Bangladesh's education system should be skill-oriented with an emphasis on technology, innovation, startups and entrepreneurship development, according to speakers at a webinar.

"The country's graduates are struggling to secure jobs as the conventional education system lacks skill-orientation in line with industry demands," said Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI).

"As a result, foreigners dominate the technical and managerial positions in key industries and corporations, leading to a substantial outflow of remittance," he added.

Participants of yesterday's webinar, styled "Industry and Academia Linkage: Role of Academia", agreed that local universities should integrate industry-related content in their undergraduate programmes to prepare students for the job market.

"Industry-academia collaboration in the US, EU and South Korea could provide great examples in this regard," said Prof Satya Prasad Majumder, vice chancellor of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

Majumder called upon both public and private sector entities to arrange adequate funding for research and innovation.

He also underscored the importance of redesigning the curriculum with an emphasis on technology, innovation, business incubation and entrepreneurship development.

M Abul Kashem Mozumder, pro-vice chancellor of the Bangladesh University of Professionals, said students need training facilities to conduct research.

"Universities should mainly focus on teaching, research and entrepreneurship development," he added.

Echoing the same, Dr Carmen Z Lamagna, vice chancellor of the American International University of Bangladesh, said the government could arrange financial incentives, policy regulations, guidance, support, and infrastructure development to foster industry-academia collaboration.

Prof Imran Rahman, dean at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, said universities should modernise teaching methods.

"There are three aspects of education -- teaching, research and career placement -- but as a whole, we need to redesign our curriculum in line with the 4th industrial revolution and current market demands," he added.