IT Human Resource in Southeast Asia:Some Figures

Ha Quang Thuy, Assoc. Prof. Dr.

Knowledge Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Information Technology

VNU-University of Engineering and Technology

http://www.coltech.vnu.edu.vn/~thuyhq

Contents

1. Innovation in the Southeast Asia’s counties:

inhomogeneous

2. Some Remarks

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Innovation in the Southeast Asia’s countries: inhomogeneous

Global Competitiveness Index: 3 pillars

(1): Higher education and training; (2): Technological readiness; (3): Innovation

Stage 3 (Innovation-driven): SingaporeStage 2 – Stage 3 (Transition): MalaysiaStage 2 (Efficient-driven): Indonesia, Thailand, Timor-LesteStage 1 – Stage 2 (Transition): Brunei Darussalam, PhilippinesStage 1 (Factor-driven): Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myamar, Vietnam

Source: WEF Global Competitiveness Reports. The World Economic Forum (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14)

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R&D personnel (in full-time equivalents)

• The latest figures for some countries are quite old. The absolute numbers are likely to have changed significantly Indonesia : the R&D workforce shrank by 9% from 2000-01 Singapore increased at average rates 9% (1999-2009), Thailand increased 8% (1999-2007), Malaysia increased 4% (2000-06), 22,287 R&D personnel (2008)

[OECD13] OECD (2013). Innovation in Southeast Asia. OECD Reviews

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R&D personnel per thousand employment

- Singapore is equivalent to the OECD average- Malaysia is closest to China’s- Other Southeast Asian are lower than those of China or Brazil [OECD13]-Vietnam plan to reach at level of 1.1 in 2020: the Resolution No 20-NQ/TW dated 31/10/2012

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Scopus Articles: All fields

Data source: http://www.scimagojr.com/countrysearch.php?country=VN (Dec. 06 2014)April 19, 2023 7IT human resource in the SouthEast Asia

Scopus Articles: All fields

The region is relatively specialised in ICT, biology and agriculture sciences (after the fields of engineering, enabling and strategic technologies, and environmental sciences) [OECD13]

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Scopus Articles: Computer Science

Data source: http://www.scimagojr.com/countrysearch.php?country=VN (Dec. 06 2014)April 19, 2023 9IT human resource in the SouthEast Asia

Some Remarks

Lack of qualified IT human resources

Lack of qualified IT human resources is a big barrier to develop software and IT services industry

[UN12] UN (2012). The Information Economy Report 2012

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STEM & IT human resource on demand in US

- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future [Langdon11], left. Two-thirds of the 4.7 million STEM workers has an undergraduate STEM degree, right.

- STEM workers: 25.4 percent professional labor force. In 2003-2013, computer and mathematical-related occupations accounted for 98.7 percent of job growth in STEM occupations [DPE14], right.

[Langdon11] David Langdon, George McKittrick, David Beede, Beethika Khan, and Mark Doms (2011). STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future, Reporing, Office of the Chief Economist, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

[DPE14] DPE Fact Sheet (2014). The STEM Workforce: An Occupational Overview.

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The Southeast Asia: Brain Drain-The Southeast Asia as “home countries” [Docquier12]

Highest stock: Philippines (2), Vietnam (9), Indonesia (30) Highest rates in percent: Laos (5), Vietnam (16), Cambodia (23)

The US as “a target country”Foreign nationals contributed > 50% international patents filed by companies such as Qualcomm (QCOM) (72%), Merck (MRK) (65%), General Electric (GE) (64%), Siemens (SI) (63%), Cisco (CSCO) (60%). 41% U.S. government’s patents had foreign nationals listed as inventors. In 2006, 16.8% of international patent applications from the U.S. had inventors with Chinese names. [Wadhwa07]Human talent, especially in science and engineering, is becoming ever more essential to national well-being, and no country has benefited more than the United States from the influx of talent from other countries [Wadhwa09].

[Docquier12] Docquier, Frédéric, and Hillel Rapoport (2012). Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development. Journal of Economic Literature, 50(3): 681-730.[Wadhwa07] Vivek Wadhwa (2007). The Reverse Brain Drain. Business Week, August 22, 2007.[Wadhwa09] VIVEK WADHWA (2009). Tapping Talent in a Global Economy: A Reverse Brain Drain. Tapping Talent in a Global Economy, Spring 2009.

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The Southeast Asia: Reverse Brain Drain- Korea's reverse brain drain (RBD) has been an organized

government effort based on various policies & the political support of President Park Chung-Hee [Yoon92].

- India is a prime example of how Third World elites (former brain drain emigrants) may contribute to the development of their home

country [Hunger04] (Information Technology).

- Brain drain for home countries: remittances, temporary & return migration, human capital formation, and network/diaspora effects on trade, FDI flows, technology adoption, and home country institutions [Docquier12].

[Yoon92] Bang-Soon L. Yoon (1992). Reverse Brain Drain in South Korea: State-led Model. Studies in Comparative International Development, Spring 1992, Vol. 27, No. 1,4-26.

[Hunger04] Uwe Hunger (2004). Brain Gain Hypothesis: Indian IT-Entrepreneurs. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Vol. 6, No. 2, 99-109, August 2004.

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Some proposals- Asean Community: The spectacular economic success of

Singapore and Malaysia (as same as Korea) certainly made them

models to learn from for Cambodia, Laos, Myanma, Vietnam. It should reduce the distances between countries inside Asean.

- Qualified human resources on STEM and IT: It is difficult to development the qualified IT human resources for factor-driven economies as Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myamar, Vietnam. There should be modern curriculums, textbooks, high-quality faculties, academic – industry cooperations in the teaching – learning and researching, AUN/ABET - Quality Assessment at Programme Level. International cooperation inside/outside the Asean Community.

- Brain drain and reverse brain drain: organized government efforts based on various policies. For example in Vietnam: the Grant of “Overseas Talented Experts” (http://www.first-most.vn/en-US/overseas-talented-experts_t113c38).

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Thank you for attention !

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