Professional Education Podcast with Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek Ep.2

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Welcome to MySensei, the go to podcast for small business entrepreneurs looking to navigate the dynamic world of business. If you're new here, I'm your host Denise Creisson and today we're diving into the topic of professional education. Joining us on today's show is international expert on education and Dean of the School of Continuing Education at Nile University in Egypt Dr. Nevin Abdelkhalek who will be shedding some light on how professional education can help business leaders and their workforce. Let's unravel the world of upskilling and learning on the job for busy professionals and explore how this can be a game changer for you. Nevin, welcome to the show. To kick things off, can you tell us about your background and also your work with education? Okay. Thank you for hosting me and for being part of the show. My background in education actually I started in the field of education way back just a few years ago in 1987. And I've had some of my studies at Boston University and at Wolverhampton in the UK. And I started as an English language teacher, actually, in primary school. And then I have been establishing the English language department in one of the newly then established private universities in Egypt, and I was responsible for some of the education reform programs in Egypt, as well as the establishment of the Professional Academy for Teachers that's under the Regulation and the R egulatory body of education with the Ministry of Education in Egypt. And currently I am the Dean of the School of Continuing Education with Nile University. So we are responsible for not only for the private corporate sector, but our education and professional development is responsible for preparing the citizen, whether the citizen is 6 years old or 106 years old, or even until this citizen wants to stay at home. Even if they want to stay at home and enjoy themselves, they will find something that we are offering them. This is our key and this is how I'm involved with education that actually works on how we can educate ourselves to fit whatever we want to do. Whether it is professional or entertainment. Thank you very much, Nevine we look forward to the gems that you can share with us today. To go into the first question I want to touch on emerging technologies especially because that's the biggest disruptor to business at the moment. Data is the biggest commodity but, the biggest disruptor is, the technologies that, are changing on a weekly basis. So my question is how important is this going to be? So learning emerging technologies, especially AI for entrepreneurs. Actually, it's the emerging technology is key. Emerging technology, as I said, it can be used with the financial analysis. It can be used in putting together your business plan and what you are offering. Also, emerging technologies will help you in maybe it can suggest even new products that you can actually start working on that you never thought of. And also working on research using the AI tools. This will also enable you to know maybe what new markets you can start working at and what markets you need to avoid. Because maybe they will look interesting, they will look lucrative, but maybe with the quick analysis of big data, using the AI tools, they will be able to get you the information that, you need to be careful about. And at the end of the day, you will still need to use your own gut feelings and brains. We cannot stop using our human brains. The only thing that I can see that using the AI tools, it enables us to have a faster result when we are working on something. Maybe it will enable us to reach results or alternatives in business that would have needed more studies than we, we are going to use now. So we need to be very careful in relying on AI and in taking AI as is. This is also very important. We need to know what's happening around us because the different makers of the AI tools are always competing with each other. And AI, as you said, it's in everything. It's in your day to day research and even with the small businesses. If you are going to design something, if you are going to start even if to start a new business, even if you are not yet an entrepreneur in action, but an entrepreneur to be, you need to learn and to always take classes and to always give yourself the online enrichment of getting to know more about the latest tools and also analyzing and the different tools that are offered, not only to learn the tools because some tools have better things than others. So you do not stick to one tool and leave the other. So this is also another thing because each AI tool, you will find it better in one element than the other. Yeah, I agree with you on that. There's a lot of resistance to using AI and I don't know if most people know that we've been using AI for a long time, like some of the big corporates had already implemented AI for years, the facial recognition technology that we have on our phones, Netflix anticipating what programs to suggest to us based on our, previous activities or previous selections. AI has been a part of our lives already. I think a lot of the misconception stems from people using it wrong because people think that, it will replace me and replace my voice and it will erode my authenticity but we are meant to be using AI as a tool, which means not to give us the answers, not to take our voice it's meant to just be an assistant where it's enhancing what it is that we do through optimizing like you've said like the human plus AI is optimized because the human will tell the AI go and do this for me. So have some of the tasks they would have done before that maybe would have been labor intensive or time intensive, like going and doing research, the AI can help with that. But it