Monday, May 28, 2007 Group trains teachers on technopreneurship
RECOGNIZING the Cebuanos’ entrepreneurial spirit and competence in the field of informaton technology (IT), a group aims to promote techno-preneurship here.
Federico C. Gonzales, president of the Manila-based Philippine Emerging Startups Open (Peso), said there is a lot of potential in using technological innovations in business.
“We can’t just remain as franchisers or subcontractors. With the help of technopreneurship, every people’s problem could is solved. It’s really addressing people needs in a sophisticated and more effective way,” he said.
Technopreneurship is anchored on the notion that sound technology ideas are viable businesses, and that help should be extended for owners to convert their ideas into an enterprise.
Peso is a non-stock and non-profit organization composed of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s alumni and technophile volunteers.
Cultivated
Gonzales believes that to be at par with countries, like Japan, Korea and Taiwan, technopreneurship should be cultivated among Filipinos.
To inculcate the value of technopreneurship in the community, Gonzales, also a professor in the College of Computer Studies at the De La Salle University, conducted a four-day teacher training seminar to 20 IT and engineering professors in the Visayas.
Gonzales partnered with the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-it).
Cedf-it executive director Bonifacio Belen said technopreneurship will bring Cebu to another level.
“We cannot be labor subcontractors forever. We have to think long term,” Belen said.
After the teacher training workshop, Gonzales will launch a business plan competition in Cebu this November so regional winners could compete in the Peso Challenge in Manila. (Ace Matthew Togonon, UP Mass Comm intern)
