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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1521309
This article is part of the Research Topic Applying Lean Six Sigma and Industry 4.0 Concepts to Enhance Higher Education View all 4 articles
Integrating an Educational Supply Chain Model in the Higher Education Sector: Meeting the 21st Century Workforce Demands in Bangladesh
Provisionally accepted- 1 University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- 2 Khulna University, Khulna, Khulna, Bangladesh
- 3 Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
The higher education sector is facing challenges to meet the market demand of skilled workers in the era of the 4 th Industrial Revolution (4IR). This study explores educational supply chain management systems in the higher education sector in Bangladesh. Qualitative data were collected through interview with stakeholders in educational supply chain management and analyzed to conceptualize a thematic framework for the educational supply chain. Findings of the study identify key skills required for developing a market-ready workforce and the ways to incorporate the skills in curriculum. The findings also illustrate the changes required in university culture, facilities and faculty capacity development at HEIs. The findings will guide policymakers, faculties, and relevant stakeholders to take strategic decisions about higher education supply chain management to create professionals aligned with the demand in the 21 st century.
Keywords: Educational supply chain management, 4 th Industrial Revolution (4IR), higher education, Workforce Skills Development, curriculum integration
Received: 01 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chowdhury, Sharmin, Al-Amin and Shifat. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Sabbir Ahmed Chowdhury, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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