was the human that would have first instigated that thought to say, this is where we need to go. And they can check it, against AI and say this is the direction that I want to take can you go and check against experts in this subject area, is this a good approach to take? So there's the misconceptions, and also the the need to demystify it. It's not as difficult as people think it's actually as simple as just having a conversation. One of the elements, one of the key things that we need also to be careful regarding it machine learning or AI is based on input. So there is a lot of data that has been inputted. And then based on this, when you ask a question, you will be able to find an answer. So if, for example, one of the things, Europe and the States and maybe Australia, there is a lot of input, but when it comes to Africa, for example, there isn't a lot of input from the African side. If you're going to ask something, the information or the answers are not going to be correct or proper. That's why it's important to know that AI is a supportive tool. This is the most important thing. It's supportive tool. And we need to be careful that it is based on the input. So if the input is biased the output that you're going to get is going to be biased. Simple. Yes, you're absolutely right. And again, coming back to the data integrity and just making sure that we're not just focusing on the accuracy of data, but we're also looking at the integrity of it and making sure that, like you say, that there isn't bias. And again, the more perspectives we look at, the closer we are to a truism with this, so making sure that we've captured a lot of data points in order to be able to come to some assertions that we can actually trust with some assurance to say that, yes, from a consensus of many this is probably, the most accurate that we can get. And usually with AI, whatever tool you are using, you will find that the paid part, I'm not saying the tools that you are using with no subscription or whatever, but you will find that if you're doing something proper, there will be referencing. So you will find that there is referencing for whatever is being if you want to have because of course, we find that there is a lot of research papers and all this that are being done using the ChatGPT or Gemini or whatever tools that are there. So we need to be careful that yes maybe you can ask for all the quotations or all the sentences or the chapters that are related to a specific topic but usually what's happening, even if it is going to be built, so we will find that the referencing is important. So without referencing you will find this is where you will be starting also doubting the correctness of the information that is there. So if one side is only having the input. So this means that the history or the information that is coming in, it will be from one side. I always say that the winner is the one who writes history. All the winnings and what they did. So when you read the history books, you always read it from the point of view of the victorious. We need to be careful in this. We need to have entities that will ensure that there is fairness and that we encourage everyone to put in data so that data will be inputted from all elements, from all fields. That's very important. That's one of the key things. I like what you've said and I've got a variation to that analogy that you've used. There's an African proverb that says, Until the lion learns to write, Stories will always be written to glorify the hunter. Yeah. Absolutely. And again, I've experienced it firsthand. A number of years ago, I was trying to research something and I can't remember what it was, but it was on the African continent and I really struggled to get enough data together to not have bias in my research. I could only find a few sources and that's never enough to make sure that you eliminating as much bias as possible. You're absolutely right with that making sure that we are sense checking what the AI is actually telling us. And I had another experience last night where I had been on an audit and I'd prepared all my notes and I thought, I'm going to ask AI to do a summary. Now at that time, I hadn't sent my Otter.ai to my meetings, so it hadn't recorded and transcribed my meetings because that really helps me in terms of, getting it to summarize for me the key points. I was actually typing them and using, a typed document so I thought I'll use AI to summarize for me and I'd asked it to look up a key word or a key phrase. But, when I was in the discussions, I wasn't using the same key word or key phrase all the time. So the summary that I was getting back from the AI I was looking at and thinking I know there were more instances in that report where I mentioned it. And it's only returned a quarter of the results that I know are there. And it was because of the inconsistencies in how I had actually put my prompt in, it was insufficient. It was inadequate in order to generate the results that I actually needed. So coming back to that prompt engineering that you were talking about earlier, I think I've got too accustomed to using my custom GPT and relying on that a little bit. It was a good reminder to me the importance of sense checking. So I want to go to what are the pitfalls that entrepreneurs should be looking to avoid when they are going into looking at professional education and upskilling themselves. What should they be looking out for? Okay. One of the key elements they need to be looking, as I said, to financial skills is key. And they need to look for reducing their arrogance because a lot of the entrepreneurs, they are too arrogant and too full of themselves. Please can you expand on that? If we can say the young people, they feel that the world is theirs. And because there is this ability of researching and getting the information very quickly. And also when they