Global growth has lost momentum. On average, GDP growth has declined from more than 2% in advanced economies and nearly 6% in emerging and developing economies in the early 2000s to less than 1.5% and less than 2% post-COVID period. A succession of crises has compounded this sustained slowdown in growth. It has been more than a decade since the beginning of the global financial crisis, yet it continues to cast a shadow, not least in the policy choices of many advanced economies. The COVID-19 pandemic and the shock of lockdowns left behind an aftermath of a surge in public debt levels and a reversal of global development progress. Geopolitical tensions and conflicts have further reshaped an increasingly multipolar international order, with far-reaching implications for technology, growth, and development.
Overshadowing these developments is the growing awareness that the world’s rising temperature poses grave dangers to the long-term prospects for humanity, with the world currently on track for a temperature rise significantly above the targets set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015. The critical question for this pivotal moment is not whether the world still needs economic growth but how that growth is achieved and whether it is aligned with other important national and global priorities.
Against this backdrop, universities are essential in educating and providing professional human resources and conducting high-quality research that benefits humanity. However, universities must play a significant role and be innovative and creative in engaging and supporting the development opportunities and consolidation of the global community. To embark on this role effectively, universities must always foster communication and discussion among stakeholders under the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). Academia, Government, Business, and Communities must increasingly cooperate to achieve academic and research excellence and constructive solutions to current business and economic issues.
Sustainable Collaboration in Business, Information, and Innovation (SCBTII) 2024 is an international conference that brings together academics, professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers, learners, and other associated groups from all over the world that are interested in theories, as well as practices in the field of the digital economy for global competitiveness. This conference provides opportunities for presenters and participants to exchange new ideas and experiences, create research relationships, and find international partners for future collaboration to respond to economic, business, social, and technological development challenges successfully and effectively for better life and well-being.