PHNOM PENH – Dependence on digitalisation has gained much traction in many countries as education sectors and job markets emphasise greatly creating human resources needed to sustain needs.

Although information engineering is a broad and technical term, it serves as the backbone of people’s daily lives encompassing digital devices and the programs that run them.

Nevertheless, fostering enough local information engineers in Cambodia remains a challenge as stated by Riccardo Corrado, vice-chairman of the Italian Business Chamber Cambodia (ItaCham), and a consultant to the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia.

In this interview, Riccardo Corrado explains why it is important not to overlook information engineering, how the public and private sector can further contribute to the development of such human resources, and what Cambodia can learn from Italy.

Ky Chamna: As you hold a Ph.D. in information engineering, what does this field actually involve and how does it connect to other sectors in general and in Cambodia in particular? What are the current major practical applications of information engineering? What direction do you think it will head in the near or far future?

Riccardo Corrado: Information engineering is a broad term. In my alma mater, the University of Trieste, it was used to encompass software engineering, electronics engineering and telecommunications engineering. You could specialize in any of the three fields, focusing on a specific research topic.

For me it was telecommunications, and more specifically, ad-hoc networking, in the context of channel access. Without going too technical, it was about improving transmission of audio and video data in wi-fi communications.

Information engineering can be seen as all those applications related to transmitting, receiving and handling data with electronics devices like computers or smartphones. But also satellites or IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

In terms of applications, really, we should write a book on it but let me summarize with: it will only grow. Focusing on Cambodia, you can see easily how the country is trying to move fast forward in its process of digitalisation, with aspects such as connectivity, cloud computing and cybersecurity at the forefront.

I saw in these seven and half years that I have been in Cambodia a lot of effort and many improvements but realistically, we still need to do a lot, both in terms of infrastructure and in terms of skill development.

Ky Chamna: In the context of Cambodia, what benefit can a person get from learning information engineering? There are also challenges along the way?

Riccardo Corrado: Information engineering, as previously mentioned, is a very broad term, including electronics, telecommunications and software engineering. Areas that Cambodia needs like oxygen. You can see the strong boost facilitated also by many programs initiated by the government for boosting the numbers of students who study information technology (IT) majors at universities.

Not many are still choosing topics more related to electronics or telecommunications, which nowadays has also evolved as a field, getting closer to IT. Engineering is an extremely valuable field of study that teaches you how to solve problems and how to use theories to be applied to specific situations.

Cambodian engineers are still a very rare commodity in the Kingdom, and this is something that is hurting development. Hopefully, through the numerous campaigns, the numbers will increase. Otherwise, it will be hard to have the foundations for developing domestic technologies, but also, to attract foreign companies who may overlook Cambodia by preferring neighbouring countries with more prepared and skilled workforce. It is a priority for Cambodia.

Ky Chamna: How would you compare the capacity of Cambodia in information engineering with other nations in Southeast Asia or Asia? What gap should Cambodia address to improve this field?

Riccardo Corrado: In ASEAN [Southeast Asia] there are many countries with very different levels of preparation. I always like to be constructive and see what is still lacking and what we need to do to get on top. Instead of celebrating because we are better than others. Thus, I can say that there is still a lot to be done. Starting from investing in education. A lot has been done to improve the education sector, I acknowledge this and I am happy about it.

But looking at international rankings and indexes, we are still struggling. I work in the higher education sector, and I am amazed by the number of universities currently active in the country. And I see even more openings. What happens is that you don’t have enough talented educators, who are instead shared between universities.

Additionally, I am afraid to see universities opening many programs without the professors with the expertise to teach those topics. Quality over quantity should be always prioritized. I think a good move would be to enforce, not just suggest, accreditations.

At this moment the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia is doing a good job in assessing higher education institutions, but accreditation is not compulsory, and students are not aware, in general, of what it is and thus they make not well informed choices.

Maybe more awareness campaigns should be run in high schools. Another way to improve the technological sector in Cambodia is to create an ecosystem more suitable for foreign investors.

At this moment, as also emerged in the last 2nd Cambodia-Europe Public-Private Sector Dialogue, transparency in the taxation, high energy costs, infrastructures, and low skilled labor are challenges hampering investment in Cambodia. These should be addressed.

Ky Chamna: How does Italy foster the field of information engineering from school to job market?

