Learning and Expectations: Field Trip and Seminars Travel Report: Major Field Trip

Seminar Overview

Our objective for this field trip and seminar is not only for entertainment and fun, but it was full of educational seminars and company tours where we learned and known about the latest trends that is being used in the world of Information of Technology and Computer Science, because we believe that we will gain more knowledge and exposure if we go outside of Davao City to explore.

Before we went to Manila, there were many things to consider. First is the money, we made our meetings early for about three months before the exact date that we will go to Manila, so that our parents will have a long period of time to prepare for the money that we needed and to avoid problems involving money. Then next problem is the withdrawal of our field trip due to the incident happened in Bulacan State University, for this reason, our university president had decided to cancel our trip, but in the end, with the effort and help of our adviser, our Dean, university’s OSS Director and our officers, finally our university president approved our field trip in Manila. Then the last problem that we encountered was that the plane tickets, due to the expiration of the given duration of payment. Our officers were almost out of time to fix those problems and get through it but then they don’t give up and double their time and effort. And because of their efforts especially to our FTS president, we were able to visit and tour in Manila to experience, learn and enjoy.

For our first day, right after we arrived in Manila, we visit first the Accenture Company and IBM Company in the afternoon. For our second day, we visit the PLDTInno Lab, Mandaluyong City in the morning and we were able to see what’s inside their business solutions center. Sadly though, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the PLDT premise and in the afternoon, we visit the Ideaspace. For our third day, we are scheduled for the Y4IT convention at SMX Convention Center for the entire day. It was a great seminar and a lot of speakers and attendees were there. For our fourth day, we went to Toshiba Storage Device Company and in the afternoon, we drop at People’s Park in the Sky, Tagaytay City and right after that, we had a ride-all-you-can at Enchanted Kingdom. For our last day in Manila, we visit the UP Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University.

The whole field trip and seminars in Manila was all memorable. It wasn’t all about fun and experience, but it was more on the educational side. It was a good experience for us to find what we want to do in the future. Everything I have learned and experienced will always be in my mind, from riding an airplane for the very first time, staying in a hotel for four straight days, experiencing extreme rides in Enchanted Kingdom andvisiting the People’s Park in the Sky in Tagaytay. It was all new experience and I’m very glad to have this fieldtrip and seminars.

Day 1

Today, I went on a company visit to:

-Accenture, Inc., Global One, Eastwood Cyberpark, E. Rodriguez, Bagumbayan, QC

-IBM, Ayala Technohub, Quezon City

For our first day, right after we arrived at the NAIA Terminal via Cebu Pacific, we take our breakfast at Mcdonalds, Newport. After breakfast, we headed straight to Accenture for our first company visit. I never thought it was such a big place and I find it very clean and the people there were so accommodating they greeted us with smiles in their faces. While waiting for the speaker to arrive, they gave us entertainment. We had an attendance and they gave us fun exercises where we all able to have a free massage in our back, because according to one of the employees there, we were still quite dizzy and sleepy because of our very early flight. They also gave freebies to those who asked questions.As we started our seminar, I was delighted and proud to the fact that our speaker was a former USePian taking up BSCS during his times. He was the Analytics Capability Leader and working in Accenture for about 10 years already. He gave us a talk on how the Accenture helps solve problems and what are the job opportunities that they can offer to those students taking up BSIT and BSCS like us which after we graduated, who wants to be a part of the Accenture family. Accenture is one of the world’s leading management consulting technology services and outsourcing company. For me it’s one of the best company visits we had because it is a great experience that I am able to step inside the building of one of the biggest IT companies in the world. After the lecture, since it’s already time for our lunch, we headed straight to Kenny Rogers and take our lunch there.

