A Woman Founded the World’s Oldest University Still in Operation In 859 CE, a merchant’s daughter in Fez used her inheritance to build an institution of learning that is still teaching students today, more than eleven centuries later. In 859 CE, Fatima al-Fihri founded Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, an institution that has operated continuously ever since. UNESCO and Guinness World Records recognise it as the oldest existing, continually operating institution of higher learning in the world. Al-Fihri came from a wealthy merchant family that had emigrated from Kairouan, in modern-day Tunisia, to Fez, and when she inherited her father’s fortune, she chose to direct it toward building a mosque and centre of learning for her community, funding its construction and expansion herself. The institution she founded predates the University of Bologna, widely cited as Europe’s oldest university, by more than two centuries. Key Insights Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 CE, is recognised by UNESCO and Guinness World Records as the oldest continually operating institution of higher learning in the world It was funded entirely through private wealth, an individual act of philanthropy rather than a royal or religious institutional mandate The institution taught theology, law, grammar, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy, drawing scholars from across North Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe It predates the University of Bologna, widely cited as Europe’s oldest university, by more than two centuries Al-Qarawiyyin remains an active institution of higher education today, having operated continuously for over eleven hundred years What Made the Difference Al-Fihri’s founding decision was distinctive for two reasons: the source of the funding and the durability of the design. Unlike many early centres of learning established under royal patronage or religious authority, Al-Qarawiyyin was funded by a private individual using inherited merchant wealth, and its founder took direct responsibility for its construction and ongoing expansion. That funding model appears to have shaped the institution’s resilience. Rather than depending on the continuity of a single ruling family or religious order, Al-Qarawiyyin was structured from the outset as a centre of scholarship in its own right, one that could outlast the political and dynastic changes that swept through the region over the following centuries. Its curriculum breadth, spanning theology, law, grammar, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy, further embedded it as a general centre of scholarship rather than a narrow institution tied to a single discipline or patron. Why It Matters for Organisations Al-Fihri’s example is a useful corrective to a common assumption in institutional history: that the formal architecture of higher education is a comparatively recent, Western invention. It is not. The deliberate, well-funded pursuit of knowledge has deep roots in this part of the world, predating Europe’s oldest universities by centuries. For organisations working across governance, education, and institutional design in the region, the case also illustrates a design principle with contemporary relevance: institutions built to outlast their founders require structural independence, funding models and governance that do not rely on a single patron’s continuity, from the outset. Al-Qarawiyyin’s endurance across more than a millennium of political change was not incidental. It was, in effect, designed in. From Research to Reality Institutions seeking longevity, whether universities, foundations, or advisory bodies, can draw a direct lesson from Al-Fihri’s model: funding structures and governance independence established at founding matter more to long-term survival than the scale of initial investment. Organisations should audit their own dependency on single funding sources or single leadership figures as an early governance exercise, not a response to crisis. For institutions in the UAE and the wider region specifically, Al-Fihri’s story is also a useful reframing tool in strategic communications: it positions the region’s relationship to formal scholarship as foundational rather than derivative, a distinction worth making deliberately in positioning, partnerships, and public narrative. Key Takeaways Private Philanthropy Built the World’s Oldest University Al-Qarawiyyin was funded not by a royal court or religious authority, but by one woman directing her inherited wealth toward a lasting public institution. Institutional Design Outlasts Individual Founders Al-Qarawiyyin’s structure allowed it to survive more than a millennium of political change, a governance lesson relevant to any institution planning for longevity. The Region’s Scholarly Tradition Predates Europe’s Al-Qarawiyyin was founded more than two centuries before the University of Bologna, Europe’s oldest university, challenging assumptions about where formal higher education began. Curriculum Breadth Reinforced Durability Teaching theology, law, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy under one roof embedded Al-Qarawiyyin as a general centre of scholarship, not a narrow institution vulnerable to the decline of a single discipline or patron. “Al-Qarawiyyin is recognised as the oldest existing, continually operating educational institution in the world.” — UNESCO Source: Fatima al-Fihri and the founding of Al-Qarawiyyin, UNESCO World Heritage documentation; Guinness World Records At Global Consultancy, we help organisations translate research and historical precedent into strategic and institutional design grounded in evidence. Get in touch to explore what durable governance and institutional design could mean for your organisation. Get in touch to discuss what it means for your organisation. Leave a Comment Cancel reply Logged in as Admin. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* 0 % Title Latest Insights All Posts Global Reports Research Elementor #5495 August 2026 How Artificial Intelligence Will Reshape… July 2026 The Hidden Costs of Hiring… June 2026 The Research Is Clear: Women… May 2026 Category Global Reports Research Explore More Insights Key findings at a glance. Read More Topic AI Finance Gender & Work Women Who Went First
How Artificial Intelligence Will Reshape Asia’s Economies, and Widen Its Fault Lines
