After laying the groundwork in its previous forums, the Philippine Development Foundation continues the discussion on the pursuit of global competitiveness through scientific and technologic innovation and entrepreneurship. The current symposium will focus on education, which may be said to be the seedbed for the growth of future innovators and entrepreneurs. Invited speakers include top Cabinet officials, leading education advocates, renowned corporations and high profile philanthropists, who will touch on the latest advances in education designed to combat poverty and to stimulate economic growth.
From the outside, everything about Diosdado Banatao seems average: he wears no expensive designer suits, nor carry fancy, top-of-the-line gadgets. But to anyone with even a fraction of knowledge of Silicon Valley and computer technology history, nothing about Dado, who also considers himself with “just average” intelligence, is truly average. He, after all, pioneered the very first PC chip set when there was not yet a PC industry and he created the graphics acceleration technology that made Microsoft Windows a viable operating system. Dado has helped propel the computer industry into a global phenomenon.
According to Al Lee, PayScale's director of quantitative analysis, "Even more than where you go to school, the degree you get is a bigger influencer of your pay for the vast majority of Americans." Lee says that an English major from Harvard may end up making six figures, but that person is an exception among English majors.
Which degrees bring home the most bacon? "Ones involving numbers," says Lee. Seven of the 10 highest-earning undergraduate degrees in the report are in engineering, with economics, physics, and computer science filling out the rest.
Leaders and professionals focused on building an ecosystem of science and technology-based entrepreneurship and innovation for social and economic development in the Philippines. They also generate resources from US-based donors for non-profit organizations in the Philippines as part of their commitment to diaspora philanthropy.
