激勵緬甸（最后的陣線）青年的特別榜樣

During my recent visit to Myanmar， I had the opportunity of meeting Dr. Tun Thura Thet， CEO of Myanmar Information Technology （MIT）， Joint secretary of Myanmar Computer Federation and co-founder of Myanmar Information Communication Technology （MICT） park. He is perhaps one of the few top leaders in the software industry in Myanmar who is committed to youth empowerment through entrepreneurship. Dr. Thet received a certificate of recognition from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for MIT’s compliance with UN Global Compact principles.

When I was at a meeting in Yangon in July， 2014 on software entrepreneurship organized by Myanmar Computer Federation， I experienced U Thet as a very charming， unassuming and knowledgeable person who is interested in patiently listening to young people’s views as well freely interacts with them as well. His openness and willingness to share ideas and information makes him an exemplary person in the IT industry.

Dr. Thet’s vision is to make the country a leading hub for IT software in the region. With a doctorate in Computer Science from Singapore and learning from the experience of Thailand and recently Vietnam， whose economies have transformed from being agrarian and commodities based to manufacturing and services over a short period of time， he is confident that empowerment of young people will transform Myanmar into a IT software hub and a economy of knowledge. For this， “we need the right kind of government policies， training of young people and collaboration with international partners” says Dr. Thet. He says that Myanmar flanked by China and India with many billions makes it potentially an ideal knowledge and IT hub. Myanmar is in a unique position geographically. In addition to China and India， it also borders， Bangladesh， Thailand， and Laos. He feels that strengthening regional trade and investment ties within ASEAN with the establishment of an Asean Economic Community （AEC） free trade zone in 2015 and increasing in trade with China and India can only further benefit the country and its people.

我最近一次去緬甸時，有機會與緬甸信息技術（MIT）首席執行官，緬甸計算機聯合會（MCF）聯合秘書兼緬甸信息通訊技術園（MICT）的聯合創始人Tun Thura Thet博士會面。在緬甸軟件行業的眾多高層領導者中，鮮有人在其創業中致力于青年賦權工作，而Tun Thura Thet博士就是其中一位特例。他還因MIT遵從聯合國全球契約原則而被聯合國秘書長潘基文授予榮譽證書。

2014年7月，由緬甸計算機聯合會在仰光組織的軟件創業會議上，我領略了Tun Thura Thet的風度翩翩、為人謙遜、學識淵博，他在耐心聆聽年輕人的想法后，放松地與他們交流。他十分樂意與大家分享觀點和信息，無愧為信息技術行業的模范。

Thet博士設想把緬甸打造成該地區領先的信息技術（IT）軟件中心。他在新加坡獲得了計算機科學的博士學位，并學習吸收泰國和越南的經驗。這兩個國家都已在短期內將經濟重心從農耕和商品轉向制造業和服務業領域。他相信，青年賦權將會使緬甸成為一個IT軟件中心和知識經濟國家。對此，他說，“我們需要政府采取正確的政策，對年輕人進行培訓，并與國際伙伴合作。”他說緬甸東西毗鄰印度和中國，這兩個國家都有十億多人口，為緬甸成為理想的知識和IT中心提供了可能。緬甸具有得天獨厚的地理位置優勢。除中國和印度外，它還與孟加拉國、泰國、老撾相鄰。他認為，在東盟內部加強區域貿易和投資，在2015年設立東盟經濟共同體（AEC）自由貿易區，以及擴大與中國和印度的貿易會使緬甸和本國人民受益。

Myanmar has a population of approximately 59.13 million in 2009-2010 with over 100 ethnic groups. Children aged 0 to 14 constitute 32% of the total population while people in the age group 15 to 59 years and 60 years and above constitute 59% and 9% respectively. Young people aged 10-24 years account for nearly 30% of the population （Source ：UNFPA）

While Norway based organizations such as Partnership for Change （PfC） and Kavlifondet are fostering good ideas and building young entrepreneurs’ capacity in Myanmar through Project Hub Yangon， Dr. Thet and MICT and the Myanmar Computer Federation are planning to set up an incubation centre for promoting entrepreneurship in software development. The incubation centre to be set up by MIT and MICT with government support will provide office space at very low rent； provide advisory services and information on access to loans to young software entrepreneurs. They will have mentorship and access to guidance for one to two years at the incubation centre. It is also worth noting that majority of the 2000 or so software developers in Myanmar are women.

He is of the opinion that the young people in Myanmar have better fluency in English language compared to most of its neighbors and what is needed is to create matching skills with what the market needs. U Thet says， “We need to create an enabling environment for the skill sets and knowledge of the workforce rapidly”. “We also need to guide and inspire young people to become entrepreneurs， and show the venues of opportunities for training， funding and marketing. The youth of today in this country have a thirst for knowledge and new ideas. Securing IT talent is very critical to successful software industry.”

He observes that while one can get IT professionals from India or Singapore on a short term basis， sustainability of the industry will depend mostly on the availability of a highly skilled local talent pool.

