Equipping people with the competencies required to plan and manage the digital transition is one of the toughest challenges of our time, particularly as changes are being further accelerated by a combination of the public health and economic crises.
In line with its focus on People, Planet and Prosperity, the G20 Italian Presidency has decided to summon the first Ministerial Meeting dedicated to the issues of education and research, which will be chaired by Prof. Maria Cristina Messa, Minister of University and Research.
The core issue up for debate is how university and tertiary education systems can continue to fulfill their mandates in education, research and innovation, as a means to promote social cohesion, help drive sustainable economy, develop talents, promote equal opportunities and contribute to cultural growth of our societies. This issue is being explored against the backdrop of a world increasingly pervaded by digital and AI-driven technologies fueled by data management, data sharing and data analysis.
This Ministerial Meeting aims to define guidelines useful to build a common space for research and tertiary education within a people-oriented digital society, based on ethical values, transparency, and reliability of its outcomes.
More specifically, the discussion will focus on how to promote the acquisition of new skills as required by the job markets of today and tomorrow. The conversation will explore the opportunity of defining guidelines aimed at fostering collaborative actions in areas such as data access, competency assessment and skill certification, or implementation and exchange of good practices in research and higher education aimed at enhancing the digital skills of the workforce.
Ministers and delegates will also discuss how to fully and best exploit the potential of digital technologies, while reflecting on and sharing principles upon which a "responsible and open ecosystem for research and education" can be designed in an ever more interconnected world, so that learners and researchers may pursue the best interest of society at large, based upon shared values.
Finally, a reflection will ensue on the opportunity of defining a common space to promote and improve the circulation of ideas and achievements and to further enhance collaboration in scientific research for the public good.
