By The Financial District
Jul 1, 20212 min
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the University of the Philippines (UP) have entered into an agreement for the establishment and implementation of the Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) Development Program.
The said program offers a scholarship to qualified government employees to pursue a degree in Master in Technology Management (MTM) offered by UP Technology Management Center.
“As part of our vision to establish a Digital Government, the DICT is not only focusing on providing ICT systems, tools and solutions in the government sector, but also on improving the ICT knowledge and skills of the government workforce who shall be at the forefront of public service delivery,” DICT Secretary Gregorio “Gringo” B. Honasan II said.
“The DICT believes that UP, as the leading public institution of learning in the country, will help us achieve our vision,” he added.
The GCIO Development Program is a flagship initiative of the ICT Academy. It aims to provide relevant ICT education and training to qualified government employee scholars for the purpose of establishing Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in priority sectors in national government agencies (NGAs), Constitutional Commissions/Offices (C/Os), Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and Local Government Units (LGUs) as part of the ICT human capital build-up.
UP expressed its full support for the GCIO Development Program. “The University of the Philippines fully supports the GCIO Development Scholarship Program of the DICT, which will train executive-level officials responsible for the overall data and technological direction of their organizations.
Given the strategic importance of ICTs in the operations of all national government agencies and local governments units, the position of GCIO is now urgent and necessary,” UP President Danilo L. Concepcion stated. “I congratulate the DICT for the launch of its Government Chief Information Office Development Program. The University, through its Technology Management Center, is proud to be part of this partnership, that will enhance government’s capability to effectively plan and implement ICT programs,” UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo added.
The agreement between DICT and UP also provides for cooperation on the conduct of training and conferences for the capacity building of GCIOs.
The GCIO Development Program is not the first partnership between DICT and UP. One of the projects the two have collaborated on was the conduct of a series of webinars titled “Enabling Teachers on Remote Teaching and Learning in the Time of Pandemic,” which was named one of the 90 Champions for World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2021 under the Capacity Building category.