Technopreneurship academics
by Blogie • 4 June 2007
As Silicon Valley has proven time and again, the foundation of a successful and sustainable I.T. industry is academe. Cebu, by the success of its Cebu Educational Development Foundation for I.T. (CEDF-it) program, is adding credence to this model. And Davao City (“Silicon Paddy” according to my colleague, Jason Banico) might also contribute empirical data to this in a few short school years.
A couple of years ago, through the initiative of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc (DCCCII), an extensive educational program was instituted for the development of entrepreneurship training at colleges in the Davao Region. This was in partnership with the Philippines-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF), and funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). This bore fruit when 12 colleges and universities were introduced to curriculum development coaching for an entrepreneurship program in information technology courses. The coaching ran from December 2006 to January 2007.
According to Cornelia Victolero, I.T. consultant of Davao Doctors College, the output is an elective course (3 units) which is targeted at students enrolled in Computer Science and other related majors. Each college may have different guidelines, but I think it would be a beneficial idea to offer this elective to students of any course.
Most participating schools will start offering this elective on technopreneurship this school year, although a few have reportedly begun offering it since last semester. In Davao City, the participating colleges / universities are: Ateneo de Davao University, Brokenshire College, Davao Doctors College, Holy Child Academy, Interface College, John Paul II College, Jose Maria College, University of the Immaculate Concepcion, University of Mindanao, and University of Southeastern Philippines.
This program is highly commendable, and is one more reason why our Davao Chamber is recognized nationwide as a model organization, and a catalyst for positive change. It should be noteworthy that the DCCCII is the only private organization that is considered a partner in development by the Australian government. What is even gratifying is that, the Davao Chamber will not sit on its laurels: the technopreneurship elective subject is just the tip of the iceberg. (One thing, though: I just hope they’ll soon decide to update their website more often….)
The long-term goal is to develop a full four-year degree course on entrepreneurship in the business of information technology. In order to achieve this worthy objective, the Davao Chamber and PAHRDF are conducting further training here and in Australia. For instance, there’s Mark Maglana, who is in Brisbane Canberra taking up a master’s program in Management, specializing in Technology, Innovation and Commercialization. This is under a scholarship grant from the PAHRDF. After he graduates, Maglana is contract-bound to return to Davao and impart the knowledge he will have gained. As well, he is of the same mind to close the gap between industry and academe. Other professionals-turned-students are — or will be — under training in Australia for similar reasons.
The ultimate purpose of developing this technopreneurship academic program is to develop entrepreneurial skills in today’s youth, in order to engender business-mindedness among technology-inclined graduates. It answers the question, ‘Why work for someone when you can build your own I.T. business?’
In line with this, a nationwide Business Plan Competition will be launched in Davao on 20 June 2007, during the next Techno Kapehan. Techno Kapehan #6 is set to be held at the Ateneo college campus, from 2:00 PM. This competition, which hopes to encourage students to produce bankable business ideas, is only this year being opened to Davao entrants. The Davao Chamber is the local coordinator. More details on this in forthcoming articles.
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