We had our second company visit for this day at IBM. The IBM Innovation Center is created last 2009 by the project former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the purpose of the Innovation Center is to promote innovation. Our speaker for that visit was Mr. Alexis V. Pantola the Technical Manager in IBM Innovation Center. Mr. Pantola divided us into two groups since the Innovation Center can’t accommodate us all in the same time because the building is not that big. He let us watch a short clip; the Double Jeopardy show in which the computer created by IBM named Watson joined the competition. Since we did not finish the clip, he let us guessed who did win in that show. As what I have heard in my classmates and I guess it was really Watson who win in that show. It was said that it is one of the successful inventions the IBM had created. After that, he showed to us their server room and explains the purpose of each servers and what architectures they used there. They have the Research and Development Group which is like an open room in which people can do their projects there. He is a good speaker because he speaks English fluently and obviously a well-practiced speaker. Lastly, he gave us a demo on how to manipulate the Bluemix software which is created by the IBM. When it comes to innovation, IBM was one of the best in it. After his discussion, we had the chance to take pictures at their lobby with the IBM logo.

What I learned?

On our seminar at the Accenture, I learned a lot of things about Accenture such as: how Accenture do really works, its role in the government and society, and how it helps their clients from different countries especially the employees. They aim to build a greater future for our communities. I have learned that the Accenture have a wide range of skills and backgrounds unlike other IT companies I have known. They trained any capabilities like Analytics, Finance, Human Resources, Sales, Research, IT Operators, Technology Architecture and many more. The good thing about Accenture is that they trained their employees well and once they had proved that you are good in that field, they thrive on that variety and make the most of their experience giving them lots of opportunities to develop specialized skills. I have learned that Accenture is the best place to learn and grow. One of the most core values of the Accenture is they hire the best people – no wonder it became one of the largest IT Company in the world. They even invest millions just to trained best people to be hired. As to our speaker who’s working in Accenture for 10 years, they don’t only see as employeesbut also they grow their career. Every year, they have performance management. “You do more; you’re given more as well.” To employees, it is something that they look forward to. In Accenture, they thrive to pressure and shows high performance in always making their company on the top.

While at IBM Company, I learned how the servers or their data centers work. They use Cloud for their back-ups - well, all data centers implement back-ups.I learned to use and manipulate the Bluemix software which is very useful to people, especially to IT and CS in developing a game. For me, I find it very easy and convenient to use since it just drag and drop.

What I liked?

I liked both the company of Accenture and IBM. Their facilities are well organized as I see. In Accenture, I liked the speaker the way he speaks. He really encourages us to part of their family and how I wish that someday I will be a part of them but then when talking about the high standards of their company, I doubted. For IBM, I also liked the speaker, he speaks English fluently and obviously a well-practiced speaker. I liked the fact that IBM company isn’t selfish when it comes to their technology or materials, as long as their units and rooms are available, they lend it to other people outside the company. I also liked the Bluemix software that he introduced to us because it is very a big help to us, especially in making school projects and even in the near future when we work.

What I didn’t like?

At the Accenture, there is nothing much that I didn’t like because they are accommodating to us and the good thing is that they are all approachable. I expected that they would let us have a tour in their company but unfortunately, we were not able to have a tour there. While at IBM Company, I just don’t like much the place where we had our seminar because it is small and we were grouped in 2 batches so that we will be accommodated and it makes discussion of the topic shorten the time.

Day 2

Today, I went on a company visit to:

-PLDTInnolab, Mandaluyong City

-Ideaspace Foundation, Dela Rosa St., Makati

We woke up early, as for me I woke up 5AM. We should always wake up early if we wanted to make it on time to our company visit. It is because of the heavy traffic in Manila. After we ate our breakfast at the Kabayan Hotel, we headed straight to our first company visit for that day, which is in PLDTInnolab. I am so excited for this company visit because we were given the chance to have a tour in one of the biggest IT companies in the Philippines. Fortunately, we arrived at the PLDT on time. Before we entered at PLDT, we were all been told by our tour guide that the PLDT prohibited us from bringing our gadgets or taking pictures from PLDT premise, we were just allowed to bring notebooks and pen for security purposes in the company. We had our tour inside their company and we were able to see the evolution of PLDT from its birth up to the age of transformation. We were toured and taught with its amazing history and how PLDT Company survived in every obstacle they encounter. After listening to the history of PLDT they introduce us Mr. Gino and his company. They toured us in their company where we able to see and discoveredthe different products of PLDT. After our tour, our speaker for PLDTInnolab was Engr. Edmund Mamboyo, gave us a short but informative talk about the Basics of Communication and how PLDT touched the lives of people around the world.

