MAPUA SWEEPs into Wireless Mode
The Mapua Institute of Technology (MAPUA) is enhancing its engineering programs by getting technology and service developments firsthand from industry partner Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) under the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP).
During the contract signing ceremony, Dr. Felicito S. Caluyo, Dean of the School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering and Computer Engineering, noted how SWEEP complements the vision of MAPUA, acknowledged as one of the best engineering schools in the country.
SMART Network Services Assurance Head for Metro Manila Byron Tabada and MAPUA Dean of the School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering and Computer Engineering Dr. Felicito S. Caluyo formalize the partnership with a handshake. Also in photo are SMART SM Manila Experience Center Manager Dennis Tizon, SMART Network and Platforms Services Division Senior Manager Jigs Suelto, MAPUA Computer Engineering Chairperson Engr. Noel B. Linsangan and Electrical Engineering Chairperson Engr. Ronald Vincent Santiago.
“SWEEP will definitely change how our students and faculty view wireless technology. The important thing is that we have additional state-of-the-art technology that will help impart learning through hands-on experience, making our students more competitive and global. It also complements our existing capability in research.”
“Through research, our students can see the different technologies. Now, we will have another way of doing research on the utilization of the technology,” seconds Prof. Noel B. Linsangan, Program Chair for Computer Engineering.
Byron Tabada, SMART Network Services Assurance Head for Metro Manila, says that under SWEEP, a wireless laboratory is provided that includes different systems such as cellular, wireless broadband, routers, and switch.
“These are technology that students normally just imagine but this time around, they will be able to tinker and experiment with the actual equipment,” he explains.
MAPUA’s SWEEP lab includes wireless broadband equipment composed of an operational SMART GSM base station, 3 networked PCs, wireless router and switch, VPN routers, and web cameras. It will be a “hotspot” with an Internet bandwidth of 64 kbps (CIR)/ 588 kbps(MIR). A set-up of Sendfar and/or Canopy equipment will likewise be installed in the lab.
Tabada says that SWEEP also includes a continuing education program that will enable faculty and students to learn about the industry, the technology and the services through regular trainings, seminars, immersion programs and on-the-job training.
MAPUA faculty can gain additional knowledge through trainings on topics such as Internetworking fundamentals, TCP/IP, VoIP, 3G Systra, wireless broadband overview, Smart Bro Modules 1 & 2, installation and configuration of wireless broadband equipment. A faculty immersion program gives qualified professors a chance to work as trainees under SMART’s local engineering groups for two weeks. This will help them gain first-hand experience and a more realistic understanding of the telecoms industry which they can pass on to their students and co-faculty. Moreover, school administrators and officials can attend leadership seminars sponsored by SMART.
Mapuans can also undergo on-the-job training with SMART to be exposed to real world and actual work scenarios and situations.
“For our future engineers, we have devised a curriculum that includes on-the-job training that will prepare them for their career choice. Partnering with companies such as SMART will definitely be a big help to our students,” says Dr. Caluyo.
Currently on its second phase, SWEEP was launched in March 2003 as a first-of-its kind industry-academe partnership program that helps raise the level of technology and engineering education in the country. The program is one of SMART’s education initiatives under Kabalikat, its corporate social responsibility and community service program.
(Published 16 December 2009, Smart Communications Inc.)