AN OFFICIAL of the Project Uitzending Managers (PUM) in The Netherlands has vowed support to further develop the information and communications technology (ICT) industry of Negros Occidental.
PUM country coordinator for the Philippines Albert Weterings met with representatives of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communication Technology (BNEFIT) and local startup companies at an open innovation center in Bacolod City on Saturday, December 2.
BNEFIT executive director Jocelle Batapa-Sigue said they tapped the expert assistance from the foreign organization mainly to support the goal of creating jobs and opportunities in the software development industry of the province.
Among the project-activities they expect experts to perform include provision of workshops to enhance knowledge of talent pool in new programming languages.
BNEFIT also asked PUM to provide strategies for stakeholders to create conducive startup incubation ecosystem for software related applications.
“We are upbeat that PUM could also help in developing strategies to assist cities in developing digital systems,” Batapa-Sigue said.
There is also a need for assistance in assessing relevance and update of educational curriculum of software development, she said, adding that “PUM is really very interested to help.”
PUM is a Dutch non-government organization (NGO) providing expert advice to SMEs all over the world.
It is an organization composed of senior experts fully funded by the Dutch government, which has been working on assisting people in developing countries like Philippines for about 30 years now.
In Negros Occidental, it assists entrepreneurs to grow by sharing its expertise on various fields like value chain development.
Batapa-Sigue said the collaboration would bring in more learning activities especially on new programming languages and creation of startup incubation ecosystem for software industry.
“Also, more schools are assessed for software development and there will be more running applications for smart cities,” she said, adding that “PUM’s expertise would result in a stronger ICT industry for Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.” (EPN with reports from PNA)