A seminar bringing together university-level teachers of entrepreneurship, NGOs, and government institutions concerned with the development of entrepreneurship will be held on February 22-23, 2008 at Miriam College in Quezon City. The 2-day seminar, entitled “The 1st Roundtable Discussion on Teaching Entrepreneurship in the Tertiary Level” is spearheaded by the Entrepreneurship Educators Association of the Philippines, National Capital Region Chapter (ENEDA-NCR). A convergence-cum-consultative conference, it will bring together high-level officers from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP-ISSI), Planters Development Bank, and the Small Enterprise Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF) for the benefit of teachers of entrepreneurship in different colleges and universities in the National Capital Region. The gathering will also feature a paper from Senate President Manny Villar, himself a well-known and extremely successful entrepreneur, as well as the participation of successful entrepreneurs, notably Mr. Rommel Juan, proprietor of the “Binalot” chain of restaurants, who will share their experiences, problems and needs when they were first starting. “Our aim is to help professionalize the teaching of entrepreneurship.” said Ms. Maria Luisa B. Gatchalian, the president of ENEDA-NCR. “Everyone recognizes the importance of entrepreneurs in developing the economy, and there are many institutions, both private and public, who are doing their best to help entrepreneurs. But there has been little done to help the teachers who help the entrepreneurs.”
Among the features of the seminar is a discussion on CHED’s Memorandum Order 17 (CMO17), which lays down the commission’s guidelines for entrepreneurship courses in the tertiary level. The seminar will also enable entrepreneurship teachers to establish contacts with different private and public institutions who can provide valuable help in their teaching efforts. Yet another highlight will be the presentation of A Program Proposal for Professional Teaching Competency, which aims to start a certification training course for entrepreneurship educators.
Among the schools that have already registered for the event are Miriam College, San Beda College, San Sebastian College, St. Paul University, Quezon City, University of Santo Tomas, Far EAstern University, University of the East, Letran College, ABE College and Centro Escolar University. Interested parties may contact Mr. Eric Pasquin, ENEDA-NCR secretary, at his mobile # 0920 951 1350, or at his e-mail address .
As the president of ENEDA NCR, Ms. Maria Luisa B. Gatchalian brings to the organization 30 years of experience in entrepreneurial education, training, research, consultancy, and teaching.
Ms. Gatchalian has a background in business education from the Philippine Women’s University (1974); clothing technology from the University of the Philippines (1986); and an MA in Education with specialization in Values Education from the University of Asia and the Pacific (1998). She has also taken up selected MBA courses at De La Salle University and post-graduate courses in industrial management at the Research Instituut Ver Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.
Early in her career, she was part of University of the Philippines – Institute for Small Scale Industries which deals with small industry development in the various area of research, consultancy, training, advocacy, and information dissemination. She later found her calling as a college professor at Miriam College, one of the country’s premier and exclusive women learning institutions, where she teaches business, entrepreneurship and communication subjects.
