Caesar A. Saloma
https://doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.2004.4708
Abstract
Universities, particularly their science and engineering graduate programs, are primary producers of precious intellectual capital. This paper examines the generation of intellectual capital in the Philippines in terms of the number of PhD and MS graduates produced in the natural sciences and the number of scientific papers authored by scientists with Philippine-based affiliations. It utilizes 21 years of graduation data (from the school year 1983-84 to 2003-2004) from the College of Science, University of the Philippines, and an 11-year publication output (1993–2003) of Philippine-based scientists in peer-reviewed journals indexed by the Institute of Scientific Information. The Philippine performance is compared with that of other ASEAN countries for the same period. The findings are discussed from the perspective of Schumpeter’s theory of business cycles. The analysis reveals that the most serious challenge facing intellectual capital generation in the Philippines is the lack of quality graduate programs for producing competent PhD graduates in the sciences and engineering. Local graduate programs are vital for retaining young, talented BS graduates who are otherwise likely to go to foreign universities due to a lack of viable options locally.