An investigation of ICT development in Myanmar

Abstract

A theoretical framework with seven domains of expertise including 131 items associated with technologies and ICT professional knowledge and skills is used to examine the development of ICT in the nation of Myanmar. Data collected from 63 organizations spanning government, education, and private enterprise are analyzed to determine the importance of these items at present and within the next 5 years. The findings are compared with predictions made for technologically developed nations, findings from a previous study in Myanmar, and studies in other developing nations (Thailand and Vietnam). Overall, Myanmar is shown to be at an early stage of development with emphases mainly on the use of ICT for day-to-day operational activities.The findings contribute to filling the void of information available about ICT development in Myanmar and are highly relevant to interested organizations in the public and private sectors that are internal or external to Myanmar. KEYWORDS ICT curriculum, ICT development, ICT expertise, Myanmar | INTRODUCTIONMyanmar is the second largest nation in Southeast Asia with a population of 52.89 million. Myanmar is a lower-middle income nation with a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 63.225 billion. It is one of the fastest growing economies in the East Asia and Pacific region. The GDP growth rate for 2016-2017 was 6.4% with growth driven mainly by services, industry, and agriculture. However, there is still a challenge in accessing basic infrastructure and services in both rural and urban areas with the national electricity grid available to only one-third of the population. With the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, mobile and Internet penetration has significantly increased by 40% and 15% in the last 2 years (The World Bank, 2018). Although Myanmar has been using ICT since 1981, it is recognized across the globe as the last ICT greenfield nation.Consequently, the progress made in ICT development is in an unplanned manner, and the full potential of ICT in Myanmar is yet to be realized (USAID, 2016). According to Asian Development Bank (2015), the development of ICT in every nation, especially the ASEAN member nations, is vital in facilitating integration to become a single community. According to ITU (2017), Myanmar is in 26th position on the ICT Development Index among 34 Asia and Pacific region nations and 135th among 176 nations in the Network Readiness Index 2017, which measures the capacity of countries to leverage ICT for increased competitiveness and well-being. A 5-year national ICT Master Plan was first developed in 2000 to accelerate the establishment of infrastructure and development of ICT implementation plans. Currently, Myanmar is in the stage of implementing the fourth ICT Master Plan, which focuses on e-governance. Myanmar needs skilled and experienced ICT professionals more than ever. Even though there are graduates with high competency in ICT from universities across Myanmar, there are still shortages of ICT expertise in both the government and the private sec...

User Acceptance of Electronic Medical Record System: Implementation at Marie Stopes International, Myanmar

“…Limited ICT availability was in line with the current Myanmar ICT infrastructure. According to the International Telecommunication Union, Myanmar ranked 135th out of 176 nations in the Network Readiness Index 2017, indicating the low ICT development of the country [14]. Concerns about the lack of infrastructure for stable power supply and Internet access in Myanmar and other lower income countries in the region have been reported previously by Lewis et al [15].…”