2009-2010年，緬甸人口約為5，913萬，有100多個民族。0-14歲的兒童占總人口的32%，15-59歲和60歲以上的人則分別占59%和9%。10-24歲的年輕人接近總人口的30%（來源：聯合國人口活動基金會）。

“合作求改變”（PFC）和Kavlifondet等來自挪威的組織正在試圖通過仰光的中心項目提高緬甸創業者的能力，與此同時，Thet博士與MICT和MCF則計劃設立一個育成中心，以在軟件開發領域中發揚創業精神。MIT和MICT在政府支持下計劃設立的育成中心將提供低租金的辦公場所；為年輕的軟件創業者提供咨詢服務和貸款信息。在頭兩年內，他們將在育成中心安排導師和相關的指導。還值得一提的是，在緬甸約2，000名軟件開發者中，女性占了大多數。

他認為，緬甸年輕人的英語比大多鄰國的更加流利。我們需要的是使他們的技能符合市場所需。Thet博士說，“我們需要迅速地提供一個有利環境，使勞動者有機會施展其技能和知識。我們也需要引導和鼓勵年輕人創業，為他們提供培訓、融資和營銷機會。緬甸如今的年輕人對知識和新觀點孜孜以求。為IT人才提供后盾，這對實現軟件行業的成功是至關重要的。”

他注意到，雖然短期內我們可以聘請印度或新加坡的IT專業人士，但考慮到該行業持續發展，很大程度上還依賴于本國自有的高技能人才庫。

Many experts have often observed that there is a gap between what educational institutions provide and what industries need. Even though Myanmar has two universities and 14 colleges of Computer Studies， private training sector and scholarship programs， there is still a paucity of qualified ICT personnel， especially in the software sector. There is a severe mismatch between demand and supply of ICT workers. There are also many private institutes that offer short term courses in computer software with unverifiable quality standards.

Many have pointed out that brain-drain effect is also threatening the local ICT companies， i.e. Migration of talented ICT workers to other countries （such as Singapore）.

But as Dr. Thet points out， there are a number of skilled people are returning to Maynmar to contribute to the blossoming of the IT sector. He is one of the shining examples in this context.

一些專家也注意到，教育機構提供的信息和行業所需之間存在差距。盡管緬甸擁有2所大學和14所專科院校，還有私人培訓部門和獎學金項目，但仍缺乏高素質的ICT人員，尤其是軟件行業。ICT從業人員的供需也嚴重失調。雖然也有一些私人機構提供短期的計算機軟件課程，但其質量標準尚未得到核實。

一些人指出，人才的外流，比如ICT人才移民去其他國家（如新加坡），也在威脅著本國的ICT公司。

但Thet博士指出，也有許多高技能的人才從國外回到緬甸，以期為IT行業的興旺做出貢獻。他本人就是其中一個鮮明的例子。

Training and development therefore needs to be rolled out faster and more extensively.

Those that fail to address the needs of young people and their talent challenges will find it hard to sustain the rapid growth as Myanmar has now at the rate of over 10%.

The Myanmar ICT market is still largely dominated by hardware companies due to the relatively low usage of ICT in business and industry. Only a handful of software companies such as Dr. Thet’s MIT can claim to have over one million dollar turnover.

因此，我們需要加快推出更廣泛的培訓和發展措施。

那些未滿足年輕人需要以及才能方面挑戰的人會認為緬甸很難保持快速發展，因為如今該國的經濟增長率已超過了10%。

由于商業和產業中ICT的使用較少，緬甸的ICT市場仍被軟件公司所主導。像Thet博士所經營的MIT這樣營業額超過1百萬美元的軟件公司只是少數。

When asked if he was concerned about foreign companies coming to compete with local ones in the IT sector， he confidently replied that completion is a good thing and one cannot avoid completion in an economy that wants to open up for new ideas and technologies. He cited as an example， the healthy coexistence of Google and Baidu in China.

Myanmar presents a great opportunity for investment and growth. With Rich in natural resources and a youthful population of 60 million， the country seems ripe for investment， not only in extractive industries， but also in the service and IT sectors. Dr. Thet’s observations echo the analysis such as the Asian Development Bank’s. He emphatically feels that the country’s human capital is a key component to future growth. 25% of the population is below working age， and only 7.7% over the age of 65， this compares to China with 20% and 11.5% respectively.

當被問及是否擔心外國公司與當地IT行業公司競爭時，他自信地答道：競爭是好事，在歡迎新觀點和新科技的這樣一個經濟體制下，競爭難以避免。他援引Google和百度在中國健康共存一例來說明。

緬甸為投資和增長提供了極好的機會。緬甸自然資源豐富，年輕人口達6千萬，在該國，無論是投資采掘業、還是服務業和IT行業，時機似乎都已成熟。他強調，該國的人力資本是未來發展的一個關鍵要素。緬甸低于工齡的人口占總人口的25%，65歲以上的人口僅占7.7%，而中國，這兩大人群則各占20%和11.5%。

However it should also be noted that “the country is the only developing Asian country with a defense budget greater than the education and health budgets combined.” [Asian Development Bank report] The government spends less that 2.0% of GDP on education and health.

And hence the need for more emphasis on education， training and support to entrepreneurship and business incubation.

“Myanmar is the last frontier in the region that is poised for a development leap forward and young entrepreneurs in IT software industry will have a major role to make this happen” says Dr. Tun Thura Thet with a subdued and confident smile.

然而，應當說明的是，“緬甸僅僅是一個發展中國家，且軍費預算比教育和衛生預算的總和還高。”（來自亞洲發展銀行的報告）。政府用于教育和衛生的支出尚不到GDP的2%。

因此，我們要把重點放在教育、培訓以及對創業和商業育成的支持上面。

Tun Thura Thet博士微笑著，平和卻不失自信地說，“緬甸是該地區的最后一個陣線，它已做好快速發展的準備，IT軟件行業的年輕創業者將在這一發展中發揮重大作用。”