Monday, 26 March 2007

More Glamour in IT, Please!

IT needs to be more ‘glamorous’ in order to attract the best and the brightest. With convergence (i.e computers), communication and content (media) IT is already morphing into an exciting industry chockablock with creativity and innovation but buzz and attractiveness need to be brought back to see the industry thrive.

Speaking at a press conference two days before he graciously accepted his Hall of Fame award at the annual IT Leaders Awards on 23 March- which is organized by the Singapore Computer Society (SCS) to recognize IT talents locally in Singapore- Mr William Liu said that more has to be done in order to get a fair share of the talent pool into the Singapore IT industry both locally and from overseas.

“The Government’s effort in promoting digital animation and in media will help to create the buzz,” said the veteran who has been an active figure in the IT arena for well over three decades.

“More media awareness that IT is the ‘Enabler and behind everything’ will also help. Finally, the IT industry should shed itself of the image that it consists of mainly low level programmers and backroom operations, as often perceived by the general public!”

His fellow prize winning comrades concur to his vision and reckon that perceptions are already changing. One of 2 winners for the IT Youth award, Mr Ong Kok Choong who is a strong advocate for IT innovation to begin at a young age attests that he has seen the number of youths showing interest in technology swell right before his eyes and noticed more IT start up companies mushrooming as well. An entrepreneur himself, Ong setup his company in 2004 to do exploratory work on a patented mobile technology from the National University of Singapore (NUS), his alma mater.

Mr Sangar s/o Annadorai who is the other winner in the same category is proof enough that young, budding IT talents are increasing, so much so that 2 accolades were given out for the IT Youth award this year as compared to the usual one in previous years.

In fact, Young Professional of the Year award winner Mr Tan Min-Liang is a poster boy for those who decide to follow their passion for technology. Once a technology lawyer with one of the top intellectual property and technology law firms, Mr Tan swapped court room time for game room time so he could pursue his interest in gaming. The now CEO of Razer, a gaming peripherals brand, Mr Tan oversees global operations from San Deigo, California, home to Razers global headquarters.

Other honors given out at the ceremony that was held at the Shangri-La Hotel on Friday include Person of the Year and Friend of IT.

The IT Leader Awards began 11 years ago to cultivate more IT talents so as to advance the state of IT in Singapore. Such a platform helps to draw public awareness to the significant contributions of outstanding IT personalities. The SCS believes that recognition of noteworthy IT models will serve as an inspiration for many commendable professionals to reach greater heights in the IT arena.