Carnegie Mellon data analytics course to plug skills gap in the Phillipines

A group of 15 Filipino nationals have commenced a business intelligence and data analytics course in Adelaide, aimed at bridging a skills gap in the Philippines public sector.

Philippines Department of Trade and Industry assistant director Agnes Perpetua Legaspi with Philippines National Economic and Development Authority director Florante Igtiben.

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A group of 15 Filipino nationals has commenced a business intelligence and data analytics course in Adelaide, aimed at bridging a skills gap in the Philippines public sector.

The participants will spend three months studying full-time at Carnegie Mellon University’s Adelaide campus and will then return to the Philippines to complete the second half of the course.

The program is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australia Awards scholarships program, which supports the training needs of leaders in developing countries.

Eleven of the 15 participants are middle or senior management employees in Philippines government departments, while four others are educators from the Asia Pacific College who will support the program when the students return to the Philippines.

Carnegie Mellon Professor Murli Viswanathan, who is overseeing the program, said each participant would design and develop a comprehensive analytics solution to be implemented within their respective agencies in the Philippines.

“Working with cutting edge analytics tools on real-world projects specific to the needs of their agency will result in participants being able to make a real difference when they return home,” he said.

“In addition, participants will be empowered with new skills and knowledge to assess the analytics maturity of their respective agencies.”

Florante Igtiben, a director in the Philippines National Economic and Development Authority, said the course would help him develop skills in predictive analytics.

“In my department, as across the whole of the public sector, there is a growing demand and need to automate administrative and financial transactions,” he said.

“I want to be a key influencer and implementer of digital transformation in the Philippines and the short course in BIDA (business intelligence and data analytics) will definitely equip me with the skills to achieve this.”

Agnes Perpetua Legaspi, who works in the export marketing bureau of the Phillipines Department of Trade and Industry, hopes to develop her understanding of how data science can help to understand export markets and opportunities.

“It’s critical that we develop a predictive model to help us understand where Philippine exports are headed and which products and markets to focus on - and what other factors can help mitigate our trade deficit,” she said.

“Digital transformation using business intelligence, data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence has a lot to offer. There are already tools out there, but not many of us are really using them.”