"I think it's talent. Russia has a strong math-oriented education system. But connectivity is key, you need to have infrastructure, high-speed Internet. Russia has a very strong culture of innovation, it has a very strong math school. The key here is to have a strong hard and strong infrastructure, people's connectivity, through Internet access.", Murat Sönmez said, asked what Russia's global product could be.
"The question is what should the policymakers and we as a society focus on. The focus has been on commodities so far, on oil and minerals. But the most important commodity is the human talent. The question is what we do with it. We need to take a step back and think, in this new era of superconnectivity, machine learning and biology developments, how do we train our people to be innovative and creative. Education is key, traditional education models will not work any more," Sönmez stated.
The key challenge for every country is how talents are nurtured and kept in the country, the WEF board member stressed on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
The 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is taking place on June 16-18. The agenda for SPIEF 2016, which is held at a new venue for the first time in 20 years — at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Centre — includes business forums of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, and the Business 20.
