EDUCATORS teaching various subjects in information technology (IT) and engineering recently learned entrepreneurial basics that could be used to fully develop innovative solutions, via a training organized by mobile leader Smart Communications.
The three-day SWEEPx boot camp, held recently at Adamson University in Manila, was participated in by over 30 teachers from nine schools in Metro Manila and Southern Luzon. It was the final leg in a series of four trainings held all over the country.
SWEEPx forms part of the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP), which is the longest-running industry-academe partnership that helps enhance Philippine IT and engineering education.
The technopreneurship (technology entrepreneurship) training helped the teachers merge their technical know-how with practical entrepreneurial skills that could help them fully develop an innovation.
Participants were first given an overview of technopreneurship in the Philippines. This was followed by lessons about identifying social pains relevant to the participants’ different communities.
Based on their intended innovation, the teachers learned how to form an effective team that could turn simple ideas into an actual project. They were also given tips on guaranteeing exceptional user experience and making a strong investor pitch.
All these were shared so that teachers could also relay their learnings to students, who could eventually come up with the next big innovations that could solve some of today’s biggest social problems. The workshop ended with teacher teams drafting innovative technology proposals, which were pitched to a board of judges. Their ideas were analyzed and inputs were given on how they could complete their respective projects.
One of the proposals was for an app that could track data and mobile consumption in real time. The teachers from De La Salle University of Lipa said their idea aimed to help users budget their expenses by efficiently monitoring mobile usage.
While they were familiar with the backend details of such projects, the SWEEPx training gave them a more extensive perspective about what truly makes an app successful.
“We now have a step-by-step framework that should be followed and easily taught to students,” said Emil Macaso, an ITE educator. He said the problem-identifying tips and guide on how to form a good start-up team were the most beneficial for him.
Heidi Valin and her cofaculty from Centro Escolar University proposed a tracking device parents could use to monitor their children in case they get lost.
“It’s great that we now know more about the product development side of an innovation,” the teacher said, adding she was eager to update her lessons with what she had learned during the boot camp.
Trainers included Smart developer evangelist Paul Pajo, Brenda Valerio of IdeaSpace, Prim Paypon of volunteer organization The Dream Project and Phil Smithson of the On-Off Group, which espouses human-centered design.
Prior to the Adamson leg of the SWEEPx training, other sessions were held in Davao, Cebu and Cabanatuan earlier this year.