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Oracle Philippines, a local subsidiary of Oracle Corporation, together with the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd), recently launched the Oracle Academy’s Introduction to Computer Science and Business program to schools across the country.
"We are very excited about this long-term collaborative effort with the Department of Education as we are investing in the future of not only the IT industry but also the economy as a whole,” said Francis Ong, Managing Director, Oracle Philippines. “While IT is one of the country’s fastest growing industry sectors, it is dependent on having a pool of skilled IT people. The Oracle Academy and DepEd partnership is focused on providing these tools to develop IT skills and awareness. This will help the Philippines meet growing demand for IT skills in all industry sectors and also drive expanded job opportunities for individuals both domestically and overseas.”
Under the program, the Oracle Academy will provide guidance and technical support to DepEd for the introduction of a database technology curriculum to all high school levels. The program will be rolled out in two phases:
Phase 1 of the program includes intensive interactive, instructor-led training sessions for 56 teachers in 17 provinces and eight cities under a collaborative Train-the-Trainer program to ensure that they are well prepared to teach the Oracle Academy curriculum.
Phase 2, scheduled for the latter part of 2007, will use qualified teachers from the Phase 1 portion to train up to 1,444 additional teachers located throughout the country.
This two-part approach will help ensure that the Oracle Academy teachers stay current with the most up-to-date skill sets as they share their knowledge with the students and other teachers to be identified by DepEd.
To celebrate the launch of the Oracle Academy program, Oracle Philippines hosted an event on January 8, 2007, for the in-class training portion of the training at Makati High School in Makati City. The event was attended by Judy Reinke, Counselor, U.S. Embassy for Commercial Affairs, and Teresita Domalanta, Regional Director, National Capital Region, Department of Education.
“Oracle and the Oracle Academy’s assistance in preparing the Filipino youth for success in the 21st Century will benefit both students and the Philippine economy by helping to create an agile and well-prepared workforce,” Teresita said.
“To be a leader in a world where technology plays such an important role, education and skills development are the keys to the future of the Philippines as a global partner and competitor,” said Judy. “The training offered through the Oracle Academy will enable this country to become a new leader in the knowledge-based future.”
Oracle Academy's Introduction to Computer Science and Business offering includes a combination of virtual and in-class training for participating teachers; access to curriculum via Oracle iLearning; access to the Oracle Application Express lab environment; electronic copies of student and instructor guides; online reports to monitor student progress; and Oracle Academy quizzes and tests. Oracle also will provide expert instructors to train the teachers.
In addition to this offering, which is targeted at secondary school students, the Oracle Academy includes two offerings targeted at university level computer science and business students – Advanced Computer Science and Business, and Enterprise Business Applications and Processes. These two offerings combine a grant of enterprise software for teaching use and access to both Oracle University curriculum and customized curriculum.
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