MANILA, Dec. 10 (PNA) — At least two Philippine universities have committed to participate in a scholarship program to be offered among citizens of member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a government official said on Tuesday.
In a press conference in Makati City, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Laura del Rosario said they have sent invitations to leading universities in the country to join the scholarship program, which is being spearheaded by the United States for APEC member economies.
“I think we have two universities that are participating and we are trying to get more to participate (in the program),” said del Rosario, the chair of the recently concluded APEC – Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting held in Makati City on Monday and Tuesday.
“These are actually scholarships given to a citizen of an APEC economy so, we are trying to build them up.”
The initiative, she said, was announced during the APEC Summit in Bejing, China last November.
Anybody who is qualified could avail of the scholarship in New Zealand, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei or Hong Kong, she said.
“That’s because the APEC believes in investing in human capital, because the jobs of the future will be more complex,” del Rosario noted.
This thrust in education is included in the APEC’s key targets for 2015 and beyond. The trade bloc eyes one million intra-APEC university students by 2020, according to the list of APEC key targets.
Del Rosario also said the velocity of change is so fast and the volume of information is massive, and everybody must catch up.
“I think even as young people, you must have seen how change seems to happen every two years in terms of technology. So that’s what they’re looking at.”
Education is important in enabling people to acquire the tools they need to seize opportunities or jobs being created in the rapid advancement of technology, she explained, noting that educated individuals are more prepared to grab these opportunities than less educated individuals.
Businesses must also cope with advancing technology, as business models change quickly over time, she said.
With the advent of the Internet and globalization, businesses have to adopt new models for trade and commerce, according to del Rosario.
“You see in APEC, technology is the engine for growth. Meaning, technological processes and technological products create jobs,” she said, adding that in education alone, people are talking about global data.
Prestigious universities in the US, among them Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia, are also changing their education models, and are currently offering courses over the Internet, where people could sign up, and study for free, del Rosario pointed out.
She said that other universities are planning to set up courses for a fee and that under this setting, individuals could get their education by signing up on particular courses and studying at home.
“This is what we are trying to say. The way technology has changed a lot of the way things are being done, the way business is being run. And this is what APEC is looking at,” she said.
The Philippines is hosting next year’s APEC summit under the theme, “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World.” (PNA)