U.S. St. Mary's University Prof. Seongbae Lim from Texas says that in the coming robotics age, students need education and to develop networking skills.

The distinguished professor Nov. 28th presented a series of lectures at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) including "Blockchain for Disruptive Innovation" and "Living Innovation: A New Paradigm for Enriching Asian Community.“

"What students should do is develop not only intelligence, but also skills like networking," said Prof. Lim. "Working together with others, with people" is important, he said

Prof. Lim said that the global trend is that robots are taking over jobs of humans and much cheaper than hiring a human, who requires a pension, insurance and benefits. He estimated that in the next 5 years 20-25% of jobs worldwide will be taken over by robots.

"IT killed job opportunities," he said adding that robots will increasingly also do so due to the fact that they require no salary or benefits.

Even in the food sector, what we are seeing is robot chefs, following a set menu and cooking meals at fast-food restaurants. "It will also go on in high-end restaurants," he added.

"In all kinds of jobs humans will be substituted by computers and artificial intelligence. Students should get prepared for the future. Governments should think about how to solve the digital divide," he added.

Students need to prepare for this, although as humans "you never win over a robot," Prof. Lim noted.

While robots may not be able to be creative, show feelings and empathy just yet, they are becoming more and more common in various jobs, he noted.

People skills, networking will be important in the future, Prof. Lim said adding that interaction with other people is key. In addition, he stressed the importance of people working together on projects.

Prof. Lim was at MRU presenting a series of lectures part of the "Introductory Course to East Asian Community: Cultural, Political and Economic Aspects” course.