a concept that requires an approach to solving problems far beyond the traditional way of problem solving. great design is a result of a clear and thorough understanding of the user, competing resolution of competing tensions, multidisciplinary collaboration, rapid experimentation via prototypes with continuous modification and enhancement of ideas and solutions. i thought it is quite apt to extract the idea from the book to describe the current and future challenges face by the financial services industry. devising 21st century solutions would require re - doing and re - thinking of the nature of learning and development. one perspective is to amalgamate the disciplinary areas of research, teaching and industry collaboration or engagement. these areas once aligned that reinforces each discipline, creating a virtuous cycle that creates a structure that produces employable and productive employees of high quality. research must be applied - based and relevant to the present and future needs of the industry. teaching ought to give focus on critical and creative thinking because these skills would equip a person with the necessary ability to enable innovative solutions. bis central bankers ’ speeches teaching also ought to focus on the development of skill sets that create an aptitude that could push the boundary of knowledge and ideas. industry collaboration and engagement are equally important. the concept of action learning, where industry and the world of academia could interface, gives the opportunity to students and teachers to solve real business issues in the work environment. action learning leads to mutual benefits to all parties ~ for the industry, both in terms of costs efficiency and freshness of ideas and solutions, and for faculty and students, acquisition of knowledge that is contemporary and “ future relevant ”. bank negara malaysia has over the years done its own “ design thinking ”. over the last few years we had designed a human capital developmental map that creates an environment conducive for the supply for a healthy talent pipeline from the entry to the senior levels positioning. last year, saw the introduction of three strategic initiatives that aspire to drive and support the transformation of our talent development infrastructure in an impactful manner. the criticality of these initiatives is obvious given that the financial services industry employs close to 150, 000 people and requires approximately 73, 000 new hires over the next 10 years. let me elaborate a bit on these initiatives. first, is the establishment of the financial services talent council. in july 2014, bank negara malaysia established the council with the aim of setting the strategic direction of the financial sector talent development. this initiative is one of the proposals envisaged

in supporting demand. but that is only if it is used prudently and has been used prudently. if the use of fiscal policy in the past has not been optimised – and that is often the case, with fiscal policy often being used for political ends rather than as an economic tool – then it is likely that fiscal policy has not only been ineffective in creating the conditions for sustainable growth, but that the opportunity to use it to support growth has also become significantly narrower. this is indeed the place where many emerging and developed nations now find themselves. today, we are seeing the limits of debt - fuelled growth. the world seems to need more and more debt to create less and less growth. that cannot go on. debt has a role in supporting growth but over - dependence on it, and its misuse, has repeatedly resulted in bad outcomes. therefore, we have to look at alternative means of creating more sustainable growth. one of those alternatives may be greater economic integration, regionally and globally. in fact, economic and financial integration, whether regional or global, has been occurring. as a result, it has become increasingly difficult for individual countries to determine their independent path to prosperity. while not downplaying the importance of keeping our house in order and the need to promote competitive and transparent economies, it is nevertheless bis central bankers ’ speeches obvious that the fates of economies are increasingly linked to those of others. integration has its benefits and it has its costs. in a world of low growth, the political rhetoric in some major economies has tended to focus more on the costs and less on the benefits. that is unfortunate, because given the current circumstances of the global economy, it is likely that we need deeper and fairer integration. for emerging economies in asia and latin america, the question for us is whether deeper economic and financial integration offers a feasible path towards unlocking sustainable growth of our economies? how do we mitigate the costs and maximise the benefits? the world bank theme paper for this conference provides a useful starting point for thinking about these issues. i will leave it to the learned speakers today to ponder on that. i will just briefly share my perspective on this issue with respect to asean and malaysia. asian regional economic and financial integration the asean economic community blueprint 2025 contains asean ’ s vision of regional economic and financial integration over the next 10 years. when it came to formulating the 2025 blueprint, the issue of the nature of integration has always been central