Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Emma Theofelus says the country's educational systems must adapt to the world as technology continues to evolve.
She also says Namibia must transition from static to dynamic digital technology for students and scholars to communicate without boundaries.
Theofelus made these remarks at the 35th Integrated Tertiary Software Conference, underway in Windhoek.
Theofelus says even though Namibia launched 5G technology a few weeks ago, her counterparts in Japan have already introduced 5.5 G and are now looking towards launching 6G next year.
She says Namibia needs to catch up because the country cannot afford to be left behind.
"Many of the jobs of the future do not yet exist. The young people we are teaching and lecturing in the lecture halls now might not be equipped for the jobs that are going to be needed in the market for the next 5 to 10 years. We are already experiencing a high demand for skills in the jobs of future technologies emerging. Technologies such as Blockchain, AI, and Cloud Engineering. Just a few weeks ago, there has been a big commotion around ChatGPT, concepts such as virtual and augmented reality, 3-D printing, we are building houses using 3-D printing, renewable energy, in Namibia we are talking about green hydrogen, this is becoming part of our daily vocabulary".
Theofelus says Namibia has a responsibility to ensure its citizens are equipped to graduate in those areas.
Vice Chancellor at NUST, Dr Erold Naomab, says the Integrated Tertiary Software Conference is about how to transition and transform the Higher Education Sector, through digitization.
"Digital Transformation is no longer just an operational matter, it's a question of corporate governance and legal compliance with respect to the good order of governance, a matter that is vested with the fiduciary responsibility of the board. You'd agree with me that institutions that are not engaged with digital transitioning at the highest governance structures might soon be reduced to irrelevance".
Integrated Tertiary Software is a campus management suite, that handles everything from student residency, finances and debtors, HR and payroll, among other functions.
User groups include 58 Higher Education & TVET institutions throughout Africa, Ireland and New Zealand.
The conference is being held under the theme "Leveraging revolutionary technology to support Digital Transformation for a Sustainable Future! How resilient, dynamic and inclusive is today's Higher Education?"