After the visit to PLDT, we took our lunch inside the bus. Our tour guide, bought KFC takes out for all of us because we didn’t have much time to eat our lunch. After taking our lunch, we headed straight to our next company visit, the Ideaspace. The people there were so accommodating because they greeted us with smiles on their faces. In our lecture proper, they introduced to us the successful projects that were started in just and idea and which is they had helped and support with in order to grow and become into reality. The aim of the Ideaspace is to support and finance the ideas in order to make it happen in reality and have a successful start-up company. They also mentioned that there will still be a competition that were allowed to join, so in this case, we’re all glad because we still have a chance to submit a business proposal, which is one of the requirement in our Technopreneurship 1 subject. After the lecture, we had a short tour to their office and we’re able to take pictures there.

What I learned?

On our company visit at the PLDT, I learned a lot of things about the history and evolution of the telephoning in the Philippines. In their history they discuss the beginning until present, way back PLDT was incorporated and given the franchise to establish and operate telephone services in the country. I also learned how they fall and rise up again and how they got up even though there are competitors still they are able to stand and continue to serve people. The good thing about PDLT is that, despite some struggles they had suffered, they still managed to improve their service to provide quality services to people who needs their products. In our visit in PLDT not just I learned their products but also I learned how they are doing their best to cater the need of a person or people to make our work lighter and easy. It is through the hi-tech products they had created, just like the Smart Tracker that they introduced to us and one of the products I liked in PLDT. These Smart Tracker, it is a tracking device with GPS where you can be able to locate people with the use of this technology, but according to them their target market is delivery companies so that they can help monitor their delivery vehicles if they delivered the goods at the right places and they can locate where the truck is heading in real time. I also learned that PLDT reinforce their efforts to anticipate technological development and trends, detect major technological breakthroughs, explore technologies and business models, expedite the development of innovative and functional services and reduce time to market, and provides the Filipinos with quality ICT solutions and services.

At Ideaspace Foundation, it was an inspiring and informative experience for me. I learned a lot of things about achieving great success in our life. I’d just then realized that there were a lot of great opportunities especially for students like us, if we just have to believe in ourselves and able to defend what we want to be. They also made us realized that dreams can turn into reality if you do something about it. Of course, nothing will happen if we just sit and watch to what will happen, instead we must strive and fight for it for us to become a successful one.

What I liked?

I liked both the company of PLDT and Ideaspace. I like the PLDTCompany because of their work environment, clean and cool products. I was amaze how the system flows and now I know that why PLDT still able to cope up until now and maintained to become one of the top company when it comes to communication because of their brilliant way to connect people around the world. In Ideaspace, I liked it much because they gave us freebies; they all gave us t-shirts and a sticker showing the logo of Ideaspace.I like the information and inspiration that the speakers had shared to us especially on how they came up to a big business. I liked the knowledge and wisdom that they shared, we were all mesmerized and inspired by it.

What I didn’t like?

In PLDT, even though they were so very strict, I really like the people there because they were all accommodating and also I really liked the place and my only concern is that it is really freezing cold inside the orientation room, so in result, most of us including me were so sleepy that time. In Ideaspace, I just don’t like the place where we had our seminar because it was so small and the chairs were very few so most of my classmates were just standing there, but then it was all fine with me because it was just a short seminar and I’m very glad that they gave us free t-shirts.

