Rapid advances in information technology (IT) are transforming business and society.  They, however, threaten to widen the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" of IT.  The Centre for TeleMedia Strategy, NUS Programme in Information and Technology Policy aims to address this gap.  The programme will equip mid-level officials and managers from developing countries to effectively implement information technology in their countries.

The training course aims to provide a framework to harness IT and telecommunications for economic development. The programme emphasises practical knowledge and skills that can be effectively applied in developing countries.  The training programme is also designed to build friendly cooperative relationships between the sponsoring countries and the participating countries. It will include sessions on the following subjects:

Information Technology Policy
Information Systems
Networks and the Internet (including practical laboratory session)
Fixed-line & Wireless Telecommunications· Economics of Technology · Electronic commerce
Introduction to Information Technology
Telecommunications Policy

The programme includes field trips to relevant government agencies and private-sector organizations.  The programme will be taught in English.

PROGRAMME BENEFITS
The programme is intended for middle-ranking officials and managers responsible for policy toward and management of information technology and telecommunications.  The experience of the programme will strengthen their competence in the formulation and implementation of policy, as well as the management of the information technology and telecommunications functions in private- and public-sector organizations.

PARTICIPANTS
Participants should have a university degree, at least five years' relevant experience, and be fluent in English.  They need not have a technical qualification.

INSTRUCTORS
The programme will be taught by members of the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Computing in collaboration with distinguished guest lecturers from other University departments and international organizations.

For more information, kindly contact Ms Mandy Ng.
Email:    dismyn@nus.edu.sg
Tel:        (65) 874-5129
 
 

Introduction

Since the 1960s, Singapore has provided technical cooperation to other developing countries. In 1992, the Technical Cooperation Directorate was set up in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate all technical assistance programmes to other countries run by various Singapore Ministries under the Singapore Cooperation Programme.

The Singapore Cooperation Programme is Singapore’s technical assistance programme to other developing countries. As a country whose only resource is its people, Singapore believes that human resource development is vital for economic and social progress. Through the Singapore Cooperation Programme, Singapore hopes to share the experience and expertise that it has acquired over the last 30 years with other countries.

This training course on Information and Technology Policy was organised under the Singapore-Korea Third Country Training Programme of the Singapore Cooperation Programme. It was jointly sponsored by the Government of Singapore and the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The Technical Cooperation Directorate (TCD) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) jointly organised this training course. The arrangements for the course was undertaken by the Centre for TeleMedia Strategy, School of Computing, National University of Singapore.
 

The training course on Information and Technology Policy aimed to provide a framework to harness IT and telecommunications for economic development. The Programme emphasised practical knowledge and skills that can be effectively applied in developing countries.  The training programme was also designed to build up friendly cooperative relationships between the sponsoring countries and the participating countries. It offered participants:

      An overview of the role of information systems in organisations
      Analyses of design, implementation and management of networks
      Information on the application of Internet and Intranet to the public and private sectors
      An overview of telecommunications strategy and services
      First-hand information on the regulatory system for developing countries.

The Programme

Eighteen participants from Vietnam, Nepal, Mongolia, Fiji, Thailand, the Philippines and China attended the program. They were from government departments and agencies in the respective countries and were directly or indirectly involved in information technology (IT) deployment projects.

The Centre organised visits to SingTel, the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore, Kent Ridge Digital Laboratory and the Institute for High Performance Computing. At SingTel, participants were introduced to SingTel’s Magix service and briefed on the challenges and strategies adopted by them. The Telecommunications Authority of Singapore gave participants an overview of the Singapore One project and effects of the new WTO agreement on the regional telecommunications market.

Overall, participants felt that the course was very useful and well executed. Also, they were of the opinion that the organised visits reinforced their understanding of the IT and telecommunications industry in Singapore.
 

Singapore hosted an integrated Human Resource Development training programme on Broadband Technologies and Multimedia Applications in June this year. The programme was aimed at addressing the gap in broadband multimedia skill development within APEC.  It provided generic training in broadband technology, infrastructure planning, applications development and end-user on-line training and regulatory / policy planning.

The Telecommunications Authority of Singapore conducted this training initiative in collaboration with local industry partners.  The Centre for TeleMedia Strategy, School of Computing, was engaged to provide training in 2 areas:
 

Application/ End User Online Training II – Business Opportunities On Internet    This one-day module introduced the course participants to the basics of Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) technologies.  It also provided them with a broad exposure to the various business opportunities on the Internet.

Regulatory / Policy Planning   This module discussed and developed appropriate regulatory policy in a world of convergence among communications, computing, and content.