Friday, August 22, 2008 IT hardware development in RP not possible sans research schools
WHILE there are opportunities for the Philippines to make a name in software development, it is very difficult for the country to attract investment in information technology (IT) hardware.
This was the common belief of key figures in the academe and industry during a forum that launched the book of Dr. Augustus Ouano, who worked for about 17 years in the San Jose Research Center of IBM in California, USA.
Roger Lim, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of East Asia Utilities Corp., said Cebu, or the Philippines in general, will not be able to attract foreign investors to invest in IT hardware development in the country.
Lim, one of the reactors to the talk given by Ouano last Friday about IT hardware development, said a venture into IT hardware development would need a huge investment. But even if there are investors, Cebu and the Philippines would hardly qualify as ideal destination for such project because of the absence of research universities.
Not ready
IT hardware development “has to be very close to research,” he said, citing Silicon Valley whose beginnings can be traced to research work at Stanford University.
“We are not ready in (IT) hardware. But yes (we are ready) in software,” he said, adding that the latter would require mainly intelligence, of which Filipinos are capable of.
However, Lim said, the quality of education in the country—and in Cebu—has deteriorated. “I have interviewed engineering graduates who cannot convert degrees Centigrade to degrees Fahrenheit, commerce graduates who do not know the difference between credit and debit,” he said.
Southwestern University CEO Andrew Aznar and Antonio V. Osmeña, president of the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers-Cebu Chapter, agreed with Lim, an electrical engineer.
Osmeña stressed the need to improve the mathematical skills of Filipino students, saying mastery of mathematics is crucial in research and development.
Aznar raised the need to improve the quality of education as a whole, saying it is the only way to tap the full potential of the country’s biggest asset—its people.
“But the infrastructure is not in place. (This has to be the initiative of) private indus-try…private schools, with the help and support of government,” he said.
Felix Buot, also an engineer, said he is part of a movement involving senior Filipino scientists who have come back to the country to improve the quality of education here.
“The Philippines has many bright minds. It’s a question of exposing them…we need very good teachers,” he said.
Dr. Nicanor S. Buenconsejo, dean of the School of Engineering of the University of San Carlos, noted, though, that there is a “growing number of students who are not as motivated as those in the pre-Internet stage.” He said that while motivation is
a personal realization for the student, society can encourage and support it.
Ouano—who made a major contribution in polymer science and chemical physics for having invented, among others, a device that measured molecular mass while at IBM—said that for the Philippines to be able to play a role in the IT hardware development industry, it has to understand the needs and trends of technology.
He said IT hardware development is all about achieving speed, reliability, portability and low power consumption.
Modern computers are becoming faster, more powerful and are able to handle more functions while they become smaller and consume less power.
“To participate IT hardware (development), (the country) has to understand want society wants, understand the foundation of the technology and know what assets it has to play the role in technology,” Ouano said.
Ouano’s book, “Motivation and Opportunity,” narrates how he—a kid from Mandaue (then a town)—rose from being a professor of chemical engineering in Mapua University in Manila to become a respected scientist in the United States and Europe in the 1970s and 1980s.
Businessman Bunny Pages endorsed the book, an autobiography, and described it as inspirational.
Ouano said he plans to use the proceeds from the book sale to set up a scholarship fund for young Filipinos who are interested in science and technology. (LAP)
