Archives

ICT literacy level vital for economic growth - Sukhdeo

By Sudarshana Perera

If a country wants to achieve a higher economic growth, much attention has to be given to develop ICT literacy level among students and professionals in government and private sector, said Sesh Sukhdeo The Overseas Development Director for The British Computer Society (BCS)UK in an interview with Daily News.

Sesh was in Sri Lanka to attend "Study in UK exhibition" held at Hotel Lanka Oberoi recently.

"Today the economy and Information and Communication Technology have become a combined aspect and it is vital for the business community to work towards this link between Economy and ICT in achieving corporate goals" he said.

Speaking on the ICT sector in Sri Lanka, Sukhdeo said that one of the important criteria needed is a well-laid infrastructure system and I feel that necessary technology is available. If Sri Lanka carries out the existing ICT strategies understanding possible challenges, I am very optimistic that Lanka can march forward steadily. We will work with Lankan government in achieving its goals on ICT sector, he said.

"We the BCS will use Sri Lanka as a focal point in developing ICT professionalism and standards in the international arena as the country possesses dedicated and competent ICT professionals "Sukhdeo said.

Taking on the role of BCS towards improving ICT in foreign countries, he said that BCS is working in synergy with other ICT organizations and societies world-wide to develop ICT standards .BCS also represents 40,000 membership world-wide. Sri Lanka BCS section which is regarded as a flagship member records biggest number of membership,he said.

The BCS is also a part of The Engineering Council in UK which is in charge of science ,technology and IT sectors in U.K., he said.

A part of the challenge before us to handle human resource development which is considered as a sine quo non for the development of ICT.

The ICT professionals have to concentrate on making a successful link among academia, government and ICT sectors, he said.

When asked to comment on ICT education in Sri Lanka ,Sukhdeo stressed the importance of working in collaboration with other institutions .ICT institutions must march forward collaboratively for a common synergy. The quality of syllabus content must couple with all up-dates constantly occurring on ICT field ,he said.

"The ICT training or the education does not stop as one completes a course, but it is a continuos process .The students passing out have to work with other ICT organizations on order to cushion their knowledge.Much discipline and psychology are also vital factors in becoming qualified ICT professionals ,he said.

The British government has contributed a lot to improve ICT sector in foreign countries. I commend efforts taken by Lankan government for implementing projects such as e-SriLanka, The country also possesses balance and objective professionals ,This is a healthy trend in achieving Lanka's goals,he said.

Commenting on the role of BCS Sri Lankan section he said that performance of them has been very excellent and he also commended the committee members for the service done in Sri Lanka.

We will expand our services in the future so that we will be able to become a major force help achieving country's future goals, he said.

##########

What is happening to Bluetooth ?

Is bluetooth ready for the mass market? Anecdotal evidence would suggest not. Earlier this month, one of the big printer manufacturers (HP) hosted an event in Singapore for UK journalists. HP generously gave them each a Bluetooth printer and adapter card to test.

As of this writing, the technical editor of 'Computing' has completely failed to get the printer and the card to communicate with each other at all. So has the technical editor of another major IT newspaper. This raises some questions about the prevailing standards in wireless technology.

There are distinct advantages to Bluetooth. Where a workstation once consisted of screen, keyboard, mouse, system box and a connection to the network, the average executive desktop can now look like a clearance sale at Dixons. There's the charge for the mobile phone, the adapter for the PDA, the personal colour printer, the second monitor for monitoring your web site or your systems, and on and on.

Bluetooth is potentially a boon. By ridding your desk of cables, you not only save on space, but there is also some benefit to the planet's supply of metals. The peripherals vendors are trying to help by putting Bluetooth in just about anything.

The theory goes that while Bluetooth is getting everywhere, the standards will evolve to deal with the communications problems. Hopefully they will deal with some security issues as well.

This was highlighted by another colleague who installed a Bluetooth printer only to find that it immediately started printing a document fired from a computer in the next department.

But Bluetooth has to be more than a cause for amusement (although keep sending in the funny stories!) if it is to take its place in the move to more flexible, wireless configurations and do away with the creeping plague of cables.

802.11 will take its place as the serious wireless technology of choice while Bluetooth should fulfil its own role as the departmental cable-replacement wireless network of choice. But if some serious work isn't done on making it a more workable standard and done soon, it won't even do that.

Now, I'm just going to see if I can get that infrared connection on my laptop to work...

Source: Computing

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager