STEM Experts: What Transformations in Education Do We Need in a 5G World

Given that 5G technology is crucial for economic and social development and raising national competitiveness, all advanced countries have defined 5G as a strategic technology. Hrvatski Telekom launched the first commercial 5G network in October 2020, bringing the fifth generation of mobile networks to Croatia. This is a technology of the future that will mark the coming decades and bring revolutionary changes in healthcare, transportation, education, agriculture, energy, entire economies, and could potentially be as significant as the discovery of electricity or the first car. With the development of 5G technology, 2.3 million new jobs are expected in EU countries, and global GDP could grow by $4 trillion by 2030. Lider, in collaboration with Hrvatski Telekom, explores what impact 5G technology will have on our daily lives.

Digitalization in 2020 is one of the few positive aspects arising from that year colored by the coronavirus pandemic. Although not everyone is equally successful in handling technology even now, many have improved their technological skills under the pressure of circumstances, proving that new knowledge and skills can be acquired regardless of age. The acceleration of the digitalization process and equipping people not only to use new technologies but also to create them has once again put education in the field of STEM, i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in the spotlight. We explore what education will look like in the future, how all generations can improve in Croatia to truly live and work in accordance with the spirit of the times, and how the new 5G technology will affect all these processes. We asked some of the leaders of the STEM revolution in Croatia to share their visions with us.

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What is Needed and What Will Be Needed in the Next 30 Years

Education should respond to the needs of the labor market; almost everything has been said about this (un)responsiveness so far, but dissatisfied employers who are just about to fish for staff in kindergartens almost always have something more to add. However, we have not embarked on that well-trodden path. What skills and knowledge will be of the utmost importance in the next 30 years? We asked the father of five children, scientist, and entrepreneur Mislav Malenica.

– Personally, I believe that it is most important to build independence in children, the ability to think critically, entrepreneurship, and the idea that they create their own world. Technology is advancing, tools come and go, most of today’s jobs did not even exist 20-30 years ago, so it is often impossible in the education system to prepare children for the jobs they will do when they grow up, but it is important to create independent and capable individuals who will learn how to learn and how to acquire new knowledge and skills throughout their lives. From my personal experience as a father of five, I can emphasize that I strive to build what is called a growth mindset in my children, that is, to raise independent individuals who believe that their talents can be developed through effort, hard work, good strategies, and absorbing positive experiences from others – expressed his view the founder and director of the AI startup Mindsmiths and president of the CroAI association.

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Mislav Malenica, president of the CroAI association, founder and director of the AI startup Mindsmiths

photo Ratko Mavar

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What competencies should be developed in the modern educational process so that desirable candidates for employers can emerge in the labor market tomorrow? Ivan Bartulović, a member of the Management Board and Chief Human Resources Officer of Hrvatski Telekom, answers us. – The world we live and work in every day is becoming increasingly digital, and technological advancement is ubiquitous, and we witness modernization and innovation every day. Accordingly, the necessity of possessing related knowledge is growing. Starting from digital skills such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, managing complex databases, and predictive tools, with complementary employee development skills and an even greater focus on customer experience – lists Bartulović, explaining that, along with digital skills that serve as a kind of map for navigating the world of the future, skills focused on understanding and managing customer experience will be crucial for successful navigation through that world. Customer demands, he explains, will rightly continue to grow, and the success of organizations will be evaluated based on how well they have managed to meet customer demands and fulfill their expectations.

– In this sense, employee development becomes crucial because an extremely positive customer experience is not achievable without high employee satisfaction. Therefore, skills in managing and developing employees, in a world where employment opportunities are no longer dependent on the location of work, play a crucial role in engaging and developing employees who will adequately respond to increasingly complex customer needs – notes HT’s HR director.

Nothing Without Lifelong Learning

Without lifelong learning and continuous improvement, the prospects for success will only diminish over time, as it is hard to imagine advancement based on a stock of knowledge from the past. Since this has not been systematically addressed and the development of technology has advanced rapidly, there are now quite a few stakeholders in the labor market with a serious lack of technical knowledge.

