CONTRARY to some opinions, there is no disconnection between the academe and the industry, as far as the integration of new technologies in learning is concerned.
“I think the difference is, there is more openness to collaborate over the past five years for [CHED], at least in my time,” explained Chairperson Prospero de Vera of the Commission on Higher Education, in an interview with journalists during the recently concluded “CHEDx2023: Experience, Exchange, Explore” summit held in Mandaluyong City.
“I really reached out [and] worked with the industry. We have a big project with the Information Technology-Business Processing Association of the Philippines [IT-BPAP], which is running for about four years now,” de Vera added.
The objective, he said, is to invite industry practitioners to teach in the IT programs of schools to enable students to have the avenues to work in the industry after they graduate: “We’ve done that four years ago, [with funding] by CHED.”
The CHED chair said the country has no choice but to adjust to the future, wherein IT and other technologies would be the cornerstones of the economy.
De Vera urged more collaboration between industry and the academe to equip students and educators with the knowledge, tools, and network to navigate the new workplace with confidence and purpose.
Alfredo Ayala, representing the private sector, said the industry and the CHED will continue to collaborate in accelerating the digital transformation of higher educational institutions (HEIs) in the country as “the world keeps on changing so fast.”
“Government will play a key role in the regulation and convening all stakeholders to allow us to ‘walk the talk,’” Ayala said.
Aileen Judan Jiao, who is the president and country manager of IBM Phils., pointed out that the time is now to join the IT industry, because it is present in almost any industry: “Our role here is to collaborate with CHED, and help the [government’s] digitalization of the country.”
She echoed Ayala’s sentiments that “it is time to execute, and ‘walk the talk’ beyond politics.”
Being a technology company, Jiao pointed out that IBM has the capability and the resources to share with the stakeholders in enabling the country to boost its technology capacity in the digital economy: “It is our role to guide the government and the learners on how to do it the right way.”
Dr. Maria Teresita Medado, who is the president of Asia Pacific College (APC), said the school has been a consistent advocate of promoting technology in its delivery of educational services. A co-organizer of the event, the college has recently been awarded four stars by Singapore-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Stars Rating.
Medado said the QS Stars Rating is indeed an “alignment of stars” toward achieving the school’s institutional purpose and goals.
“Our agility in innovating teaching and reinventing ways to learn are our paramount strengths in educational management,” the APC official said in a press statement. “We explore ways to teach and learn using cutting-edge technology. In collaboration…APC can now claim that we develop the future leaders of [businesses and industries] beyond the employability of graduates.”
Medado shared that APC joined the program to follow the mandate of management to provide continuous improvement and delivery of promises to stakeholders.
QS applicants were rated under the following criteria: teaching, employability, internationalization, research, and academic development. Other schools cited by the QS Stars Rating were Mapua University, Lyceum, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, and Our Lady of Fatima.