Assignment 3

Last July 16, 2012, Monday our instructor continued teaching us about the roots of the subject Technopreneurship, the SEED Curriculum. He also taught us about the alternative mindset and the concept of job creation.

I learned that there were many things that were done and accomplished before reaching the current status of the Technopreneurship course, one of the milestones to be achieved for the Technopreneurship course is to be able to identify a course model. This is where the SEED Curriculum comes in, the course itself is said to follow the SEED Curriculum Model.

It was explained to us that the SEED Curriculum was based on four main concepts that are identified to surely provide progress on the individuals that are introduced and presented with the curriculum.

The four main concepts that make up the Seed Curriculum are the:

·         Self Mastery

·         Environment Mastery

·         Enterprise Mastery

·         Development of a Business Plan

The Self Mastery talks about being a person who is knowledgeable not only about the things that are surrounding him/her but, but most especially about his/her own self.

The Environment Mastery talks about the ability to generate business ideas through observing, identifying and being aware about the environmental opportunities that may come his/her way.

The Enterprise Mastery talks about how to properly run a business by being knowledgeable about the different business principles and disciplines.

Development of a Business Plan includes the writing and making of the business plan itself. The presentation and the defense so as the revisions and improvements that are still to be added and done to the business plan.

These are the four (4) concepts that make up the SEED Curriculum, the model of the Technopreneurship course.

At the same time I have learned that the Technopreneurship course is a big help in presenting different ideas and concepts that can prove effective when applied, these ideas and concepts can really help us determine the points to consider, improve and provide alternatives to past loop holes and identify how to make a better permanent solution out of these factors determined. Two (2) examples of these ideas were presented to us in the form of the Default Mindset and the Alternative Mindset, and its contrast.

I have learned that the Default Mindset or also called formally as the Employment Mindset instills this idea which is to “go to school, get good grades and land a high-paying job”.  For how many years now, this mindset has been used as the center of basis of getting a better future. It is so often used in families here in our country and the ones who especially follow this mindset are the parents. It is a common practice that parents strive hard to be able to send their children to school, with that the parents unknowingly uses the Default Mindset especially in advising their kids about their future, again to “go to school, get good grades and land a high-paying job”. A simple mindset that is thoroughly and concretely presented by the parents and which their children carry until they go to college.

Throughout the years the Default Mindset became a living part of the environment of every school, every family and every student that has been nurtured in this kind of setting, but this kind of mindset as productive it may be is equally destructive. First and foremost it is productive because in the mildest sense, students who really have good grades are sought after by big companies, it has been evident through time that after these good performing students  graduate in their each respective educational institutions they are immediately scouted and presented with a proposal for work with the following incentives and benefits. Of course the students who are nurtured with the Default Mindset think that, this is it, this is what it means to “land a high paying job”. In this kind of setting the educational institutions that harbored and trained the students to their best are of course, proud for a job well done. The parents would also feel that they have at last achieved the dream of every parent, and that is to support and guide their children to the heights of success. Lastly to the students themselves who became young and successful professionals, it is a setting of “living happily ever after”. Indeed the Default Mindset has provided the perfect setting, in which it seems that the only products are success and positive aspects, but the problem would start as soon as the Default Mindset proves itself to effective. As said the Default Mindset has long been existing and the most often mindset applied by the students, in connection with it being the longest existing mindset it would also be and acceptable that the problems it has caused has also been long time existing and becomes more serious as time passes by. This problem should be evident but because of the long time it has been present it is sometimes mistaken as an acceptable part of the cycle. The most evident and can also be considered as a serious of these problems is a situation called “brain drain”. Brain drain is a situation in which there is a decline or depletion of intellectual or technical personnel. Reality speaking our city, Davao City has been long suffering from “brain drain”. Of course the city itself takes pride on its outstanding students who in time became successful on their chosen fields, only that sometimes the scenario is that the best students employed by companies on other cities and not in Davao, with this the industries left in Davao for long has been left in a striving state and is unable to develop any further. The scenario becomes clearer when the best students from Davao has been able to help in the development of other cities and what is left of Davao is to be labeled as a mere human resource provider. What are the things to be done and how would it stop this “brain drain” and finally bring Davao City to the lime light not as a city of human resource providers but as a fully developed city with industries booming with the use of their own products of globally competitive students which when refined becomes world class professionals.

