INSEAD- Philippines ranks low in innovation: study at par with Africans

Innovation in the Philippines is only at par with Uganda and Botswana, according to a global study released Wednesday.

 

The Philippines has a rating of 31.2, which is good for 90th place in the 2013 Global Innovation Index published by Cornell University, INSEAD business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

 

African countries Uganda (31.2) and Botswana (31.1) are in 89th and 91st places, respectively.  

 

The top 10 most innovative nations and territories are:

 

1    Switzerland    66.6   

2    Sweden    61.4   

3    United Kingdom    61.2   

4    Netherlands    61.1   

5    United States of America    60.3   

6    Finland    59.5   

7    Hong Kong (China)    59.4   

8    Singapore    59.4   

9    Denmark    58.3   

10    Ireland    57.9  

 

In Southeast Asia and Oceania, the 10 highest-ranked are:

 

7    Hong Kong (China)    59.4   

8    Singapore    59.4   

17    New Zealand    54.5   

18    Korea, Republic of    53.3   

19    Australia    53.1   

22    Japan    52.2   

32    Malaysia    46.9   

35    China    44.7   

57    Thailand    37.6   

72    Mongolia    35.8

 

The GII 2013 looked at 142 economies around the world, using 84 indicators including the quality of top universities, availability of microfinance, venture capital deals -- calculating innovation capabilities, as well as and research, infrastructure, knowledge, and technology capabilities.

 

The index is used by businessmen, policy makers, and researchers looking into the state of innovation worldwide.

 

"Dynamic innovation hubs are multiplying around the world despite the difficult state of the global economy. These hubs leverage local advantages with a global outlook on markets and talent," WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said in a statement.

 

"For national-level policy makers seeking to support innovation, realizing the full potential of innovation in their own backyards is often a more promising approach than trying to emulate successful innovation models elsewhere."

 

The 2013 index was formally unveiled to the public Wednesday at the Huawei Technologies facilities in Shenzhen, China, according international current affairs magazine The Diplomat.

 

"While high income economies dominate the list, several new players have increased their innovation capabilities and outputs. On average, high-income countries outpace developing countries by a wide margin across the board in terms of scores; a persistent innovation divide exists," said Soumitra Dutta, co-editor of the report.

 

According to Barry Jaruzelski, senior partner and leader of the Global Engineered Products and Services Practice at Booz & Company, underperforming economies can boost their innovation capabilities by developing hubs wherein large companies can play a catalyst role.

 

"Enterprise champions, including state-owned enterprises, family-owned conglomerates, and multinational corporations, can be the critical drivers of innovation hub activities. These enterprise champions can facilitate the building of hub capabilities and their talent pools by stimulating innovation and by helping to bridge the gap between research and commercial success," he added.

 

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The Teen Future Philippine Azkals dominates Australia’s Kanga Cup (Kangaroo Cup)

High hopes for future Azkals

 

SYDNEY – Former Philippine national football team standout and now Philippine Football Federation (PFF) consultant in Australia Mike Moran said the other day the outlook is bright for the promotion of football relations between the Philippines and Australia with the recent victory of the Philippine U-18 squad at the Kanga Cup in Canberra a portent of things to come.

 

Moran, 58, is based in Sydney and begins work with Osaka-based Japanese multinational finance company Invast Securities next month. He has been involved in foreign exchange trading for over 35 years with expat postings in Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong.  Before starting his Invast engagement, Moran is busy paving the way for an active two-way football program.

 

Last week, Moran was in Canberra to witness the Philippines, playing as the Carranz Football Club, post a 6-0 record in capturing the U-18 championship of the Kanga Cup which assembled 256 teams of over 4,000 players to compete in three-tier age groups from 8 to 18 for boys and girls. The Philippines sent an 18-man lineup composed of 14 homegrown locals and only four based overseas.  Head coach was Marlon Maro with Alvin Carranza and Jefferson Cheng as managers. The 18 players came from a 38-man pool being trained as "Teen Azkals."

 

The Philippines will tap the nucleus of the Kanga Cup title squad for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) U-19 Championships in Surabaya on Sept. 9-22.  The "Teen Azkals" are bracketed in Group A with Laos, Singapore, Australia, Cambodia and Timor Leste.  Group B is made up of Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. The Philippines opens its campaign against Laos on Sept. 9.

 

Moran said the Filipinos impressed Australian scouts with their ability and quickness in Canberra.  "We went up against bigger boys and we were clearly at a disadvantage physically but we weren't outplayed," he said.  "One of our players Arnel Amita of FEU was spotted by Argentinian coach Gabriel Wilk of the Cooma club of Canberra, the No. 1 club in the Australian Capital Territory.  Wilk is inviting Arnel to his camp.  Arnel is like a little Maradona.  On the field, he amazed the fans with his ball tricks, speed and intelligence."

 

The Philippines got off to a strong start with a 1-0 win over the Capital Football Senior NTC then crushed Gosford City, 5-2, Taylor Lakers, 20-0, Woden Valley, 2-0 and John Paul College, 6-0 before repeating over the Capitals, 1-0, in the Kanga Cup finals.  "We got better with every game," said Moran.  "Against Gosford, we were down 0-2 but never gave up and eventually won, 5-2.  That showed the team's character."

 

Dean's Corner ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Writer Jaime Pimentel of Ang Kalatas Australia paid tribute to Amita. "He menaced forwards in the backfield, opened opportunities in the midfield and taunted defenders in attack," wrote Pimentel.  "In a show of defiance of Capital's superior ball skills and robust defensive tactics, the pint-sized dynamo ruled the midfield as he hustled to terrorize anyone and his shadow who dared cross his territory."  Amita, 17, stands only 5-5.

 

The others in the champion team were keeper Enzo Cheng, keeper Raphael de Guzman and David Diamante of La Salle, Mark Besana, Daniel Gadia and Raphael Resuma of UP, Mikko Benedicto of San Beda, Junell Bautista, Jan Clarino, Harold Alcares, Doug Carranza, Yoshiharu Luciano Koizumi, Val Calvo, Nicholas Bollier, Rey Diaz and Amani Aguinaldo of FEU and Kevin Hartmann. 

 

Moran said since his appointment by the PFF, he has explored football tie-ups with former Australian national player Gus Cerro and Fil-Aussie coach Leigh Gunn.  "Gus is training a Fil-Aussie Kenneth Dizon who's 16," said Moran.  "He thinks Kenneth has the potential to become a major player with the Azkals in the future.  Gus is now creating a broad data base of Filipinos playing in Australia. He's married to a Filipina so that explains his closeness with the Filipino community.  Both Gus and Leigh are excited about the possibilities of working with the PFF."

 

PFF secretary-general Edwin Gastanes said the U-18 team's participation in the Kanga Cup was the country's first-ever training mission in Australia.  "This was unchartered waters," Gastanes told Moran.  During the trip, Carranza was introduced to Fil-Aussie player John Chris Canayama who is 18.  Moran said slowly, the doors are opening to discover more Fil-Aussie players.  "The Kanga Cup is more of a grassroots level of competition," he said.  "I drove to Canberra which is a 3 1/2 hour drive away from Sydney to meet the team which I thought was important as it was a first for the Philippines.  I've been contacted by scouts from out of the blue since word got around of my PFF appointment so we're moving forward with plans to develop a two-way relationship."

 

Moran played 10 years with the Philippine national team from 1972 to 1982.  "I spoke with the boys during the Kanga Cup and told them to represent our country with honor, to wear our flag on their jersey proudly," he said.  "It's a different feeling when you're playing for your country out there.  I think the boys showed a lot of heart in winning the championship."

 

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