Smart engineers share expertise via SWEEP
Students and faculty of Smart’s partner schools are benefitting from the expertise of its engineers, who are conducting the second of a series of Smart Bro trainings nationwide under the continuing education component of the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP).
Students attending the Smart Bro Module 2 training are taught how to set up their VPN link and experience file sharing capabilities and IP Video streaming.
Smart Bro Module 2, which covers VPN and IP Video Technology, is being conducted in seven legs among 36 SWEEP school partners of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) nationwide.
A total of 900 participants from the 36 schools are expected to attend the trainings scheduled at the Tarlac State University in Tarlac City; Ateneo de Naga University, Naga City; Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Metro Manila; University of San Carlos, Cebu City; Mindanao State University, General Santos City; University of Zamboanga, Zamboanga City and Notre Dame of Marbel University in Koronadal, South Cotabato.
“We conduct trainings on the latest technologies to give schools a more realistic picture of what’s going on in the telecoms industry and to give students the learning and skills needed to make them industry-ready by the time they graduate and join the workforce,” said Mario G. Tamayo, head of Smart’s Network and Platforms Services Division.
Those undergoing the training already have a grasp of the basic concepts on communication systems, broadband technologies, computing and internetworking and LAN technology, after having undergone Smart Bro Module 1.
The second module is expected to give participants a better understanding of Virtual Private Network, its advantage over leased lines as well as its security requirements and components. They are also expected to know how IP Video Technology works, its advantage over Analog Video Systems and to identify its different applications. The training provides hands-on experience as participants are given a chance to set up their VPN link and experience file sharing capabilities and IP Video streaming.
The participating colleges and universities are all members of SWEEP, an industry-academe partnership that Smart launched in 2003 to help raise the level of engineering and technology education in the country, particularly in the field of Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE).
Under SWEEP, students and faculty members of partner schools benefit from the provisioning of a wireless laboratory that helps them study different aspects of cellular networks. These laboratories are also hot spots, enabling wireless Internet surfing.
Smart, with the help of its partners, also conducts trainings which include lectures on developing technologies and advances as well as on-the-job training for students, an immersion program for faculty and courses made possible through tie-ups with industry experts like Cisco, the worldwide leader in IP networking and Trends.Net, Inc., a leading learning partner in IT.
Since 2004, the program has also recognized innovative wireless applications development by partner schools via the SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards. Now on its seventh year, the awards program has evolved into a venue for students to apply theories to practical use and to translate what they learn in school into something that can benefit real people and address actual problems.
The search and rescue management system by the Ateneo de Davao University which placed second in the 5th SWEEP Awards in 2009, for example, has been expanded into a weather monitoring and disaster alert system that is being used by Davao City’s Public Safety Command Center.
To date, there are 42 SWEEP partners nationwide from as far north as the Mariano Marcos State University in Ilocos Norte and the Notre Dame of Marbel University in Koronadal, South Cotabato in the south.
(Published 02 September 2010, Smart Communications Inc.)