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develop or find ICTD champions who are ‘tribrids’:
they must understand enough about the three domains
of computer science, information systems and develop-
ment studies to draw key lessons and interact with and
manage domain professionals”.
6
Results of APCICT’s preliminary desk research into
the courses offered in university majors related to ICT
or socio-economic development are discouraging. They
show that:
• There is very little interdisciplinary effort between
majors related to ICT and those related to
development
• Very rarely is there an opportunity for students to
study the concept of ICTD in the majors that are
best positioned to groom them to become future
ICT leaders.
This means that students are often unaware of the
potential uses and benefits of ICTs in the development
of their countries when they graduate.
The first three years of APCICT’s experience in
engaging with university students has also provided
first-hand insights into their capacity-building needs
and has confirmed that the above gap exists. Since 2007,
the Centre has been offering three-month internships
to international graduate students, providing practical
exposure to work in the ICTD field. APCICT has addi-
tionally partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Trade of the Government of the Republic of Korea,
ASEAN University Network and Daejeon University to
offer work exposure opportunities to exchange students
from ASEAN countries. A majority of these students
are from either computer science or social science/
development studies-related majors. The students had
an opportunity to be engaged in a wide spectrum of
APCICT’s programmes, ranging from online and face-
to-face ICTD training workshops and conferences to
assisting APCICT in research and knowledge manage-
ment activities. Feedback from APCICT’s interns and
ASEAN students attests that their newly acquired
understanding of the possible use and potential of ICTs
in contributing to socio-economic development has not
only shaped their own career visions but also renewed
their sense of commitment for the socio-economic
development of their countries:
“Before, I was just a normal software engineering student
who thought about strengthening my skills developing
software. After working with UN-APCICT, I realized that I
should also think about development, which means using
my knowledge of ICT to help my country,” says Hasrul
Reeza bin Mustaffa, ASEAN student, senior in Computer
Science at Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia.
Strengthening ICTD education in institutions
of higher learning
As the next step in expanding the Future ICT Leaders
Programme, APCICT has initiated a project to further
support ICTD awareness and capacity-building of univer-
sity students in the Asia-Pacific region. Project development
and institutional capacity for ICT. Three interrelated pillars form the
structure of APCICT’s approach to capacity-building in ICTD: train-
ing, research and knowledge management, and advisory services.
Together they form an integrated approach and each pillar comple-
ments and reinforces the impact of the other pillars.
Training
Since its inception, APCICT has conducted 50 conferences, work-
shops and courses. Over 4,900 participants from more than 90
different countries and territories have enrolled in these courses and
in the APCICT Virtual Academy (AVA)
4
– an online distance learn-
ing platform of APCICT. The participants of the workshops and
other events are primarily high- and mid-level government officials
and other development professionals. Over 80 per cent of APCICT
training workshop participants surveyed to date have expressed
satisfaction with the training content.
A core activity of APCICT is the Academy of ICT Essentials
for Government Leaders (Academy). This is APCICT’s flagship
programme and it includes a comprehensive ICTD curriculum,
comprising eight modules with two more underway, with more than
20 partners working with APCICT to roll out the Academy at the
national level. The Academy modules are available in four languages:
English, Bahasa Indonesia, Russian and Vietnamese. Translation
of the modules into seven other languages (Dari, Pashto, French,
Khmer, Mongolian, Myanmar and Tajik) is underway. APCICT also
periodically updates the content of the existing modules.
Research and knowledge sharing
Research and knowledge sharing are fundamental to APCICT’s
efforts in guiding technical support provided to government organi-
zations and training institutions, and to ensuring the relevance of
the Academy. APCICT has published eight Academy modules and
22 other knowledge products, including analytical studies, hand-
books, technical papers, information kits and journal issues related
to ICTD and ICT human capacity-building.
Advisory
APCICT actively offers advisory services to national governments
and training partners of the Academy in localizing and deliver-
ing the training modules, and promoting the institutionalization
of this training in national capacity-building frameworks to maxi-
mize reach to relevant policymakers. In addition, the Centre has
been providing guidelines and advice to a number of national and
regional partners on course design, customizing content develop-
ment, instructional design and teaching methodology to suit each
country’s unique environment.
ICTD coverage at university level
A recent study has identified eight groups of ICT human resources
needed to build an information society: specialists, advanced users,
basic users, enabling managers, ICT-equipped educators, thought
leaders (researchers, consultants and professors), policymakers and
infrastructure builders.
5
The study emphasizes the multi-faceted
nature of human resource development required to bridge the digital
divide. This research implies a need for interdisciplinary education
between technology and development studies at the university level
in order to produce youth leaders who possess sound knowledge
of ICTD. This finding is further supported by a recommendation
from ICTD expert Richard Heeks, who argues that “we need to