Day 3

Today, I went on a seminar to:

-Y4IT Seminar, held at SMX Convention Center, Pasay City

As usual, we woke up early in the morning so that we can arrive at the convention center on time. After we ate our breakfast at the Kabayan Hotel, we headed straight to our destination which is in SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. Fortunately, the traffic was good enough and we arrived there before the seminar starts. Upon arriving at the SMX convention, I noticed there were some students earlier than us, a lot of students were already lining up outside the MOA Arena. Before we went out from the bus, one of the Y4IT facilitator informed us about the rules and regulations inside the convention. As I remembered, she said that there were no foods allowed inside. And after that we also lined up outside the MOA Arena for our registration. They gave us our individual IDs together with the meal stubs and for our certificate. Upon entering the convention, we were given some freebies; they gave us Y4IT bags together with our snack and some fliers inside it. As expected, there were a lot of IT students and professionals there, and I am so glad that I was able to attend this prestigious event. We all gave our applause when the convention is officially opened because we already knew that our adviser, Sir Randy S. Gamboa the President of PSITE-XI is the one who will give the welcome address. We all got inspired by the speakers and proud at the same time for attending this kind of big event for the very first time. Honestly speaking, I was not so much able to witness the speech of some speakers because together with my friends, we were all enjoyed all the freebies that we got from booths outside the convention. Even though we have to line up long, we still did it because it’s all for free. They gave us magazines, biscuits, ball pens, fans and many other freebies. I never expected that I would be able to attend this big event. I find the Y4IT convention very amazing and fun.

What I learned?

Witnessing this prestigious event where the great people in business, society and in the world, all gathered, for sure we will learn a lot of lessons and inspirations from them. I find the Y4IT convention very informative especially to us IT students because we need those information from great and successful speakers as a motivation for us. It is a great opportunity for us IT students to be able to attend in that big event because we have met successful speakers and listen to their stories, advices and achievements. I learned from one of the speaker there, that you have to work and fail in order to succeed. It is really true. Even if you are intelligent, even if you are brilliant, but then if you don’t work it out, and if you don’t work hard, nothing can be done. Because you can never become successful if what you do is always sit and talk, but never work hard.Our hard work is our capital in being successful because success should be earned and it would be very fulfilling if we gained it through our own hard work. The sacrifices and hard works we exerted is nothing compared to the success we will be able to achieve someday. I learned that you can only learn when you make mistake but I am not saying that we should keep doing wrong in our life. We should use that mistake as an inspiration for us to become a better person. Failures made us stronger. It is the one who will motivate us to be better next time.

What I liked?

I really like the place where we had our convention because it is very wide, it can accommodate a lot of people, and I think it can accommodate more of less 15,000 participants there. I also like all the great speakers for sharing their stories and experiences to us. They also inspired us by their great works and how they become great IT professionals. I also like the sponsors for this year’s Y4IT for giving us a lot of freebies and got enjoyed by their photo shoots and mini games, especially with the Smart where we played the football table.

What I didn’t like?

What I didn’t like is the darkness and coldness of the place because it made us feel so sleepy and bored. Some of us, including me had just slept there a while. Knowing that they will be giving cool and expensive freebies for their raffle draws like cellphones and power banks, it’s just so sad that no one from our school got the prize.

Day 4

Today, I went on a plant tour to:

