PAGASA

2007-03-15T03:31:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Congratulations to Lou Bryan Lucas for winning the PAG-ASA logo-making contest!!!

His entry will now be used as PAG-ASA's official logo.

Again, thank you so much to everyone who participated and keep on checking the site for more news about this really exciting endeavor!

- dae

2007-03-03T23:07:00.001-08:00

ONLINE VOTING RESULTS

after one month of online voting, here are the final results:

--> 146

--> 24

--> 255

--> 5

--> 40

thank you so much to everyone who participated and took some time to vote for their favorite logo. Again, your votes comprise 50% of the final scores. the organizers' scores will be available next week! =) and by then, we'd know, who'll get to bring the shiny red iPod!

- dae

2007-02-23T18:11:00.001-08:00

LOGO TALLY UPDATE

As of Feb 23, the logos got the following number of votes:

--> 141

--> 24

--> 36

--> 5

--> 40

Please send in your votes now! Deadline is on February 28, 2007.

Thanks! =)

2007-02-14T00:47:00.000-08:00

LOGO UPDATES

As of February 13, 2007, the logo finalists got the following votes:

--> 81

--> 24

--> 25

--> 5

--> 36

Just two weeks away from deadline ;-)

Thanks!

2007-02-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

LOGO UPDATES

As of February 7, 2007, the logo finalists got the following votes:

--> 58

--> 1

--> 3

--> 5

--> 30

Keep on voting! Deadline is on Feb 28 =)

Thanks!

2007-01-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

PAG-ASA LOGO-MAKING CONTEST FINALISTS!!!

Hi everyone! First of all, we would like to say a big thank you to those who supported the project and joined the PAG-ASA Logo-making contest. It means a lot to us that you also believe in our vision! This is truly a great initiative and hopefully, we’ll see its fruits in the near future! =)

Well, after almost two months since its launch, the wait is finally over. We’re now ready to announce the 5 finalists. Again, 50% of the score will come from your votes. The logo which gets the most number of votes will get the entire 50%. The other logos will get a fraction of the 50% based on the maximum number of votes. (E.g. Logo 7 gets the most number of votes – 200. It’ll get 50%. Logo 8 gets 100 votes. It’ll get 25%.)

The other 50% will come from the organizers, based on this criteria: originality – 40%, significance – 30%, over-all impact – 30% .The logo which gets the highest score (50% votes and 50% organizers) will be used as the official PAG-ASA logo and its artist will be awarded the shiny red iPod nano!!!

Each logo is numbered (1-5). To vote for your favorite logo, all you have to do is send an email to amadeapaula@gmail.com with the subject PAG-ASA LOGO VOTE (number of logo). Each valid email address is only given one vote. Voting starts on February 1 and ends on February 28, 2007. For inquiries, please email amadeapaula@gmail.com with subject PAG-ASA HELP.

There will be a weekly update on the number of votes received by each logo.

Take your pick and enjoy voting! ;-)

2007-01-04T04:42:00.001-08:00

PAG-ASA LOGO MAKING CONTEST EXTENDED!!!

Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce that I have already received entries for our logo-making contest. But in order to give enough time for our friends in Cebu to submit their entries, we are extending the deadline to January 20, 2007. This means more time for you to create your logos and get the chance to win the Special Edition Red iPod nano ;-)

Thanks again!

2006-12-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

iPod up for grabs (PAG-ASA logo making contest)

10 grants! that's really great news! we have the grants and the mechanics are on the works. Now, we need a logo to complete the package! It should be something that embodies what the project is all about: talent, hope, inspiration... and whoever comes up with the best PAG-ASA logo wins... an iPod!

Here are the mechanics:

Design your own logo (no size requirement. however, if your design gets chosen, we might ask you to make a BIG version of it, for banners, etc...)
Email your designs together with your contact information to amadeapaula@ gmail.com with subject: PAG-ASA LOGO
You can send as many entries as you want ;-) (No registration fee!!!)
Deadline of submission of entries is on December 31, 2006
I'll be posting all the entries here on January 1, 2007
50% of the score will come from the project organizers and the other 50% will come from online votes ;-) (mechanics of online votes will be announced soon!)
The winner will be announced on February 1, 2007.

for inquiries, comments/suggestions, please comment on this blog or email amadeapaula@ gmail.com

Looking forward to your entries ;-)

2006-12-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

First 10 grants

Good news! We now have at least 10 grants pledged (maybe more). Its probably time to discuss the mechanics of awarding the grants. Personally, I would like donors to have some ability to award grants based on some kind of special focus. Areas that I (and my companies) am interested in are :

Human Factors Engineering - Mostly dealing with advanced UI design, the ability to collect user feedback and a process for continous improvement. AJAX is changing the way people develop Web UI and I believe its important to develop disciplines around good web application usability.

