THE Philippine Computer Society (PCS) expressed excitement over the entry of its PCS Information and Computing Accreditation Board (Picab) as a provisional member of the Seoul Accord.
President and CEO Leo Querubin said the membership “signifies that Picab has demonstrated that the accreditation system for which it has responsibility appears to be conceptually similar to those of other signatories of the accord.”
Picab’s admission means that PCS is the only qualified entity to represent the country for membership in the Seoul Accord as it conforms to its strict requirement of an organization with individual information-technology (IT) practitioners as members, Querubin was quoted in a statement as saying.
The Philippines is the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-country to be admitted in the group.
Querubin said membership in the Accord means Filipino information and communications technology (ICT) programs will be recognized on an equal footing with the programs of the signatory members’ accreditation processes that will ensure ICT graduates of the member-countries start their professional practice on equal footing.
“This means a computing or IT-related program in the Philippines can be recognized—for purposes of licensure and registration, employment, admission to graduate school, etc.—in another jurisdiction,” Querubin said.
He added a Filipino IT graduate from a Seoul Accord-accredited program applying in these countries will get the opportunity for better wages and benefits. Querubin said equivalency assures foreign nationals that IT programs they enroll in are similar to other Seoul Accord accredited programs of prestigious universities such as the University of California in Los Angeles and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“More important, producing graduates with internationally accredited attributes will also encourage foreign companies to invest in the Philippines since they will be assured of a reliable sufficient supply of qualified human capital.”
The Philippine IT work force led by IT professionals whose education is substantially equivalent to those in the US, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and others, can compete more effectively for international outsourced projects to be carried out in the Philippines, Querubin added.
With a large number of enrollment in computer science and IT, he said membership in the Seoul Accord would be beneficial to the country’s future graduates who will fill the demand for the IT skills needed in middle and upper management among the developed economies due to the rapid aging of their population brought by the reverse growth in their birth rate.
“And being the first country in Asean to be a provisional member of the Seoul Accord, it prepares the Philippines to handle the potential opportunities of the Asean economic integration by December.”
Countries that are signatories to the Seoul Accord are Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the US. According to Querubin, these are employment destinations that rank high among overseas Filipino workers.
He said Philippine higher education institutions with programs accredited by the Picab can confidently invite foreign nationals, “not just from our Asean neighbors but also from other countries, to study in the Philippines.”
The provisional membership of Picab was granted by a unanimous vote of the Seoul Accord Signatories during its general meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Launched by representatives of private groups on December 6, 2008, the Seoul Accord aims to “establish mutual recognition of equivalent professional preparation for graduates of educational programs in the computing and IT-related disciplines accredited by the member-agencies that will lead to enhanced mobility of professionals.”
The Seoul Accord was formed by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (USA), Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea, Australian Computer Society, British Computer Society, Canadian Information Processing Society and the Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education.
The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (Hong Kong China) and the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) joined on June 20, 2009. The Picab was formed by the PCS, the Computing Society of the Philippines, the Philippine Society of IT Educators and the Philippine Software Industry Association.