How Artificial Intelligence Will Reshape Asia’s Economies, and Widen Its Fault Lines New IMF analysis shows AI could boost productivity across the Asia-Pacific region, but its uneven reach threatens to deepen inequality between countries, sectors, and the workers within them. New analysis from the International Monetary Fund finds that artificial intelligence is poised to reshape labour markets across the Asia-Pacific region, but its effects will not be evenly distributed. Advanced economies such as Singapore and Japan face far greater AI exposure than emerging markets, yet they are also better positioned to convert that exposure into productivity gains rather than job losses. Emerging and developing economies, by contrast, have far fewer roles that AI can meaningfully enhance. The findings matter beyond the region. They illustrate a structural pattern likely to recur wherever AI adoption meets uneven digital infrastructure, skills, and regulation: technology amplifying existing advantage rather than levelling it. The analysis also surfaces a gender dimension, with women overrepresented in the occupational categories most exposed to displacement. For governments, employers, and workforce planners, this is a call to design deliberate policy responses, safety nets, reskilling, and regulation, before disruption outpaces preparation. Key Insights Roughly half of all jobs in Asia-Pacific’s advanced economies are exposed to AI, compared to about a quarter in emerging and developing economies Advanced economies also hold more roles that AI can complement rather than replace, positioning them to capture productivity gains Singapore has AI-complementary roles in 40 percent of jobs, versus just 3 percent in Laos, a stark measure of regional disparity Within countries, service, sales, and clerical roles face the highest displacement risk, while managerial, professional, and technical roles, already better paid, stand to benefit most Women are disproportionately represented in the occupations most exposed to AI-driven disruption Policymakers can counter these risks through stronger safety nets, targeted reskilling, and regulation for ethical AI use What Made the Difference The IMF’s analysis, drawn from its October 2024 Asia-Pacific Regional Economic Outlook, distinguishes between AI exposure and AI complementarity, a distinction that explains why the same technology can raise productivity in one economy while threatening livelihoods in another. Exposure alone does not determine outcome; what matters is whether a country’s existing job mix allows AI to augment work rather than substitute for it. Advanced economies benefit from occupational structures weighted toward managerial, professional, and technical work, roles where AI tools tend to enhance output rather than replace the worker entirely. Emerging economies, with a higher share of manual and lower-skill roles, have fewer opportunities to convert AI exposure into productivity gains, leaving them more vulnerable to the downside of disruption without the upside of enhancement. The gender pattern follows the same logic. Because women are more concentrated in service, sales, and clerical occupations, the categories most exposed to displacement, while men are more represented in roles AI is unlikely to touch in the near term, such as farm work and machine operation, the technology’s effects are filtered through existing occupational segregation rather than distributed neutrally. Why It Matters for Organisations For governments and regional institutions, the analysis reframes AI policy as an inequality-management challenge as much as a growth opportunity. Between-country gaps in AI-readiness, digital infrastructure, skills, and regulatory maturity, will determine which economies convert AI into productivity and which absorb its disruptive effects with less capacity to adapt. For employers and workforce planners, the occupational and gender patterns identified are a signal to examine internal workforce composition now, rather than after disruption occurs. Roles concentrated in service, sales, and clerical functions warrant proactive reskilling investment, and organisations with gender-imbalanced staffing in these categories should treat that imbalance as a workforce-risk indicator, not an incidental detail. For policymakers specifically, the IMF’s recommendations point to three levers: strengthening social safety nets, expanding reskilling infrastructure, and establishing regulatory frameworks for ethical AI use and data protection. Each requires action ahead of widescale AI adoption, not in response to it. From Research to Reality Organisations operating across Asia-Pacific, or advising governments and institutions that do, should treat this analysis as a prompt to map workforce exposure by occupation and by region. A single-country lens will understate the risk; the IMF’s findings show that AI’s labour market effects compound across borders, meaning regional strategies need country-specific calibration rather than a uniform approach. Reskilling programmes should be prioritised for the occupational categories identified as high-risk, service, sales, and clerical roles, with particular attention to the gender composition of those categories. Generic upskilling initiatives that do not account for this concentration risk missing the workers most exposed. Finally, the regulatory dimension should not be an afterthought. Institutions advising on AI adoption, whether governments, corporates, or NGOs, should build ethical-use and data-protection frameworks into AI strategy from the outset, rather than retrofitting governance once adoption is already underway. Key Takeaways Exposure Is Not Destiny Whether AI helps or harms a workforce depends on whether existing jobs can be complemented by the technology, not merely whether they are exposed to it. Regional Inequality Is Compounding Advanced economies are positioned to capture AI’s productivity dividend, while emerging economies face disruption with fewer offsetting gains, a gap that could widen over time. Occupational Segregation Shapes the Gender Effect Women’s overrepresentation in service, sales, and clerical roles, not any inherent vulnerability, explains their higher exposure to AI-driven disruption. Policy Must Precede Disruption Social safety nets, reskilling programmes, and ethical-use regulation are most effective when established ahead of AI adoption, not as remedial measures afterward. “Advanced economies have far more roles that AI can enhance rather than replace, while emerging economies have far fewer.” — IMF, Asia-Pacific Regional Economic Outlook, October 2024 How Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Asia’s Economies, IMF Blog, January 2025, based on the October 2024 Asia-Pacific Regional Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund. At Global Consultancy, we help organisations translate research like this into workforce and policy strategy grounded in evidence. Get in touch to explore what AI’s uneven reach means for your organisation or region. Get in touch to discuss what it means for your
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