Admission: 2006 Spring ITTP Ph.D Program

Affiliation: Merrimack College

Position: Assistant Professor of Management

“Human development was indeed a great way to return what Korea had received from the world at the onset of its technology-based development.”

Tahir Hameed – ITTP 1st Batch – Pakistan

It was a November 2005 morning in my office at Ministry of IT, Pakistan when I received an offer of admission and scholarship from ITTP to study information technology (IT) management at their top technology focused university in South Korea. I had completed a training in Seoul earlier that year where I learnt about Korean world-first commercialization of CDMA technologies and its broadband and ubiquitous computing initiatives. South Korea’s rapid development and IT prowess was of high interest in policy circles everywhere. Korean brands like Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo and Kia had already become famous all over the world. So, it was a very exciting moment for me to receive this offer for doctorate study.

ITTP had been just established by South Korean government to share knowledge and lessons from its rapid economic development over past decades with developing countries by offering their public officers and researchers Masters and Doctoral level scholarships. Human development was indeed a great way to return what Korea had received from the world at the onset of its technology-based development.

I arrived in Daejeon on a freezing February evening in 2006. After checking in the dormitory at Munji-Dong, I looked outside the window at the forest covered in snow. It was very serene and calm outside but the feeling to embark on an intellectual journey that I always dreamt of and the opportunity to learn from the best filled me with warmth. Next few weeks were a roller-coaster of getting into academic life, dealing with the culture shock, and making friends. But it was all made easier given very supportive ITTP program leadership and staff. It was visible that Director of ITTP, Prof. Jae-Jeung Rho, gave ITTP program his everything to lift it off the ground successfully. The first batch comprised of two doctorate students and around ten master’s students from nine different countries.

Over the next few semesters we delved deeper into coursework that prepared us for research in technical, economics and management aspects of information technology as well assimilating into Korean culture including language and Taekwondo. The specialized courses and professors were simply outstanding. We frequently went for cultural trips, Korean policy organizations and industrial excursions which were not only fun but also an opportunity to witness the Korean infrastructure first-hand. We developed strong friendship bonds and professional networks. A few of us were able to bring our families to Korea which brought us even closer through family get-togethers and celebrations.

One of my profound memories was Prof. Rho’s personal interest and support in helping ITTP fellows celebrate their cultural and local events with all the international and Korean student bodies. These events were a lot of fun and promoted understanding of inter-cultural diversity among students through sharing of local foods, customs and festivities.

On a personal level, my family enjoyed our trips across Korea very much. I would like to mention two of them. The first was a trip to the culturally rich city of Andong where we enjoyed very much watching the Hohoe Mask Dance built around folklore. We also bought Hahoe masks for our home which we still have till today. Another memorable trip was experiencing the Buddhist temple stay. Not only the temple-stay provided us a better understanding of the spirituality of the Buddhist religion but we also enjoyed the tea ceremony, all vegan meals and the natural setting of the temple in high mountains away from the bustling city life.

On the professional side, I developed a deeper understanding of the role of IT in Korean economic development. I learnt about how technological capabilities were accumulated by Korean IT industries based on a mix of factors including acquisition of technological knowledge, active policy-making, their rigorous implementation, hard work, monitoring and adaptability. A number of institutions from all spheres i.e. government, universities, research institutions and businesses worked in tandem to build creative innovation systems. I am sure over the years, other ITTP fellows picked up numerous lessons, frameworks, plans and contacts to benefit our countries like I did. They are already contributing to IT policy and organizations in big ways.

Pakistan’s economy is moving fast towards becoming a digital economy and is benefitting from Korean IT prowess and knowledge in several ways. There have been active collaborations in the past on e-government and IT expert exchange but there are also on-going projects like software technology parks development and expertise exchange. One of the flagship projects is expertise and $76.2 million contributions of South Korea for creating an IT Park in Islamabad that is likely to create 5,000 jobs.

These days I am in the US teaching and researching in the areas of information systems especially health information systems. I look forward not only to benefit Pakistani healthcare systems in the future but also at a global level. Now in its 16^th year, ITTP program and its off-shoots, ITTP alumni network and Global Innovation Seoul Forum (GISF) are already making big impact on individual, community and national levels across the globe. I am a proud member of ITTP family and take this opportunity to wish everyone great achievements for their people going ahead. Thank you, Korea! Thank you ITTP!