To help meet the growing demand for information and communication (ICT) professionals in Southeast Asia, the United Nations has been supporting a work-study programme for university students in the region. Twenty undergraduate students from 13 universities in seven ASEAN member countries were given scholarships and have been studying at Daejeon University in the Republic of Korea since March 2009 as part of the “Future ICT Leaders Programme,” a collaboration between APCICT, the ASEAN University Network, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea and Daejeon University.
To supplement their studies, seven students from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam are gaining practical work experience with the UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT).
A study commissioned by APCICT revealed a growing gap in the demand and supply of ICT professionals in the Asia-Pacific region. In some countries, the increase necessary to bridge this gap could be as much as 50 per cent over the existing levels of enrolment in ICT courses at universities and other technical institutes. At the same time, the quality and nature of the courses have to undergo significant change.
“In many countries, the focus has been limited to developing ICT skills for the ICT sector rather than for the nation as a whole to fully leverage the opportunities presented by ICTs to achieve development goals,” stated Hyeun Suk-Rhee, Director of APCICT. “This limited focus can be attributed to the lack of a holistic view on ICT for development policies and processes, and the potential application of ICTs in various development sectors.”
The Programme aims to introduce social and economic development issues to computer science students and explore ways in which ICTs can be used to address the needs of poor and marginalized communities in education, environment, governance and health, among other development sectors.
This is the second year of the Programme where students have been granted exchange scholarships to study ICT for socio-economic development at Daejeon University for an academic year. APCICT provides advisory services on the Programme’s curriculum design and offers students the opportunity to be involved in the UN’s work through APCICT, following a competitive recruitment exercise.