-Toshiba Storage Device, Binan, Laguna

On our fourth day in Manila, as usual we woke early to come on time at our scheduled destination this day, after we ate our breakfast at the Kabayan Hotel; we headed straight to Binan, Laguna for our plant tour at Toshiba. Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines) Inc. or TIP is the leading provider of Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and Solid State Device (SSD) storage devices. Upon entering at the Toshiba, they let us wear socks in which the Toshiba provided for us, and they also even provide us caps and shirts that we must wear inside the company premises.Our orientation started with the rules and regulations of the company and I find that Toshiba is really strict when it comes to rules. They are quite strict in terms of what dress to wear, it is because for security purposes. But then of course we must follow the rules accordingly. The representative introduced to us the history of Toshiba, their mission, accomplishments, projects and also she introduced us two of their employees of their company.It is good to know that some of the employees there are from USEP. When we had our plant tour, we were grouped into two so that we could have our tour in different ways in order to accommodate us all. In there, we were able to see what machines do to process the production of the devices. All processes were done by machines and the employees are the ones who supervise it. Every employee that we come across during our plant tour are very courteous that whenever we passed by they always greet us with a smile.After our plant tour, we returned to the room where we had our orientation and the two of employees there who accommodated us during the plant tour, had their sharing about their experiences in the company.I enjoyed and I am so glad that we had visited at the Toshiba and I wish I could visit there again and be part of their company.

We only visited one company today because we will have our fun trip after. We were all very excited because we will visit Tagaytay and have fun in Enchanted Kingdom afterwards.We had our lunch in Max’s Restaurant and from there we can already see the view of Taal Volcano. After taking pictures and after we ate our lunch, we headed straight is to People’s Park in the Sky,Tagaytay. Even though we have to walk to reach the top for us to see the entire view, we enjoyed everything of it. We got the chance to take some pictures and buy some souvenirs. We only had 30 minutes in Tagaytay because we will be heading to Enchanted Kingdom. We are all very excited for this trip in Enchanted Kingdom because it is a ride-all-you and most of us would be a first time experience. We only have 3 hours for our EK since we arrived at 4pm and EK closes at 7pm, so in that case, we headed straight to extreme rides there. I would never forgot all the rides that we had there since we all had fun and enjoyed with all of it, especially when we had our water ride in Rio Grande Rapids and Jungle Log Jam, it was like a roller coaster ride but it is in the water,where we all had fun and got wet. Also we had a chance to experience extreme rides like Space Shuttle. I am so excited for this ride and I was not disappointed because it is awesome. All of us shouted as the ride is going on, I didn’t feel any dizziness but I can feel that my head is twisting as I am riding it. We also tried the Flying Fiesta which makes me dizzy and I regret that I tried it because it was the reason why I don’t have the guts to try another extreme ride anymore. Same feeling as with some of my friends, so we just decided to watch 4D movie, it was fun and awesome even though it is just for a while. At least we had a fun experience. We also tried the Bump Cars for our last ride. Since it is already 7pm and we can see that EK is closing so we hurriedly went to our bus. That whole experience is a memorable experience for me and it will be forever cherished.

What I learned?

At Toshiba Company, I had just known that the name “Toshiba” was derived from “Tokyo Shibaura” that’s why it’s now called Toshiba. I learned so many things in Toshiba. I learned the process in creating Hard Disk and Solid State Drives and what are the common problems in creating it. I learned that it is so difficult to make a hard disk or a solid state drives because in creating it, it should be very clean for it to function well, even a smallest dust or any substance that interferes with the process, it can still ruin the production. I’ve learned that whenever a hard drive fails or malfunctions, the Toshiba Company has the Failure Department that will solve the problem of the malfunction. They have lots of departments and each department partake each role for the creation of their high-quality storage devices. I also learned that discipline, orderliness, cleanliness and time management are important factors when it comes to working in Toshiba. In Toshiba, orderliness and cleanliness is very important.

What I liked?

In our plant tour visit in Toshiba, I really like the place there because it is very clean and peaceful inside the plant. I also like the people there because they were all accommodating and approachable. I like how well-disciplined they are and how they treat to people around them. I also like the technology that they are using there, their equipment and their sharing of skills. Indeed, everything was clean and in order.

What I didn’t like?

I just don’t like much the employee who toured us in the plant because some of us can’t hear his voice but then since where in the plant so it is not tolerable to speak aloud there. Aside from that, I am so glad and satisfied that I am able to take a tour in Toshiba Company.

