His Excellency the Minister of Education, Dr. Hamad bin Muhammad Al Sheikh, stressed the importance of the applications of the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions and their relationship to the field of work and education. This has been stated during his participation at the Global Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Member States of the Islamic World Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ISESCO). He spoke about the industrial developments throughout history and ending with the fourth revolution we are experiencing, and the fifth revolution whose features have begun to take shape, as well as the applications of the fourth and fifth revolutions and their requirements of innovation and technology, and addressing some of their implications in many areas.
Dr. Al Sheikh said, “There is a great role for governments to play in dealing with the two industrial revolutions, and benefiting from the accelerating technical developments, such as artificial intelligence, big data and robots, and keeping pace with their development”. He noted the importance of working to promote businesses that aim to achieve purposes that serve humans, development, and the planet of Earth in general, not achieving profitability only. He appreciated the generous support of the Kingdom's government under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince in developing the educational, research, technical, and industrial fields in a way that enhances comprehensive development.
His Excellency added that the Kingdom has a pioneering experience in the field of human capital development in the era of the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions, benefiting from the capabilities of the people of the country. He praised the repercussions of this on development and huge Saudi projects such as; NEOM and The Line, as well as the Kingdom's progress in the areas of cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, internet speed and the fifth generation.
At the conclusion of his speech at the Global Forum on Higher Education and Scientific Research of the member states of the Organization (ISESCO), the Minister of Education noted the progress witnessed by Saudi education in adapting technical developments in the field of education. In addition, He highlighted the international successes achieved by the Kingdom’s pioneering experience in the field of e-learning and distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic.