Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

and institutional capacity for ICT. Three interrelated pillars form thestructure of APCICT’s approach to capacity-building in ICTD: training,research and knowledge management, and advisory services.Together they form an integrated approach and each pillar complementsand reinforces the impact of the other pillars.TrainingSince its inception, APCICT has conducted 50 conferences, workshopsand courses. Over 4,900 participants from more than 90different countries and territories have enrolled in these courses andin the APCICT Virtual Academy (AVA) 4 – an online distance learningplatform of APCICT. The participants of the workshops andother events are primarily high- and mid-level government officialsand other development professionals. Over 80 per cent of APCICTtraining workshop participants surveyed to date have expressedsatisfaction with the training content.A core activity of APCICT is the Academy of ICT Essentialsfor Government Leaders (Academy). This is APCICT’s flagshipprogramme and it includes a comprehensive ICTD curriculum,comprising eight modules with two more underway, with more than20 partners working with APCICT to roll out the Academy at thenational level. The Academy modules are available in four languages:English, Bahasa Indonesia, Russian and Vietnamese. Translationof the modules into seven other languages (Dari, Pashto, French,Khmer, Mongolian, Myanmar and Tajik) is underway. APCICT alsoperiodically updates the content of the existing modules.Research and knowledge sharingResearch and knowledge sharing are fundamental to APCICT’sefforts in guiding technical support provided to government organizationsand training institutions, and to ensuring the relevance ofthe Academy. APCICT has published eight Academy modules and22 other knowledge products, including analytical studies, handbooks,technical papers, information kits and journal issues relatedto ICTD and ICT human capacity-building.AdvisoryAPCICT actively offers advisory services to national governmentsand training partners of the Academy in localizing and deliveringthe training modules, and promoting the institutionalizationof this training in national capacity-building frameworks to maximizereach to relevant policymakers. In addition, the Centre hasbeen providing guidelines and advice to a number of national andregional partners on course design, customizing content development,instructional design and teaching methodology to suit eachcountry’s unique environment.ICTD coverage at university levelA recent study has identified eight groups of ICT human resourcesneeded to build an information society: specialists, advanced users,basic users, enabling managers, ICT-equipped educators, thoughtleaders (researchers, consultants and professors), policymakers andinfrastructure builders. 5 The study emphasizes the multi-facetednature of human resource development required to bridge the digitaldivide. This research implies a need for interdisciplinary educationbetween technology and development studies at the university levelin order to produce youth leaders who possess sound knowledgeof ICTD. This finding is further supported by a recommendationfrom ICTD expert Richard Heeks, who argues that “we need todevelop or find ICTD champions who are ‘tribrids’:they must understand enough about the three domainsof computer science, information systems and developmentstudies to draw key lessons and interact with andmanage domain professionals”. 6Results of APCICT’s preliminary desk research intothe courses offered in university majors related to ICTor socio-economic development are discouraging. Theyshow that:• There is very little interdisciplinary effort betweenmajors related to ICT and those related todevelopment• Very rarely is there an opportunity for students tostudy the concept of ICTD in the majors that arebest positioned to groom them to become futureICT leaders.This means that students are often unaware of thepotential uses and benefits of ICTs in the developmentof their countries when they graduate.The first three years of APCICT’s experience inengaging with university students has also providedfirst-hand insights into their capacity-building needsand has confirmed that the above gap exists. Since 2007,the Centre has been offering three-month internshipsto international graduate students, providing practicalexposure to work in the ICTD field. APCICT has additionallypartnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand Trade of the Government of the Republic of Korea,ASEAN University Network and Daejeon University tooffer work exposure opportunities to exchange studentsfrom ASEAN countries. A majority of these studentsare from either computer science or social science/development studies-related majors. The students hadan opportunity to be engaged in a wide spectrum ofAPCICT’s programmes, ranging from online and faceto-faceICTD training workshops and conferences toassisting APCICT in research and knowledge managementactivities. Feedback from APCICT’s interns andASEAN students attests that their newly acquiredunderstanding of the possible use and potential of ICTsin contributing to socio-economic development has notonly shaped their own career visions but also renewedtheir sense of commitment for the socio-economicdevelopment of their countries:“Before, I was just a normal software engineering studentwho thought about strengthening my skills developingsoftware. After working with UN-APCICT, I realized that Ishould also think about development, which means usingmy knowledge of ICT to help my country,” says HasrulReeza bin Mustaffa, ASEAN student, senior in ComputerScience at Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia.Strengthening ICTD education in institutionsof higher learningAs the next step in expanding the Future ICT LeadersProgramme, APCICT has initiated a project to furthersupport ICTD awareness and capacity-building of universitystudents in the Asia-Pacific region. Project development[ 155 ]