Skills are top priority for digital transformation in Belarus

Aspects of Belarus’ development in the digital environment were discussed during a report to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 14 October.

The meeting was attended by high-ranking government officials, state administration bodies, leading universities, and the IT sector.

Proposals aimed at promoting the development of the IT sector and other digitization processes in the country were made at the meeting.

One of the issues on the agenda was the opening of a specialised educational institution for IT specialists in Belarus. “The IT community has come up with an initiative to set up a new specialised educational institution. Besides, the government has proposals regarding the improvement of IT-based management and digital processes,” the President said.

“Digital transformation has been a priority in Belarus’ five-year programme of social and economic development,” said President Lukashenko. “We haven’t made much progress in this field yet. Although a goal to create the full-fledged e-government by 2020 was set at the fifth All-Belarus People’s Congress.”

The president pledged to hold a government conference to discuss the entire spectrum of digital transformation issues in the future. “We will start from the beginning: the essence of digitization, informatization, computerization, the difference between the three, major priorities.” 

First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Aleksandr Turchin told the President that the proposal to set up a hi-tech university in Belarus was based on the need to organise the training of a new generation of specialists. “The global economy acquires an absolutely new look under the influence of IT technologies. There are new branches generating colossal revenues without traditional resources and mechanisms. And human capital plays a crucial role in this… We need a new generation of specialists for successful digital transformation and creation of the new economy. We do not train such specialists right now.”

News report