Rationale of Technopreneurship
(The Academic Perspective)
As a college student, I wanted to
graduate so that I could have a high paying job, without consideration of
pursuing the career I am taking, the Information Technology/IT field. As long
as I could have a job after graduation. Did not even doing very well in
academics, and not taking it seriously, just for the sake of compliance. I
always have this kind of mindset ever since I started taking the field of Information
Technology (IT). Even other students have this kind of mindset. And this is
also what my parents usually say “You should graduate in college for you to
have a decent job”. Every time they say that I usually ask myself “Do I really
have to graduate just to have a job?” Just to have a “job” after graduation is
for very confusing phrase. As long as a job? What kind of job? There are a lot
of job offers out there that only requires “A college graduate.” without
concerning the career or the field. That is also what I observed in the
industry, job seeking is very popular activity nowadays. There are people have
a business, but there are out of school, and they are very successful. Should I
stop in college and just have my own business? Why not after graduating college
then have a business? I come to realize that, it is really up to us how we are
going spend our time thinking whether we have to have a business and be a boss,
or just to have a decent and permanent job. But a having a business also a job,
right?
In most schools, the usual mindset
that they follow and supports to, is the “Go to school, get good grades, and
land in a high-paying job” this is also what my parents used to say. It is the
default mindset that the school where I am currently enrolled to, in city of
Davao, imbibe and carry this mindset throughout the years. Through the years,
the schools are very proud to hear that the alumni excel in the companies they
are working for, and with this, it results many cases: First, the best
graduates of my school where I am currently enrolled to help the development of
other places, but not in the city of Davao where they graduated to. Second,
this brain drain cycle in the city of Davao and the schools happens every year.
Third, the city of Davao’s industries remain thin and its development is very
slow-paced. Fourth, the city remain a sought-after human resource provider to
other places. And these are the result cases that have produce with this kind
of mindset.
However, because the city of Davao is lack of
opportunity, and other places have so many industries that have a very good
opportunity for the alumni, that is why the best graduates of the school are
sought after by companies offering great deal packages. And most of best
graduates are lured to these companies, usually from Manila and Cebu. But most
of the average graduates remain in the city and hardly find a good-paying jobs
and opportunities. Because the city of Davao is lack of industries, hence, also
lack of opportunity to offer.
However, there is a subject that I am currently enrolled
to is the “Technopreneurship” is about having an entrepreneurship with the use
of the technology. Technopreneurship is an Entrepreneurship in the field of
high technology. It starts with an idea, which has the capability to be a
viable technology-based enterprise. This kind of entrepreneurship is having
this kind of mindset “Go to school, get good grades, create a company and to
the boss” Using the knowledge, skills, core values, creativity and passion to
create an innovative idea using technology. With this mindset, graduates could
contribute and be involved in technological development of the city. And it is
the alternative mindset that the graduates and as well as I, myself can have,
it is the technopreneurship mindset. Technopreneur mindset have a possible
implications: First, the graduates can decide whether to pursue the
technology-based business opportunity as a start-up or not. Second, the venture
capitalist could invest in their viable technology ideas. Third, the start-up
ideas can be mature enough to be a stable IT enterprise.
The schools, especially my school
where I am enrolled are now pursuing to make all the students as well as
graduates to have this kind of mindset, the technopreneur mindset. By doing
this, the schools have this strategy called the Macro Strategy. This strategy
aims to have a Technopreneurship ecosystem in the region as well as to have an
Academe-IT Community Synergy which covers the following: Technopreneurship
Programs in the academe, IT parks and Buildings, Technology Business
Incubators, Domestic and International IT market, Venture Capitalists and
Funding Institutions, IT Business Incentives and Legal Framework, Domestic and
International Locators, IT-Enabled Hotels and Tourists Destinations and
IT-Friendly Real Estate Environment. With this community synergy, many IT
opportunity will be available and as well as creative, innovative and technological
ideas can be generated. In addition, the IT community synergy could present
event opportunities like competitions for the people, for them to have a place
to present their creative and innovative ideas, like Start-Up Challenges and
many others.
The IT enterprises could now have an
opportunity to compete in domestic and international market and the IT
community synergy will be having projects and research conferences that will
also increase the economic growth of the country. The IT industry in the city
as well as in other places will now be getting bigger and can attract investors
and thus, creating an opportunity for the IT enterprises. In addition, the
graduates that have left the city where they graduated will decide to come back
and will help to increase the technological development of the city of Davao.
Other than the Macro Strategy, there
is also a Micro Strategy that the schools as well as the school where I am
enrolled to have this. This strategy focuses on the school-based
technopreneurship ecosystem. The schools or the universities will be having
this strategy that covers the following: Embedding the Technopreneurship in the
curriculum, presentation events inside the schools/universities, and as well as
building Infrastructures. In school infrastructures, it has two components: The
Technological Research and the Development Facility. These two provides the
following: Curriculum support, Events Coordination, Seminars and Trainings,
Pre-Incubation Services, technology Licensing Program, Partnership Projects
with Industries and Government, Technology-Related Extension Projects with Non-Governmental
Organization or NGOs and many others.
With this strategy, the city of Davao will now become an Information
Technology-Hub or IT-hub and become the capital of Mindanao and could possibly
be in Philippines, Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Growth Area or BIMP-EAGA,
Asia Pacific Region “The Silicon Gulf”, the City of Davao will also become the
source of highly competent Information Technology/IT professionals with social
and ethical standards, and the schools in the city of Davao become renowned
worldwide as the source of professional IT graduates. In Curriculum Component,
Technopreneurship will now part of the school curriculum, from First year to Third
year level of the curriculum, and as well as Practicum Programs will also be
part of the curriculum. Moreover, after finishing the curriculum the students
will now have the Technopreneurship core values the ‘SEED’ which enumerate to:
Self Mastery, Environment Mastery, Enterprise Mastery, and the Development
Mastery. With this, the graduates will be fully equip with the core values, and
then the technopreneur mindset will effectively implemented.
As a college student, the
Technopreneur mindset and the Technopreneurship curriculum greatly taught me
the importance of having the these core values and also our professor taught us
that we have to think out of the box, it means that we have to change our usual
mindset ‘Go to school, get good grades and get high paying-job’ we have it
change to ‘Go to school, get good grades and create, own a company and be the
boss’. Because, we are have been thinking this way through the years, which is
the usual mindset. With this mindset set, it results to disturbing cases that
the graduates of our schools are working in other places not in our own city,
the city of Davao. Moreover, it is still does not change the fact of
questioning myself if I am really capable of having my own company and be the
boss, still have doubts to myself. But I am pretty sure that my doubts to
myself will be gone because I have trust and respect to our professor that he
will do everything he could so that we will be more confidence and become fully
equipped students with skills that is needed for the Information Technology
industry, and as well as teaching us on how to become an Information Technology
entrepreneur. Also, our professor told us that is also the Technopreneurship
will teach us, the core values of Technopreneurship, the SEED: Self Mastery,
Environment Mastery, Enterprise Mastery and the Development Mastery.
