Education and its problems frequently come up in the news, invariably sparking a host of polarized opinions. But discussions always come down to one thing – that more and more must be invested in education. This is the conclusion reached by journalists at the opening of the 7^th international conference on education and business in Sofia.

Interestingly enough, the conference is prepared and held as a live TV show and is en route to becoming a major public media event in Bulgaria. That there are public benefits from this initiative is obvious if we take a look at the long list of partners and sponsors, each one of them adding to the talking points and the directions it takes. In front of television audiences and the people gathered in the conference room, this year the focus of discussion was a global issue, the importance of which is not likely to diminish in the years to come, and which affects all spheres of business – the digital and media literacy of our society. Technologies are changing our world so quickly that the day is not far off when robots will be taking over the jobs of low qualified workers. The participants in the forum agreed that it is education that will, in future, be the most vital sphere of all, because the world is advancing at such a speed and it is important to keep pace with times, technologically, throughout our lives.

The international conference was attended by ambassadors and representatives of foreign institutions in Bulgaria, managers of leading companies, as well as young people, recently graduated in Bulgaria or abroad, who are only just starting their careers.

Petar Andronov is in banking. Being pragmatically-minded, he has noticed how much the success of businesses today and in the future depends on education. He knows how important discussions such as this are, as they bring the positions of education and of businesses closer. In his words, the world is advancing very quickly, offering flexible models of education, yet educational practice in Bulgaria “is coasting, even moving in the opposite direction”.

“What kind of education ought we to be investing in, so as to be ready to face the future? All world reports about the professions of the future say that many of the activities that are connected with physical labour will be performed by robots. In USA there are millions of robots performing these jobs already. The reports also show that the professions that will be most difficult to be replaced by robots are those connected with highly intellectual work or with emotions. New professions will emerge, and the system of education must change and adapt in a new way. There is one more important thing the reports lay emphasis on – that nations that do not invest in education will be poorer equipped for the future. In those countries, up to 84 percent of all jobs will be at risk of being replaced by robotic systems. Societies which know how important education is, and invest in it, will be the nations that will have a high rate of employment in future. They will be the nations that will live a rich life and will have a high standard. Another thing world analysts say is important is that, unlike the people of the past who spent the first 20 years of their lives or so acquiring an education, lifelong learning will be a must for the people of the future – or they will never be able to keep pace with the world around. Some of the corporate initiatives by banks are aimed at financial literacy and that is something we are investing in. Though small, that is our contribution to the common effort of advancing and modernizing education.”

“Education is the system that looks ahead to the future. Work on the Bulgarian system of education is targeted precisely at putting efforts into the technological revolutions, but also into the evolutions of the spirit,” said in her address to the participants Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Minister of Education. She added that the ministry was launching new initiatives for collecting all business ideas in support of education. A designated web portal will make these ideas, and their practical application, available to the broad public. Some of the business programmes that have proved to be effective will receive the support of the ministry and will be developed as national endeavours.

English version: Milena Daynova