerian Pendidikan sedang bersiap sedia untuk memastikan asas-asas yang mudah supaya pelajar dan belia masa depan dapat merasakan, mengetahui dan menguji bagaimana rasanya menjadi seorang usahawan dan cara-cara untuk mengembangkan pemikiran keusahawanan. Peranan EIC di Kementerian Pendidikan adalah memberi kesedaran mengenai keusahawanan dan inovasi dalam pendidikan yang akan membantu pelajar dalam kesinambungan dan kebolehkerjaan dalam perjalanan kerjaya mereka. Kementerian Pendidikan menyedari kepentingan mewujudkan kesedaran keusahawanan dan memastikan Revolusi Industri 4.0 adalah sebahagian daripadanya. Oleh itu, sukatan pelajaran yang dipelajari oleh pelajar di sekolah juga harus praktikal dan pragmatik.
