Wanted: Execs with IT management concerns

If you are a senior executive from a company with information technology (IT) and information management (IM) concerns, then you can be qualified to take part in the newest program of the Center for Continuing Education (CCE) of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

The CCE is the local vehicle for the Strategic Information Management Program (SIMP), an advocacy type of learning developed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The Philippine version, which is the only one to be adopted in Asia so far, is ready to begin as soon as a group of at least 25 executives responsible for IT and IM issues in their companies are selected. The CCE is now accepting and screening candidates for this live-in seminar and workshop that can take 15 days or more.

"This is not like an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) program with a set curriculum. The SIMP works the other way around: we first identify and analyze the needs of the participants, then we arrange them in a logical fashion so a program can be designed to address their requirements in a very focused manner," says CCE director Larry Marasigan.

The SIMP uses the case study approach where participants bring to the workshop their own IT and IM issues, reflect on them with the experts and eventually come up with creative and innovative solutions.

The SIMP’s objective is to enhance working knowledge of IT and IM using ICT as a tool, develop and implement realistic action plans, and communicate IT and IM concepts effectively in the workplace.

"Our goal is to breed a new kind of professionals equipped with latest skills that go beyond the basics of ICT," says Chito Kintanar, SIMP program director.

"CIDA has been successful in hosting Filipino SIMP participants in Canada where they did not only show us a roadmap, but also how successful stories are made in Canada and how our concerns are no far different from one another," he says.

The SIMP is a special program where only key decision-makers with an IT or IM issue to resolve are invited to join. But although it’s not for everyone, it can benefit many, says Kintanar, an SIMP alumnus.

Participants are expected to come from major local corporations, banks, government, military, media and academic institutions. Kintanar says participants from other Asian countries and other governments are also welcome.

In his keynote speech during the launch of the local SIMP, Canadian Ambassador Robert Collette says he expects it to make a significant contribution to the economic development of the countries that will be represented by the participants. To date, he notes that the program has benefited some 250 individuals.

Canadian program

"The program that was organized in Canada this year had delegates from 21 countries, including the Philippines. In total, there have been more than 20 Filipinos who have benefited from the program since 1996, two of whom I understand have been instrumental in the program being developed by the CCE."

Collette also urges CEOs to educate themselves about the value and uses of IT. "In the past, a CEO has been able to survive while avoiding any IT and IM issue. That is not the case today where many IT mistakes have led to the CEO being the first casualty. For that reason, I am particularly interested in this SIMP program, which states that it is now geared toward strengthening the capability and competence of even non-IT decision-makers responsible for IM flourishing in their respective organizations," he says.

The CCE’s version of the SIMP focuses on the indigenous action plans that participants must produce at the end of the course. The action plan must detail how the IT and IM issues in a participant’s company will be addressed.

"The action plan is the secret to our success, where the solutions for issues shall be brief but precise. Treatment of action plans by the Ateneo shall be strategic and the status of every project monitored till the end as well as follow-ups after the program," Kintanar says.

The Philippine version of the SIMP discipline is also designed to include some aspects of computer science, entrepreneurship, law, information studies and communications. International presentors, local facilitators, mentors and previous SIMP delegates will walk participants through all the next steps, when necessary and if need be, says Marasigan.

"Out of the box thinking is encouraged. This is an IT camp of sorts with all the IT and IM issues laid out on the table, and we have a faculty supported by the mentors to address the issues one by one. The idea here is cross-pollination. It’s important to cross-pollinate so the sessions will be highly interactive and the participants must do their homework," he adds.

Marasigan says the participants will be given the freedom to choose the information or issues they want to share in the workshop. This policy is designed to safeguard the competitiveness of the organizations represented. He says participants’ generic concerns will be addressed generically in the program, and issues peculiar to their organizations will be handled by means of tutoring and one-on-one discussions with the faculty and mentors.

Facilitators will be from the new SIMP team in Ateneo. Mentors are solutions and service providers, public and private ICT practitioners and IT and IM professionals who can be involved with the participant, even after the two-week program. Marasigan, however, emphasizes that business propositions are not allowed during the program.

The SIMP is one of the Ateneo’s continuing education programs that are focused on workplace-based needs and realities and are led by academic and professional experts. It will be offered in both Ateneo campuses at 130 HV De la Costa st., Salcedo Village and at the Rockwell Center. The estimated cost per participant is P150,000.