Community Oriented IP - Also known as Open Source Software development. I believe that it would be great for the academe to break down the process of software development from the open source communities and teach the best practices to students.

Connected Software Development - Web 2.0 and Mash up concepts are changing the software development process. This model requires a completely different mindset from a programmer's standpoint.

In addition to the grant, I am eager to get the academe to take part in real world situations through Exist Global's work synergy program. Grantees will also have the opportunity to get advanced training and exposure to relevant conferences worldwide.

Above all. I think that these areas are the "Coolest Areas" to work on. I believe that it will capture a lot of interest from students and get their mind about "what can be" as they think about their future careers. Its important for the Philippine IT to get ahead of the curve. Lets be world class !

If you are interested to be considered for the grant - Please comment to this post and we'll get the ball rolling.

2006-11-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

PAG-ASA v.1

Trips to the Philippines are always rejuvenating. I am very excited about Exist's progress! (we have renamed it Exist Global). The management team is maturing well and now taking a lot of ownership in driving the company forward. I am very proud of how my "Exist-mates", and soon co-owners of the company, continue to remain curious, enthusiastic and energetic in our collective pursuit of "the better way" for software-driven innovation.

I am looking forward to the days where I am no longer dealing with the day to day. I've started to think about areas where I can contribute to the country. I have always wanted to do something to help advance education for software development. All I needed was a little inspiration and some very useful baseline data from the UP College of Engineering to turn it into action. So I decided to embark on the PAG-ASA initiative.

So what's PAG-ASA ?
It stands for Professorial Achievement Grant for Academic Software Advancement. I made it up :). I like the acronym and filled it in. Seems like a good start but I welcome better suggestions. It is as it sounds, it's a grant program for the faculty focused on computer science and software engineering. The goal is to improve faculty retention by providing income augmentation, in campus work-synergy with businesses and advanced learning.

Educator First Mission
I did not do an exhaustive search but I wanted to be a part of a program that put "Educator first" in its mission. I have benefitted greatly from educators like Marlon Bacani while at DLSU. Exist's tag line of "There's always a better way" is Mr. Bacani's mantra. He was a tireless mentor who inspired his students to go after great things despite challenges. I consider Mr. Bacani's teachings as a significant reason for what I have accomplished thus far. It's also a good way to celebrate the life of a former employee and UP faculty member named Christian Golingho, who in the last remaining weeks, found solace in continuing to do what he loved (writing great software). Both Mr. Bacani and Christian are no longer with us but I am hoping to honor them by becoming an educator advocate through PAG-ASA. It needs to start by improving our educators' quality of life and providing continuous advancement opportunities.

Mechanics
The initial mechanics are derived from the UP college of engineering professorial chair program. Basically, a grant is provided to a faculty member who commits for stay for 5 years and will comply with certain qualifiers. The grant amount is designed to augment somewhere between 25% - 50% of a faculty member's income. Other aspects of the program will build from this. This includes the work-synergy project and advanced learning program. The initial cost per program sponsorship is approximately $15K per grantee for 5 years. I believe setting a goal for 100 educators in the program is very attainable within 2-3 years.

Whats next ?
First is to make sure not to re-invent the wheel. UP has a good program and probably is a good place to start. I am planning to pledge 5 grants next year to kick off the program. I am very impressed by the Ayala foundation and Gilas. I am going to ask Vicky Garchitorena (Gilas Chairperson) for some advise on setting up the foundation or leverage the Ayala foundation infrastructure. It's probably also a good idea to get an educator's take on how this program can best benefit them. Any volunteers?

I am sure that there are a lot of people like me who can attribute their success in life to the quality of education they have receive. I believe that our country's opportunity to produce the best technologists for the highest paying technology job in the world (software development) rests on our educators. I am hoping that an investment in PAG-ASA (or any similar program) will show them that we appreciate it.