Acer Academy: A meeting of minds

MANILA, Philippines - It may just be an ordinary day for Acer Philippines Inc. general manager Manuel Wong, and Our Lady of Fatima University’s Research, Development and Innovation Center director Remigia Nathanielsz and College of Computer Studies dean Raymond Macatangga when they met to sign the partnership contract for Acer Academy.

It never occurred to them that the gathering would be a “meeting of minds” of people who are for the improvement of education through technology.

Just recently, the Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) became one of the newest partner-schools of Acer Philippines’ advocacy in using modern technology in teaching.

Called Acer Academy, the program was developed by Acer to help school administrators, teachers and students in moving up to more up-to-date teaching and learning methods using the latest and most ingenious hardware and software applications.

“Acer, as we all know, is number one in Asia,” Macatangga said on why they signed up for the Acer Academy program. “We see that Acer is a good partner when it comes to computer hardware and we really wanted the benefits of being a member of Acer Academy. Right now in the College of Computer Studies, 50 percent of our computers are Acer and we are slowly moving to a big shift; eventually our hardware will be 100-percent Acer.”

OLFU takes pride on its outstanding performance in providing quality education especially in the field of medical sciences and other disciplines as its center of excellence.

The university was granted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) an autonomous status for its “enormous contribution to the growth and prominence of tertiary education in the country and the Asia-Pacific, and for its commitment through quality education, research and extension work.”

Along with its numerous accreditations, the institution presently has a total of four campuses: the main campus in Valenzuela City, the Hilltop campus in Quezon City, a four-hectare campus in Antipolo City, and will soon expand its reaches in Pampanga upon completion of its acquisition of East Central Colleges of San Fernando.

Being part of Acer Academy is another thing that the school is proud about. “We have noticed that the students themselves were very proud to have branded computers like Acer,” Macatangga said.

“For a teacher like me, foundation is very important,” said Nathanielsz as she explained her views on education and how Acer Philippines is helping educational institutions like OLFU improve on their teaching methods and other learning capabilities. “Without a strong educational foundation, you cannot be anything,” she said.

Nathanielsz said the industry should partner with schools, noting that this kind of partnership is important to educational institutions and the industry as well “because you (the industry) are the ones who get our graduates. I’m always thinking of the country, so if more schools were to join the Acer Academy program, the better for the country.”

The two-year partnership with Acer Academy grants OLFU benefits such as professional and career development plans for school administrators, principals, librarians and teachers. The students, for their part, are given opportunities to attend IT-enablement conferences, internship at Acer, and a chance for qualified students to receive the Acer IT Excellence Award.

Plus, a P30,000 worth of sponsorship in an official school event could also be granted to OLFU as its Platinum partner, though this benefit could only be availed of once. The advantages to education and individual learning, however, will be long-term.

“We are so proud that this program has become so useful and successful, that our partners from the schools and universities also feel its importance. For me business is not just about box pushing,” Wong said.

“As a business that does more than just getting the sales, we should be more than that. We should be focusing on the solution to the concern of our stakeholders, which we have to deeply understand. If we do the right thing, the numbers will come, and the right thing to ask is ‘what do you need?’” he said.

“Computer is a tool to help in the learning process. We have to empower the students and teachers to make use of this tool to enhance the students’ learning process and let educators teach more efficiently. In the future we will continue this kind of sharing and upgrade with our partners. Please continue to give us your feedback for us to improve the program,” Wong told Nathanielsz. “I’m glad that we are going in the right direction and we thank you for that.”

“I’m so happy that we have a meeting of the minds with regard to this project,” Nathanielsz said.

Any private or public college or university in the country is qualified to join the Acer Academy. All it has to do is to simply go to the Acer Academy website and apply for membership, or contact the Acer Academy office.

To know more about Acer, go to www.acer.com.ph or to find out more about Acer Academy, visit http://academy.acer.com.ph.