With a grant from the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO), CIS began working with De La Salle University (DLSU) to create an Internet Studies program to be the first of its kind in the Philippines and a model for developing countries around the world seeking to better educate their next generation of leaders for the demands of a knowledge economy.
Global interest in the potential of developing countries to harness information communication technologies (ICTs) for economic and social development has exploded in recent years, with individual entrepreneurs to multilateral organizations focusing energy and resources on making these technologies work to create new opportunities for socio-economic advancement and tackle the social ills that are a feature of much of the world's population.
While building the technological infrastructure and providing affordable access to the global Net are prerequisites for participating in the Network Society, it is human capacity that presents the most important challenge developing countries face in fully realizing the potential of ICTs. Universities, with their mandate to prepare the workforces of the future, are the primary vehicles for developing the knowledge and skill base required for this new era, but at present, not only in the developing South but in the industrialized North as well, institutions of higher education are doing only a marginal job of fulfilling this obligation.
This program to develop a comprehensive program in "Internet Studies" at De La Salle University is premised on the notion that there is a certain body of knowledge regarding ICTs that needs to be integrated into the mainstream university curriculum in ways that are at once a foundation for careers across the broad private-public spectrum as well as tied to practical outcomes in targeted areas.
The program has proceeded along two tracks. First, CIS has worked with DLSU to develop new courses, student programs, and faculty research agendas. Distance learning courses that tap into expertise at the University of Washington and the Internet Political Economy Forum formed part of this effort. And second, DLSU has initiated a research program on the IT outsourcing industry that aims to further strengthen the Philippine's strategic aim of making the country a competitive alternative to India in this multi-billion dollar market. This specific project, building on earlier work by CIS in this area, will serve as a working pilot of how the University can play a proactive and useful role in partnership with government and industry.
La Salle to offer Internet Studies in RP (Article in Philippine Daily Inquirer)
2003 Calendar of Events:
February 17: First Joint DLSU-CIS "Internet Studies" Meeting
February 18: Forum on Outsourcing and Development Issues on ICT-Enabled Services
August 6: Presentation at ALO Workshop, Washington DC
About De La Salle University
De La Salle University was established in 1911 and is ranked among the elite universities in the Philippines. With a focus on economic prosperity, national development and social transformation through excellence in teaching, research, and community service, the university prides itself on its innovative management, state-of-the-art technology, networking and resource sharing.
The La Salle Institute of Governance , under the directorship of Dr. Francisco Magno, has extensive experience in the area of ICT policy, e-government, and sustainable development. As an interdisciplinary unit, the Institute partners with departments across campus on a wide variety of programs.
The project is managed by Chris Coward, Director of the University of Washington Center for Internet Studies.
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