Nectec is building an IT industry, reports Sasiwimon Boonruang, in Mae Hong Son
Nectec researchers checking the signals at a WiMAX base station around Ob-luang. |
A sample of WiMAX client which is an in-house development of Nectec which also planned to be implemented in a mass market. |
Nestled in a deep valley, hemmed-in by high mountains, Mae Hong Son has long been isolated from the outside world.
It is a dream destination for many tourists, but today the small, tranquil province can show another side of its character, that of "IT enabler."
Mae Hong Son was chosen as a pilot province by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (Nstda), both of whom have been collaborating with academic institutes, local government agencies and private companies for the last decade with the aim of boosting the province's educational potential by using IT as mechanism for the development of remote areas and to produce skilled workers for the IT sector.
There are several Nectec research and development projects in communities in the province, including IT Valley which was also to celebrate His Majesty the King's 80th birthday.
The IT Valley project has as one of its objectives the promotion of Mae Hong Son as a technology development centre, concentrating on software development, based on the supposition that once equipped with IT skills, students and locals would enjoy working in the province and not need to leave their homes to search for jobs in other areas and cities.
According to Dr Kwan Sitathani, Nectec's deputy director, Nectec had worked with King Mongkut's University of Technology Thon Buri (KMUTT) and Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, to conduct a C programming course for teachers at 12 schools in Mae Hong Son, who then pass the knowledge on to their students.
As part of the computer lessons, the schools have also held robotics contests and a C programming-language competition.
"The results have been good, students are proud of what they can do, and school directors also perceive the project as beneficial, and schools build reputations when they win the competitions," said Dr Kwan, who is also the IT Valley project director.
He also noted that students in Mae Hong Son had good IT skills and would become the IT workers of the future.
There is also an initiative to start a bachelor's degree computer course with the cooperation of Nectec and the private sector, at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna and Community College.
"The Community College would like Nectec to set up a lab in Mae Hong Son focusing on programming and we see that software development could supplement every other part of an IT industry," he said, adding that Nectec would also talk to the governor to help the province with its use of IT.
Nectec, meanwhile, will implement a WiMAX network in the province this year, as it has the National Telecommunication Commission's licence for WiMAX testing (for the 2.5GHz to 2.525GHz frequency band) for three years in Mae Hong Son.
Dr Siwaruk Siwamogsatham, director of the National Security Technology Innovation laboratory said the pilot WiMAX project was aimed at promoting the idea of the learning society and to decrease the digital divide in rural areas by using wireless technology for Internet access.
It would also promote science and technology learning in schools and universities. Nectec received support in the form of WiMAX equipment and technology from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), worth 30 million baht during the three years of operation.
"Mae Hong Son is one of the first provinces in Thailand to test WiMAX technology, and there will be three locations with base stations, Muang, Mae Sariang and Pai," Dr Siwaruk said.
WiMAX, he said, would cover intranets, the Internet, file sharing among schools and communities, videoconfererncing, VoIP and online e-learning. Nectec, meanwhile, has developed WiMAX clients, which are expected to be installed at sites such as schools and local government agencies in the future.
The role of the private sector
SoftSquare 1999 is one of the pioneering companies joining the IT Valley project by invitation of Nectec. With an established reputation for software, both at home and abroad, the company has branches in every part of Thailand, including Chiang Mai, which can help the project in Mae Hong Son.
Ramade Silapapom, the company's managing director, suggested that the project would not work without local investment.
According to the five-year IT Valley plan, Nectec, with the collaboration of all the other parties involved, is trying to produce 500 programmers. Among the collaborators will be 10 national software companies, 10 local companies that will receive BoI incentives and more than 100 organisations in the province.
Currently, the five firms participating in the project are SoftSquare, Mfec, Summit Computer, Application Hosting and Miraclenet, and two local companies receiving BoI support are Sammok Software and Hongson Software.
"We would like to see more than 2,000 students participating in the project, and create a knowledge-based economy in the province," Ramade said.
According to Manoo Ordeedolchest, director of the Software Park Thailand board, having the WiMAX infrastructure would enable Mae Hong Son to connect with the global market and make a career in software development a real possibility in the province.
"During the course of the project, if we can train students to be able to compete for good jobs, and with the skill of students here today, the area will have the potential for software development," he said, noting that the timing was right for the availability of WiMAX.
"And I'm glad to see that the students here are enthusiastic," he said.
Dr Krissanapong Kirtikara, president of the council of Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, suggested that directors and teachers at schools target government agencies as initial customers for software developed by local people.
He noted that Mae Hong Son's tourism industry only operated for three to four months a year, leaving little work for around eight months a year.
"If they can have both tourism and IT industries, they can keep people in the province. For students, software development is a job that can be done from home, and this can create jobs in the province if students like it," he said.
The results of the computer programming contest that has been staged here for seven years show that students here are capable of working in this field, and some have become webmasters at the university, and some have gone abroad.
However, he said if we can create jobs here with support from the organisations involved, young students growing up here can work here and need not leave their hometowns.
There are around 10,000 students under the Office of the Basic Education Commission in the province. It's a challenge how to make Mae Hong Son an IT enabler.
"Building people's skills will bring in income to the area, and will have an economic effect for all the locals," Dr Krissanapong said.
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