Latest / Difference Makers Podcast / Young Difference Makers: Saad Bin Asim Zubairi and his journey of Learning, Empathy, and AI

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Young Difference Makers: Saad Bin Asim Zubairi and his journey of Learning, Empathy, and AI · Difference Makers Podcast

• 0:00
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I'll forever be a learner.
• 0:01
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: That is something that I learned as well during the summit that all these leaders with all this experience that they have, they still are curious to learn.
• 0:12
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Hi, I'm and I'm representing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.
• 0:24
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I was always a maths kid.
• 0:35
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Maths was one of my favorite subjects.
• 0:38
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: So uh while growing up, I actually stumbled upon it because uh one of my dad's friends he came across, uh visited our house.
• 0:47
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: He asked me, uh, you know, young man, what do you wanna become when you grow up?
• 0:53
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: So um I had no clue at that time I was 10 years old.
• 0:57
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: And uh he told me, he said, Okay, tell me what's your favorite subject.
• 1:02
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Instantly I was like, Maths, that's my favorite subject.
• 1:05
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I knew that for sure.
• 1:06
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: So he said, Okay, well, I'll help you out.
• 1:11
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: If you like maths, why don't you try doing chartered accountancy?
• 1:15
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: And I said, What is that?
• 1:17
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I had no clue about it.
• 1:19
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um, but that just invoked the curiosity in me to find out more about what this profession is about and if it's aligned with my interests, maybe I can take a look at it.
• 1:30
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um and I started visiting expos, started Googling it.
• 1:35
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um I met a couple of institute representatives at an education expo held in Islamabad.
• 1:41
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh that's when I got introduced to the institute itself.
• 1:45
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: And uh when I talked to the representatives there, um it really piqued my interest.
• 1:50
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: So uh that's how I started off uh in this direction, and um I chose finance uh as my subjects in O levels and A levels uh that aligned with my interests as well, and uh that really helped me along in my CA journey.
• 2:08
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I think uh CA as a profession is constantly evolving.
• 2:27
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: It is not the same uh when I started it off.
• 2:30
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um especially that's something that uh I am finding out at this summit as well.
• 2:36
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: You know, with AI coming in, drastic changes going around.
• 2:40
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Something that I've realized uh as a chartered accountant is it has given me a base to kick off from.
• 2:46
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: With the evolving market that we have right now, I think uh a lot of skills needed to need to be added to my career as well in order for me to become more competitive in the market and uh make a lasting impression the uh in this profession.
• 3:02
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I went through around three rounds of interviews.
• 3:09
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: It was in uh it was a difficult process, a cumbersome one, I my dad.
• 3:13
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh but the thing is that what I learned is uh basically my experience is uh I have a a very uh multinational experience.
• 3:24
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I worked in diverse environments.
• 3:27
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Previously I was working for a telecommunication group.
• 3:29
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I had team members from a lot of different countries, which included Russia and Ukraine as well.
• 3:35
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um that's when the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine.
• 3:40
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh, my experience uh it actually was a lot to do with how to be compassionate and empathetic towards team members who come from different diverse backgrounds, right?
• 3:53
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um, with the current world uh going into this global crisis, whether it's Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, India, Iran, Israel, whatever you call it, um, I think what we need to do in our professional lives is we need to be compassionate and empathetic towards the professionals that we are working with.
• 4:14
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um so that is something that uh maybe that also contributed to my selection.
• 4:21
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Also, uh I take some time out to mentor my uh you know my peers as well as my juniors.
• 4:29
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um that is something that I'm really passionate about because uh when I became a chartered accountant, it was a long and arduous journey.
• 4:37
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: It involved a lot of discipline, it involved a lot of uh late nights.
• 4:42
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Um so I think the young people that are becoming chartered accountants, uh, they need to really struggle juggling their work and their personal lives.
• 4:54
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: That is somewhere that I think I can come in, given my two cents to them.
• 4:58
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh, I've seen it help them in their journeys, and I feel that is my way of making a little contribution to making their journey easier.
• 5:08
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Welcome to One Young World.
• 5:25
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: A couple of things that really stood out to me was the speech given by Queen Ranya at the opening ceremony, the work of Maria Risa.
• 5:33
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I've been following her work, I'm a huge fan of her, her journey is inspirational.
• 5:38
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: She's talked about uh, you know, the disinformation that's spewing across the social media platforms these days.
• 5:45
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I'm personally an advocate for you know standing up to it because uh I've gone through it as well.
• 5:53
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I've seen in the past conflicts that our countries have been through, that this hate over social media platforms is spreading like wildfire.
• 6:04
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: That is something that we need to, as young leaders, we need to step up and stop at all costs because otherwise the world is just gonna go into a spiral if it already isn't.
• 6:18
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: One of the key things apart from this is uh AI.
• 6:24
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: These are the acronyms I think that we can't get away with in this day and age.
• 6:31
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: AI is constantly evolving our work culture, our daily lives.
• 6:37
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I just attended my workshop and it was basically mastering AI for good.
• 6:43
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: It was done by KPMG.
• 6:45
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I think that really made me realize what I'm capable of.
• 6:50
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I ended up building a demo app in less than an hour just by using Gen AI.
• 6:59
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: It was an app related to one of the SDGs quality education.
• 7:04
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: So that was something very inspirational for me, you know.
• 7:08
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Developing apps, uh, that is something that uh a layman is capable of now.
• 7:13
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: You don't need a very elaborate coding experience to get into it anymore.
• 7:18
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I think this is one of the key takeaways that I can take back home.
• 7:23
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I want to work and be a part of a project that you know, uh, first of all, uh has something to do with standing up to hate that's spreading across social media, and secondly, I want to coach my juniors and the young CAs that are coming in uh in leveraging this AI to develop their skill set.
• 7:48
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: During the summit, I've seen a lot of uh professionals at the sea level uh you know giving a lot of very inspirational speeches.
• 8:10
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I in 10 years' time I hope I can be one of them.
• 8:14
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh it was truly inspiring to see all these uh famous faces listen to them talk on the stage.
• 8:22
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I plan to be with a multinational organization and I want to take my skills and develop myself.
• 8:29
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I think I'll forever be a learner.
• 8:32
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: That is something that I learned as well during the summit that all these leaders with all this experience that they have, they still are curious to learn.
• 8:41
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: That is something inspirational for me, and I feel that I would be one of them as well.
• 8:45
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Constantly keep on evolving, uh learning new skills, etc.
• 8:50
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I in 10 years' time maybe I'd be I'd want to head an organization that is making some sort of positive impact.
• 9:00
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: You know, I think that that is something that that would be my way of giving back to the world.
• 9:06
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: The change doesn't come from one, you know.
• 9:09
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh we collectively are a power.
• 9:12
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I experienced it, I felt it, it resonated throughout the crowd.
• 9:16
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: There was huge energy in the room.
• 9:18
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: I've met uh people from very diverse backgrounds, from very different countries, from the very different regions, very different professions.
• 9:27
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: And uh the impact that they are creating at each and every level, I I think that's truly inspirational.
• 9:35
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: That gives me a lot of hope.
• 9:37
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: You know, having these platforms in place for young people like us, I think that's uh that's truly uh an avenue that uh maybe I never had at the start uh when I started this profession.
• 9:51
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: Uh being a part of it is truly inspirational for me.
• 9:55
  Saad Bin Asim Zubairi: And I think One Young World can make a huge impact, and being a part of it, I plan to come back sometime, maybe, be one of those inspirational speakers on the stages, and uh you know narrate to them how my journey began and how I ended up making a positive impact in the world.