depa Leads Digital Startups, Students In Showcasing Digital Upskilling Solutions Before PM, Aiming to Drive Thailand’s Digital Manpower Development 
•The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) led digital startups in education technology (EdTech) and students in presenting achievements related to digital skills development before the prime minister.
•Human resource development to create skilled manpower and experts in digital technology and innovation as well as improving digital skills of people in general in collaboration with the private sector through reskilling, upskilling and new skilling programs.
•Providing 50 million people with access to digital data and information along with developing 1 million digital manpower by 2021–2025 and creating jobs for 100,000 people.
December 8, 2020, Bangkok – Mr. Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), together with Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, president and CEO of the depa, led EdTech startups and a group of students in showcasing digital-driven work and achievements related to digital skills development before Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and interior minister prior to attending the cabinet meeting at the Government House, Santimaitri Building. EdTech startups and students exhibiting their work and achievements in EdTech are as follows;
- Vonder (Thailand) Co., Ltd (Vonder) exhibited a digital classroom assessment solution through quiz-
game formative evaluation. A teacher will create a set of questions so that students will compete in gamified quiz races as a formative assessment tool. Quiz time will be set and the detailed evaluation will be conducted
after the quiz game is wrapped up. By doing so, it will help motivate students to enjoy learning even more.
- INFOGRAPHIC THAILAND (Like Me Co., Ltd.) showcased the Virtual Reality (VR) technology created to help with staff training. At a training session, staff will have hands-on experience and a fully immersive virtual reality experience in practicing in multiple forms. A good point is that it can help reduce risks that may happen during the actual practice or training at the site. Currently, the company’s virtual reality technology is used to enforce teaching in electrical engineering training sessions hosted by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority.
- Representatives from Chonprathanwittaya School, the second runner-up in Thailand Robofest Junior 2019, demonstrated sumo robots battling. They are embedded with software and are controlled by programming. In the competition, a robot sumo is controlled to push its opponent out of the battle ring within a specified time.
Mr. Buddhipongse said that developing digital manpower is one of the key strategies under the Thailand Digital Economic Development Plan 2017 – 2021 with an aim to promote self-development among people across segments in society, including children, younger generations, working people, elderly, people with disabilities as well as people in all professions and expertises from beginner, intermediate to advanced levels. The digital people development will be pushed forward through the depa Digital Manpower Fund, including engaging with digital reskilling and upskilling for general people in order to foster digital citizenship.
Dr. Nuttapon said the depa has continuously collaborated with the private sector to develop human resources through three processes. They are digital Reskilling program to improve the digital skills and create skilled digital personnel, focusing on adoption of digital technologies to provide them with opportunities in an evolving digital era. Second, Upskilling or leveling up the existing quality and digital skills of people working in the digital-centric industry. Third, New Skill or innovating new digital-oriented skills for students, younger generations and elderly so as to nurture lifelong learning.
“In the past 3 years, the depa has incubated and generated more than 48,000 digital manpower with a great expertise in digital technology and innovation. More than 600 of them became potential digital startup operators and digital solution providers, serving as an important mechanism to drive digital economic development. The depa has reskilled and upskilled the digital skills for more than 3,300 teachers, children and youths as well as conducting digital reskilling and upskilling programs for over 7,000 people in the public and private sectors and more than 2 million people in general. Moreover, the agency also provided support in digital reskilling and upskilling for over 1,500 elderly and people with disabilities so that they will have digital literacy necessary for e-commerce and to hedge themselves against any form of cyberthreats and cybersecurity,” said the president and CEO of the depa.
However, the depa remained committed to continue developing digital workforce for the country through the depa Digital Manpower Fund. In 2021–2025, the depa aims for 50 million people to get access to digital information and targets to develop 1 million digital manpower and create 100,000 jobs. So that they will be the fundamentals and integral components to help transform the traditional economy to a digital economy and society in preparation for future industrial revolution in alignment with Thailand 4.0 development policy.
