Bridging the gap: Tech education in PHL and a startup’s dynamic response

MANILA, Philippines – With over 34 million Internet users and 30 million smartphones in the Philippines, it might be easy to assume that we are in a decent place in terms of technological know-how. But as Action Stack founders Walter Wong and Oliver Segovia have observed, most engineers who work in the country’s growing list of tech startups and those in more established companies are self-taught.

While not inherently bad, and in fact a testament to the tenacity of the many who recognize the need for people with these skills and knowledge, the fact that many are having to teach themselves is evident of the lack of education dedicated to this area of expertise.

“There’s just a lot that is really outdated,” says Walter, referring to every bit of tech education to come out of traditional institutions. He describes the education gap between tech and entrepreneurship as “horrifyingly real.” Even at the basics there are missteps with regards to efficient use of digital tools.

“Finance is still taught using calculators, as opposed to Excel,” he points out, as an example. “And sometimes they’re not even financial calculators. And sometimes you end up having to do things by hand, which doesn’t make any sense. If the technology is there, you can do it faster, and you can focus and spend your time thinking of the things that computers aren’t very good for.”

Two top schools in the Philippines, the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University, produce about 200 computer science graduates annually. And of the technological competence needed of employees, most of it seems to be acquired in teaching themselves.

“So for us there was a perceived gap, a gap that we felt,” says Walter. He cites some of the engineers of the country’s tech startups.

Franz Alfonso, co-founder and product manager at e-commerce startup AVA, notes that he “learned most of my coding knowledge on my own time. Most of the useful knowledge I had when I took on clients after graduating from university was self-taught.”

Payton Yao, a developer from tech startup Kalibrr, expresses a similar sentiment: “Most of the actual skills I use at work — from choosing the best technology stack to tackle a problem to deploying the code for actual use — I got because I took on random freelance jobs throughout college.”

“I taught myself how to build Android and iOS apps in my spare time,” says Matt Quiros, lead iOS app developer at Sulit.com.ph. At the time he was in school, there were no classes offered on mobile app development.

The local landscape looks even worse when compared to the efforts of neighboring countries such as Indonesia or Singapore, which have been investing heavily in tech startups. Singapore has even announced plans to include programming as part of its public school curriculum, an enviable investment if the competitive advantage afforded by having such a background is considered.

“You’ll ask people what they know about digital marketing and they’ll answer that they’ll open a Facebook page,” Walter says. “Which is a tiny part of it, but there’s much more you need to know about optimising ads and so on.”

Thus the idea to have hands-on workshops for tech entrepreneurship was born. Launched only this past January, ActionStack.org seeks to put together classes taught by professionals without having to abide by the rules of a traditional institution.

“It makes it easier to switch the content of the classes, to improve the classes, and to put together classes on demand,” Walter explains. “When it comes to tech, things change really fast. So [under a traditional institution] by the time you put something together, it’s already obsolete.”

Action Stack offers practical, hands-on workshops and short courses on a range of topics related to technology and innovation through mentorship from a pool of professionals and entrepreneurs.  The mentors, as listed on the site’s Mentor’s page, are not simply going to stand at the front and lecture.   

“If you look at the continuing education landscape, there are a lot of people giving seminars. Seminars are very general. They tend to not be very hands-on,” says Walter.

Action Stack strives to be fast, specific and practical about the applications of its teachings, less of “three hour lectures” and more of “take out your laptop and let’s start coding.”

“The ability to adjust their content so that they can offer workshops on demand and keep up with the rapidly evolving technology industry is one of their best features,” adds Walter.

The courses cover a range of learning about all the digital tools available to entrepreneurs today, from web and mobile app development, digital marketing, business fundamentals and lean startup management — subjects that Action Stack feels people do not have much cognition of, and therefore fail to optimize in their businesses, despite being relatively inexpensive.

Rogomi Inc. CEO and president Ramon Pastor

Action Stack has also taken steps to start laying the foundations for future developers; this summer an iOS App Development for Beginners is happening with Rogomi Inc. CEO and president Ramon Pastor at the helm as mentor, along with Matt Quiros of Sulit.com.ph. The summer boot camp is scheduled for April, running a total of eight sessions, and is geared towards the younger generation.

“There’s still a long way to go in addressing the challenges of businesses in the digital world,” Walter says. “Our mission at Action Stack is to empower individuals with the tools and experiences to help them find meaningful work in the innovation economy.”

And as for the larger picture, Action Stack envisions a bridge in a gap of another kind: in tech education between emerging markets like the Philippines and innovation hubs like Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.

“We’re working on a project that may allow promising students from Southeast Asia to spend a summer in Stanford or Harvard and join a hands-on enrichment program,” says Walter. “It’s our dream to build a collaborative learning community where big ideas are equipped with the right skills and resources for them to take flight.”