Issue: Education

Middle East business leaders provide perspective on the economic impact of the upcoming US presidential election

In an empowerME survey conducted in the last thirty days, thirty-two Middle East business leaders shared their views on the possible economic impact of the 2020 US Presidential election. Atlantic Council experts Kirsten Fontenrose, Amjad Ahmad, Mohsin Khan, and Jean-Francois Seznec analyzed the data and provided the following key takeaways.

Qatar Development Bank CEO: The “blockade didn’t stop us from growing” and “prepared us for other shocks” like COVID-19

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

On October 26, 2020, empowerME hosted Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al Khalifa for a conversation about Qatar’s efforts to boost entrepreneurship, diversify its economy, increase women’s economic participation, and prepare youth for the jobs of the future.

Absence of PhD programs contributes to weak research and development in the Gulf

By Omar Al-Ubaydli

The production of new knowledge is a very complex process and many factors contribute to the low levels of innovation exhibited by the Gulf countries. One factor that plays a role is the structure of tertiary education—particularly PhD programs.

James Clyburn: The question now is whether America can ‘repair our faults’

By Katherine Golden

The pandemic has “demonstrated that there are some significant fault lines in the country,” US House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn told the Atlantic Council. “The question now becomes whether or not we’re going to be able to repair those faults.”

Ukraine’s education sector reforms are under threat

By Liliia Hrynevych and Ivanna Kobernyk

Education sector reform is widely seen as one of the more successful transformations in Ukraine since the country’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity but this progress is now under threat amid a changing political climate.

How Ukraine can go from brain drain to brain gain

By Anton Waschuk and Andriy Kamenetskyy

Highly skilled Ukrainians continue to leave the country in order to further their careers. Greater efforts are required to keep this key demographic in the country for the benefit of the wider Ukrainian economy.

Digital crossroads: How to pilot data trusts for good

By Borja Prado

While much of public discussion around data has focused solely on the debate of data privacy protection versus deregulation and economic productivity, data trusts represent legal, technology-enabled constructs that allow for more equitable ways of sharing the profits among different stakeholders. In this structure, a relationship of fiduciary responsibility would exist not only with the shareholders, but also towards the data owners and producers, and where the data economy would happen "with people" instead of "to people".

Why a well-intended ‘Digital Platform Agency’ may not fit our global, networked world

By Atlantic Council

Ultimately, when considering the reality that "Statutes and Regulatory Models Adopted for the Industrial Era are Insufficient for the Realities of the Internet Era", any solutions must consider where the metaphoric puck is going vs. where the puck is.