start the business grows very quickly. So there is no patience. That isn't the humble spirit of going through the experience, this being humble is one of the key elements of success and keeping success. I'm not saying that you're not to be proud, but there is a fine line between pride and arrogance. This is one of the key things. And arrogance is a pitfall. This is where you will start failing. And unfortunately, if we analyze, they need to actually have communication skills. Because as they grow fast, and as they are entrepreneurs, they are focusing more on the business and on themselves than focusing on the community around them. So they lose the skill of communication. So communication is very important. And I'm talking about verbal, oral communication and written communication. They write in all type of very strange languages, sometimes short, long sentences. And brief and sometimes it is not really what is needed. So communication is a key element as well that they need to know. And this will enable them also, as I said, to be able to see how they can work on a sustained future because this is important for them and definitely they need to embark on always having sessions or looking for the training on the latest in spending and investing in training on the latest trends in technology within their own field. If I am a manufacturer in a specific area or an entrepreneur in a specific area, you just need to know what is what are the updates. And also one of the key things that I would give as an advice to an entrepreneur is they look for any association or a chamber of commerce that would be specialized within their fields, because again, networking is key. Networking is key because networking will enable you to open new trends in your business. Will support you in developing your business better and also to know what are the challenges that maybe others are facing and you may be facing. I really agree with what you've just said, Nevin, because a leader that doesn't listen will soon be surrounded by people with nothing to say. And one of the key elements of leadership is learning how to be managed up. Learning how to listen to voices who probably know something more than you do, because they're doing it on a day to day basis. For example, leaders might be at the strategic level in an organization, but those in operations that are doing it on a day to day basis will have some information that will be of value for them in steering and decision making. So it's making sure that, they are highly effective at communication and making sure that it is designed in a way that will allow and create a platform for anyone to basically come and feed into the knowledge base that we need to make sure that we are making good decisions. When you're a solopreneur you may not have the different voices that will enable you to cross check and make sure that you're thinking is the right way to go in what you're doing, but you can actually find that you can use AI and some other tools to help you to get different perspectives. One of the things that I often find when I'm going into businesses, and sometimes I do diagnostics, is I look at the leadership team and where you find that it is all young people. It's problematic or where you find it's a lot of older people. It's problematic. Young people are just built different. If you've grown up in like the digital age, the way that your brain fires is different. Like for me, if I get a new mobile phone, it'll take me two days and the manual to learn it, but if I give it to my 15 year old son, it'll take him 30 minutes and he can tell me what to do with no manual. So his brain, just by his intuition is different to what mine is having grown up with different influences. And so when you look at, the entrepreneurs that are are maybe younger, they are probably better at finding innovation. So they know where we need to go. But they don't know how to get there. They can learn how to get there from explicit knowledge. You can get it from a book. You can read a lot of sources. You can ask AI to go and, give you examples of how to get from A to B. But that's explicit knowledge and that is going to be your interpretation of what that literature that you've read says. But where you have tacit knowledge, now with tacit knowledge, it's knowledge that you've gained from experience. You've actually done it, which is a different type of value. And so mature professionals that, have been through the trenches for a long time, have a different kind of value that they can bring in the paths and the networks to get from A to B to reach success, because they will be good at being able to identify the risks and know some of the mitigation because it's tried and tested ways and approaches that they've used, that they can be able to contribute. So it's good to have a mix of voices. And again, going back to how you were talking about the networks and how the cohorts are designed at your school in particular, where you're drawing in from, different sectors and different levels of experiences is that they all have gold to bring. They all have a perspective in how their brain has fired and has enabled them to rationalize what is actually going on. And when you put all of that together, it's powerful. It's really great and much better than if you just are maybe networking with, peers that are from the same demographic as you. So I want to go to one of my last questions and this is on, Carol Dwerks work debunking the concept of IQ and just wanted to look at how can small business entrepreneurs leverage the concept of a growth mindset to drive innovation and success, IQ might not actually fully capture potential. So what are your thoughts on that? Actually, I don't believe very much in IQ. I believe very much in I want to do this and I'm going to do it. This is one of the key elements that I believe in. I always tell entrepreneurs