July-August. 2026 | @ green • COLUMN 31
a messy real dataset and ask them to find an answer.
Assessment should reward judgement— spotting an AI error, questioning a source— not just task completion. Programmes should also be tiered, so a student who needs foundational confidence is not placed alongside one ready for coding.
For industry and the halal sector, the most valuable step is to expose young people to real problems through internships and industrylinked projects. A student asked to map how a traceability system would work for a specific supplier learns more than one who only reads about it.
Pairing domain knowledge with a genuine digital task is where capability is built. None of this requires waiting for new technology, only using what we already have with more purpose.
THE REAL INVESTMENT
We cannot predict the digital workplace of the next decade. Tools that look revolutionary today will become routine; others we have not yet imagined may reshape whole industries. Training built only around today ' s software will age badly.
So, we return to where we began. Digital natives are not automatically digitally ready. Readiness is not measured by how many applications a young person can operate, but by whether they can look at a new technology and ask: What can I do with this? What problem can it solve? What are its risks? How can I use it to create value for others?
That is the education our youth need. Not simply more technology, but capable people using technology with purpose. It is, in a sense, the enduring meaning of Iqra ': read, learn and understand, whatever the tool in your hand. – @ green