– It has long been unrealistic to expect that you will finish some education and ‘sail’ through your entire working life without any upgrades to that knowledge. Lifelong education appears in various forms, so it can be formal through official education programs, postgraduate studies, and various certified programs, or informal through various short and long workshops, online content, and other forms of self-learning. A good employer will also prepare programs or offer such content to their employees – claims Hrvoje Josip Balen, a member of the Management Board of Algebra, who is aware that the gap between the skills and technical knowledge that are now needed to perform a large number of jobs and what employees have is not always easy to bridge.

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He emphasizes that often, when we talk about digitalization, servers, computers, and equipment are mentioned, but rarely is there talk about knowledge and skills. A recent study conducted by DigitalEurope showed that as many as 70 percent of companies believe that the lack of technical knowledge is the main barrier to further investments and the development of the company, rather than the equipment or technologies themselves. In the next four years, by 2025, as many as 52 percent of workers will simply have to acquire new knowledge in the field of digital technologies because without it, their companies simply cannot move forward.

However, the ball for servicing is not always just in the employer’s court. Individuals who are currently being employed should show more interest in the educational opportunities that their potential employer can offer them at the time of hiring, and the same goes for employees who have been working in a company for a longer time, believes Balen, who points out another misconception – that all of the above applies only to engineers, technicians, and professionals.

– For the survival and advancement of companies, the technological knowledge of managers is crucial, especially in the areas of digital transformation and managing companies in the era of Industry 4.0, which we at Algebra detected seven years ago when we started the eLeadership MBA program and mini MBA programs in the field of leadership and digital transformation – emphasizes Balen.

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Balen: Incentives for Education and Educational Vouchers

Member of the Management Board of Algebra Hrvoje Josip Balen commented on regulatory incentives that could further stimulate employee education in the near future. 

We can say that things in Croatia, regarding investments in education, are only partially organized because employers receive numerous tax benefits if they decide to invest in the education of their employees. Large and developed companies are already largely using this, while a significant number of small and medium-sized companies unfortunately are still not aware of these opportunities or have not yet explored them. For additional motivation, the announced project of introducing EU educational vouchers for new professions will certainly help, while the greatest impact on citizens would certainly come from tax refunds for those who invest in education, national expansion of the fifth level of vocational education, introduction of recognition of informal education, and a structured and more demanding approach to lifelong learning for numerous groups of professionals such as teachers, medical staff, public servants, engineers, etc. I expect that the implementation of the new Adult Education Act, which should be adopted by the end of summer, will bring many positive effects to the entire system.

The Passion for Acquiring New Knowledge is Created from ‘Short Legs’

The unbearable ease of existence in the digital world definitely encompasses informed, capable users who master novelties as they come without animosity and insecurity arising from the fear of difficulties in mastering new technologies. In other words, from the shortest to the longest legs, a ‘positive attitude’ towards learning is expected. In those with somewhat shorter legs, this attitude can be instilled through interesting programs and initiatives such as the one Generation NOW, conducted by the Institute for the Development and Innovation of Youth (IRIM) – Croatian Makers and Hrvatski Telekom in primary schools, associations, libraries, and other entities engaged in education throughout Croatia.

– Currently, almost 200 institutions are participating in the project, over 250 teachers and mentors have been educated in the past and this school year, and more than a thousand children have participated in the project. The main goal of the project is to provide conditions for mentors and children for creative work in the field of STEM with a focus on technology and engineering and to turn children from consumers of technology into creators of their own solutions. Generation NOW is a very significant program for students as it allows them to solve real challenges they encounter in their own environment through the use of technology or realize their ideas and thus turn the idea into a project and experience the process of turning thoughts into a real tangible result – explains Paolo Zenzerović, business manager of IRIM.

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That the project has been excellently received and that all efforts have paid off is shown by the final results of the participants. – Over the years of implementing the project, excellent results in the application of technology in education have been visible – the works we receive from students are becoming increasingly complex and closer to the concepts of solutions used in the industrial world, indicating the success of our education and constant support for teachers and mentors who work directly with students – Zenzerović is proud.

Our vision, as a leader in digitalization in Croatia, is to contribute to building a truly digital society, and thus a world of better opportunities. Whether it is bridging the digital divide among generations or investing in young generations, especially in the field of STEM, in which we are very active through Generation Now and within which we encourage young people to think creatively and prepare them for jobs of the future, Bartulović states. He notes that when talking about the connection between education and leadership, one must never lose sight of the fact that you learn while you are alive, as acquiring new knowledge and working on oneself never stops.