if you have a dream, write it down on a piece of paper and put it in your back pocket or look at it every now and then, because definitely you will find the skill that will enable you to realize what you want to do, because definitely IQ will actually imprison us in specific elements and specific areas. For example, why, if I'm going to be a creative person, if I'm going to be an artist if my business is to be able to be creative to do designs of handbags for ladies why do I need to be excellent in in specific areas? And some parts of the tests that test my IQ that will say that I'm not good at specific thing. On the contrary if I'm not innovative and have the imagination, I will not be able to do the designs. Some of the best inventions were done by people that were considered low IQ or were sent out of school because they were not good. We need to make sure that IQ is not as important as your passion and your belief in yourself and in actually drawing what you want to be in and working on this because it's your inner development and the development of where you want to be. This is what leads you, because you can always see. Let's give it an idea if you are looking at the road and you know that you want to reach the end of the road, don't look at the length of the road, no, just the beginning. put together in your mind the end. And as you walk, you are walking with the strength that you will be reaching your destination with the positive strength. We need to be positive and whatever we are looking and whatever we are seeking, we will reach. And if we are thinking negative, we will get negative output and input both. Whatever we are thinking, our thoughts are like a magnet. It simply brings together whatever is there. So if I'm thinking positive, and that I'm going to do this, everything positive is there, because instead of looking at a problem you will not consider it a problem you will consider it a challenge and you will consider it a stepping stone. But if you are negative, it is going to be the closed door in front of you that you will not be able to manage. So it's very important to learn and to know that it's not your IQ as much as it is your emotional IQ, your emotional quantum your emotional intelligence, which is very important, and also your ability to develop the positiveness within you because if you do not develop and maintain being positive, you will not go anywhere. You just stay where you are. That's very important and thank you for bringing that up. I remember reading somewhere, and I don't know how true it is so I can't vouch for the data integrity of this, that the American flag was designed by a student that actually got a grade B for that assignment and then it ended up being, one of the most recognizable flags in the world. And also, something else that you mentioned about, making sure that you are careful about what inputs you bring in because they impact the outputs. I remember watching a documentary a number of years ago, I think it was over a decade ago on someone, I think it was a hypnotist in the UK that was investigating the concept of people that say they have good luck and people that say they have bad luck. So he had secretly followed two individuals, one that said that they had very good luck and one that said that they just had a lot of bad luck. And after a month of looking at, where they went and, things that they he started planting money in places that they would normally pass by that they frequented and the person that said that they were a lucky person always found the money, but the person that said that they were unlucky never saw the money. They just used to walk past it all the time. There are infinite opportunities that are out there, but it's limited to the level of our belief. If you believe that, you can only go so far, you will only go so far. If you believe that you have no ceiling, then you are open to everything and anything and you have capacity to grow. Yeah, I always tell everyone, I tell my colleagues and those who are working with me and the team, the sky's the limit. That's it. The last question that I'm going to ask you, and this has been a wonderfully rich discussion, thank you so much for being with us today on the show. A question that I always ask the guests is what should entrepreneurs be focusing on that they are not right now? Okay they need to focus on let me say most of entrepreneurs, as I said, They are focusing on, the growth of their products and the growth of the business. So they need to focus on both their own growth and the growth of the business. And they definitely need to focus on their financial skills. Again, I just pin it up and this is something that is key and within the financial skills, the embedding of when and how far they can be risk takers for the sake of the growth of their business. This is very important. And definitely the last bit is to make use of artificial intelligence as much as they can in developing these two parts, their own business and their own self. And knowing that AI is not a magic wand. It's a tool, but not a magic wand. Thank you, Nevin, for sharing your insights with us today. And to our listeners that have been listening, I hope that today's segment is going to inspire you to embrace professional education and harness its potential for your personal and also business growth, like Nevin has mentioned today. Don't forget to visit our website, www.mysenseihub.com for more resources. And if you are looking for tools to help you power your business with professional education and coaching, we're always releasing new courses. So please do go and check it out and join us next week for another enlightening discussion until then keep innovating and stay ahead in your entrepreneurial game. I'm your host, Denise Creisson with this week's My Sensei guest, Nevin Abdelkhalek. Thank you, Nevin. Thank you, Denise. Thank you.