As said the Technopreneurship course presents ideas in which can be used to provide as a long term solutions to different problems, with the problem presented by the Default Mindset in the “brain drain” of different places especially here in Davao City, the technopreneurship is also able to provide a concept of long term solution and that is the Alternative Mindset.

The Alternative Mindset or also known as the Technopreneurship Mindset presents a mindset which is wrapped to the opportunities provided by technology and instills the idea which is to “go to school, get good grades, and create your own company” not only that the Alternative Mindset provided more concepts like the utilization of knowledge and skills paired with core values and the passion to create and innovate the way of technology. The Alternative Mindset also urges a new meaning to the technology development of Davao City, and creates a new concept that in the technological development of Davao it is a good opportunity to contribute and be involved in it. The Technopreneurship course is behind in the mindset, but just what is technopreneurship. As I have learned technopreneurship is still entrepreneurship in a way in which the basics of entrepreneurship discipline and management is combined with the technology opportunities and ideas. The idea that as the modern world learned to apply, rely and add more uses for technology, so as should be that the training for IT students and courses should include and openly adopt the technopreneurship tracks in which new disciplines and the mindsets are included, as for an example the Alternative Mindset.

With the current problem of “brain drain” that the Default Mindset drags along the Alternative Mindset offers a new, possible and long term solution. It has been foreseen that Davao City is beginning to nurture itself as an IT capital or IT hub for Mindanao, or if possible throughout the country, and to gain this title it is only just to work out the “brain drain” problem. The Alternative Mindset offers to help graduates in becoming technopreneurs by aiding and providing them with technology business incubators as these new start-ups learn to strengthen and pursue their own technology based business plans and create their own name in the world of technology based business industry. Utilizing its own local graduates in creating companies and guiding them into making globally renowned business plans to help them in attracting venture capitalist in and out of the country to invest money on their technology products. In this kind of setting in no time certain start-up IT companies are able to become stable and mature IT enterprises. These companies will gain income and help for the further development of Davao City, it can also aid by providing jobs to local citizens and other IT graduates without having to go to other cities. Making a name for IT enterprises here in our city is one of the top priorities that can ensure investors to help further in expand and achieving a heightened economic growth of Davao City. These solutions are provided by the Alternative Mindset solving the problem about “brain drain”, which is preventing a large number intellectual and technical capable individuals from forcibly vacating the city due to work, instead the idea is for work to be brought or made here in the city itself not just to prevent these intellectual and technical capable individuals from going out of the city but it can provide a number of different opportunities rooting from the sense of creating availability of jobs from itself with in the city. With these Davao can be the home of effective and efficient IT graduates and professionals thus making us known throughout the country and the world, and that is what we want to be properly credited for what we have achieved.

I was also able to learn the Concept of Job Creation.

The Concept of Job creation can still be rooted from the Alternative Mindset or the Technopreneurship Mindset which is true aim to urge the IT students and graduates to create their own IT companies on their own locations or for our instance here in Davao City. As provided by its concept of “go to school, get good grades, and create your own company”. This is also based in the ideas which are presented by Technopreneurship course. The Technopreneurship course together with its SEED Curriculum as a model aims to help train and develop students in the proper discipline and make them ready in indulging to technology-based enterprise management, may it be as company or enterprise leaders or as technology-based company employees. The first step is by building a secure foot hold for IT graduates, by determining that intellectual and technical capable persons are rightfully trained in creating technology based enterprises not on other places but here in Davao; therefore as a result new companies are born here in Davao, creating new job opportunities that are made available for local graduates. The IT education and institutions here in Davao City also would like to contribute in helping the start-up graduates in their aim to build their own company, they provide them with technology-based incubators in which they can use to make a better and a globally renowned technology-based business plans which then can attract, impress and convince venture capitalists to invest on the technology-based products that they have. It may take time but as at least the IT industry of Davao City is progressing surely. The idea of also of making Davao as an IT hub or IT capital here in Mindanao or if possible in the country helps in attracting not only IT based enterprises but also other business related companies. Which then can add to the possibility of providing available jobs that is up for grabs for not only IT graduates but also for the local graduates of other courses. The concept of Job Creation in regards with the Technopreneurship course is that it enables a place which is for us Davao City, to be able to sustain and create a name for itself by opening opportunities at the same time highlighting the assurance of availability of jobs and the good effect it has for the Davao City business industry, thus for generations to come this job concept is able to certainly answer the needs of Davao City.