Friday, July 11, 2008 Scientist raises need to change Pinoy culture
ALTHOUGH Cebu is positioning itself as the country’s information and communication technology, it would need a change of culture to reach the goal.
Dr. Augustus C. Ouano, scientist and author, said the Philippines, in general, and Cebu, in particular, is still at the “bottom of the food chain” when it comes to technology.
“Labor here is cheap but the cream of the harvest is being reaped by developed countries,” he said. “If we want to change that, we have to change the culture. But it would need a lot of hard work.”
He said the private sector and the government should prepare for the eventuality when growth of business processing out-sourcing has petered out.
Hope
“We have call centers, but if that’s all we ever want to be (to accommodate call centers), we will be kaluoy (pitiful),” he said.
Ouano said he is putting his hope on young Filipinos who are eager to learn, and have the passion for science and technology.
Ouano, who finished chemical engineering at Mapua University in Manila and pursued graduate studies in chemical physics in the United States, will soon launch his autobiography, “Motivation and Opportunity,” in Cebu with the aim of establishing a fund that will provide scholarships in science and technology to young Filipinos.
Aside from the scholarship project, Ouano also hopes that his book will provide inspiration to young Filipinos who want to make it big in the technology field here or abroad.
Time
But for Filipinos to succeed in their chosen field, they also have to learn to value time, he said. “Look at people in Japan, the United States and Europe. They utilize time wisely,” he added.
He said Filipinos should also “learn to use their physical energy on fruitful activities, develop a passion, have patience and look beyond material possessions as a measure of success.”
“If we change, we will be able to reach our goals,” he said.
Ouano, who left the Philippines for the United States in the early 1960s, worked at the research and development department of IBM for about 18 years. At IBM he invented devices that were crucial to innovations in microchip development technology.
He also received several awards, including the Arthur K. Doolittle Award from the American Chemical Society in 1977. (LAP)