Riccardo Corrado: This is a good question. Currently in Italy, universities are undergoing a continuous update of their offerings for updating it to the job market demands, creating more collaborative projects between universities and companies.

Examples could be the University of Trieste that in 2024 launched two new master’s degrees to lead the digital, ecological, and energy transition: Engineering for the energy transition and European policies for digital, ecological and social transitions.

But this is just an example. In terms of great collaborations with the private sector, Bocconi University is very well known for continuously having a strong relationship with the private sector. But also, the MIB Trieste School of Management, in my home city, is a great example where the vast majority of students come from important companies that pay their tuition entirely.

Not only education though, it is important also to support the private sector and facilitate them into hiring young people, fresh graduates for example, and training them. Specifically, to lower the barriers to small and medium enterprises’ adoption of digital technology, Italy introduced the profile of innovation manager, which represents a professional figure registered with the relevant ministry to support SMEs in their digitalization journey.

Additionally, Italy allocated 50 million euros in vouchers for innovation consultancy to be used by SMEs for requesting their services, together with a tax credit for companies providing training to their employees in a set of specific skills identified as necessary for digital transformation and Industry 4.0.

Besides these measures, the “House of Emerging Technology” was launched, a program created to promote SME adoption of technology including blockchain, artificial intelligence and IoT.

The solutions should be holistic, we cannot focus only on the government, or on education institutions, or SMEs, but it is important to find avenues that can help everyone, and in turn, offer opportunities to work together.

Ky Chamna: Having the opportunity to obtain a technical skill is one thing, but also having a good job that suits that skill is another. Do you think Cambodia has enough job market to sustain Cambodian information engineers? If not, do you think brain drain is a concerning issue here? If so, how should it be addressed?

Riccardo Corrado: This is a continuous challenge in Cambodia. The job market is in need. But what is lacking is an ecosystem for retaining talents. Frankly speaking, talents will go where the best opportunities are. If you must stay in a place for 300 USD per month, or go somewhere else where you can earn 2,000 USD per month, where will you go?

I heard about people suggesting to the private sector to raise salaries. Well, I am not saying that it is wrong, but the private sector can do that only if they earn more money. Private sector needs to contribute to the growth of a country, but it is not their role to take care of the overall economy. They already contribute with their business, offering jobs and paying taxes. I think it is more teamwork involving everyone.

I think those entrepreneurs that are already in Cambodia and have the wealth should be pushed to invest their money in new businesses, instead of keeping them in the bank, and that would inject in the market new liquidity for creating jobs, and in terms produce goods and services.

On the other hand, we need to go back into the education sector by strengthening the quality of education and standards. Assessment and monitoring mechanisms and enforced accreditations. If you produce enough talent within your country, even if you bleed some out in the beginning, it is okay. But if you produce so little talent, and you lose them as well, you go nowhere.

Finally, I would also say that in Cambodia professionalism needs to improve. I still see a lot of “family business” mindset in many organizations. With this mindset, it will be hard to grow, attract and retain talents.

Ky Chamna: In the recent years of the human digital age, there have been many talks about AI and 5G, some of them sound convincing while others may sound questionable. As an expert in digital information, how would you navigate between the “real-side” and the “hype-side” of AI and 5G?

Riccardo Corrado: Good question. I think there is a lot of hype around these topics, because talking about them “sells”. Joking with a friend, they told me that we have millions of experts in Cambodia in AI nowadays.

I think hype-inflation will naturally come back to normality. What I think is essential is for people to start to listen to experts and follow the real trend in the market. And not just listen to “influencers” who talk about what is trendy at that moment, to get more audience.

Stick with those who are experts and work in the field. Follow leading companies, listen to experts, follow high level forums, and keep reading professional articles about these topics. Stay on top of the wave, and you will see that the noise will disappear.

Ky Chamna: Technology moves so fast and by the time you learn something, that thing might already be outdated. In that case, how would one future proof him or herself when it comes to the field of information engineering?

Riccardo Corrado: Learn that no matter how much you study, you will still have to keep learning more and more, every day of your life. This is why I strongly support education that prepares students to learn by themselves, and solve problems by themselves, instead of feeding them a formula or software.

If you learn how to learn, and you feed your problem-solving skills, you will be a professional who can grow and evolve overtime. It is a matter of right education and preparation.