Day 5

Today, I went on a school visit to:

-Ateneo de Manila University – Dept. of Information System & Computer Science, Katipunan, QC

-UP – Dept. of Computer Science, Diliman, QC

Today is our last day in Manila. The night before our day 5, we already prepared and packed our things to be ready for tomorrow. In the morning, I never thought that I’d wake up late maybe because I was still tired and exhausted from last night’s activity. So I hurriedly get ready of myself and after we ate our breakfast at the Kabayan Hotel, we headed straight to Quezon City to visit the Ateneo de Manila University for our first school visit. But before we went to ADMU, since we’re on our way to Quezon City, we stopped over on PBB House and have some pictures there. In ADMU, we visit the Dept. of Information System & Computer Science. We had a short orientation there. They introduced to us their latest technology that their students were using in developing their projects. They also introduced to us some research studies of their students there. After our short orientation, we had a short tour to their offices and laboratories there. We also had a chance to visit the ADMU Store where they sold tshirts, accessories, and school supplies - in expensive prices. After our school visit at ADMU, we went to our next school visit which was in UP Diliman. We visit and had a tour to their Dept. of Computer Science. They introduced to us their different sections in Computer Science. Each section introduced and discussed to us their research projects. We all got amazed by the projects they had done and to the accomplishments they had achieved. After that tour, we had our lunch at the UP Diliman. Since it is our departure to Davao City that day in 5pm, so we headed straight to NAIA Terminal.

What I learned?

What I had learned in ADMU during our school visit is that, they really do excel in their technologies through the cool stuffs like Oculus, Google Glass and other stuffs that they are using for the advancement of their projects. It is really an advantage to all students in ADMU to have that kind of technologies. They can make use of it and it also serves as a tool in developing their projects. It is also an advantage to have a good facilities like in ADMU, in their computer laboratories, they have faster internet access and better processors unlike the others schools I have already known.

In UP Diliman, I learned that they have a categorized strategy for those students developing their thesis projects and I kind of like it because you can definitely focus on what field you most excel at, so in that case you can master what you really intend to focus and most especially, you can enjoy what you really wanted.

What I liked?

I liked both the ADMU and UP Diliman because of their environment. It was very clean and modern. Both of the companies are big and spacious enough for their own good. At ADMU, I liked the facility were we had our short orientation, they have fast processors there in each units of their PCs and they also had fast internet connection, where the Facebook is not blocked. I also like the cool stuffs that they introduced to us, especially the oculus and the google glass. In UP, I liked how they welcomed us and accommodated us. I liked how they share their different information about their projects and I find the students there are approachable.

What I didn’t like?

At ADMU, the only thing that I didn’t like is that they were not so prepared for their presentation and I don’t sense it that they really welcomed us at their school. At UP, there is nothing that I didn’t like there because it was all satisfactory and informative.

APPENDIX

What can I recommend for the improvement of the advance seminar program of USEP?

As for me, I would like to recommend the Model A as one of the choices of the students who will take up the FTS subject next year because it is proven and tested that the ICT Companies in Manila were far better than here in Mindanao. And for sure they will learn a lot of things and be inspired by great IT enthusiast to also become a successful individual. I would also recommend the Maynilad Tours to be the tour guide company that they will choose because as what I had experienced from our tour guide, they’re all approachable, friendly and most especially, very accommodating. I would also recommend that they should also take the same itinerary that we have. They should choose a good company that will surely welcome and accommodate them.

My advice to those who will take their advance seminar program in the near future.

For those students who will be taking up the FTS subject which is the major field trip, the advice that I would give to them is that to cooperate and especially don’t be shy to ask questions or any clarifications regarding to each company that they will visit in order to learn and understand what they intend to share. Also, they should not forget to take pictures in every company that they will visit. They must follow the rules and regulations in each company and don’t mess around. They should instill in their minds that this trip is not just all for fun but also more on learning a lot.

Pictures

Day 1:

Accenture, Inc. IBM, Ayala Technohub