Former Jordanian PM urges educational institutions to prepare youth for digital economy

The former prime minister of Jordan has urged the country’s higher education and scientific institutions to better prepare young Jordanians for a digital and artificial intelligence-driven economy.

Adnan Badran was speaking at the Economic Conference on Digital Economy and Technology, which opened in Amman on Saturday.

He told the opening session of the conference that universities and other scientific organizations had to build programs to “match the digital transformation happening in Jordan so that younger generations of Jordanians can keep pace with global trends,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

Badran said this approach would be in line with Jordan’s 2021-2025 National Digital Transformation Strategy, which aims to modernize the country’s economy by building an attractive investment infrastructure, generating jobs, eliminating unemployment and poverty, and boosting its research and development, creativity and innovation sectors.

The conference is being hosted by the Jordan Society for Scientific Research, Entrepreneurship and Creativity in cooperation with Petra University, and JSSREC chief Reda Khawaldeh said the country had the talent and opportunity to take the lead regionally in innovation and build a strong and sustainable economy for future generations.

“We, in Jordan, are witnessing remarkable growth in this field, and start-ups and digital applications have become an integral part of the national economy’s fabric. This transformation reflects our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital infrastructure and develop policies to support technological innovation,” he said.

Jordan, he added, was not just a participant in digital transformation, but taking the initiative in the region as evidenced by its investment in the development of a strong digital infrastructure and supporting technology entrepreneurs through business incubators and accelerators.