Saturday, August 09, 2008 Mindanao teachers complete communications tech training
AFTER a 10-day immersion program with engineers from the telecommunications industry, Lory Liza Bulay-og is all set to further upgrade her classes at Xavier University’s College of Engineering.
“Now, I can better explain and even draw the setup of a cellular system,” said Bulay-og, who teaches communication systems analysis and design in the Cagayan De Oro-based university.
The exposure has given her more confidence. “When my students ask about practical examples like why a mobile phone call doesn’t get through, I can answer with authority and explain if it’s a fault of the system or of the cell phone itself,” she said.
Last summer, 37 teachers were deployed as temporary engineers in facilities of Smart Communications Inc. across the country. Bulay-og and two other teachers made up the first group to be trained at the Switching Center in Cagayan de Oro City.
The faculty immersion program is a component of Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (Sweep). Sweep is a first-of-its-kind industry-academe partnership that seeks to improve the level of technology and engineering education in the country, particularly in the field of electronics and communications engineering (ECE).
Sponsored by Smart, the faculty immersion program has been running since 2006. The teachers, who receive an allowance (covering living expenses including transportation), participate in office-based activities and fieldwork.
Each group of teachers is managed by an engineer-in-charge who familiarizes them with equipment and procedures through lectures and hands-on activities.
“Our objectives include helping them learn the details of GSM implementation so that they can better explain this in the classroom,” said Alvin Tio of Smart’s Network Services Division.
Unlike Bulay-og who is based in Cagayan, Cons-tantino Tadea, Jr. and Enrique Uniana had to travel from Zamboanga.
Tadea teaches in Ateneo De Zamboanga University while Uniana comes from Universidad de Zamboanga.
“We learned a lot under engineer Tio, who familiarized us with the hardware, including the core elements of the mobile switching center, which controls text messages and voice calls,” Tadea said. “We learned about the different call scenarios for prepaid and post-paid accounts. We also found out how the system checks the balance of a prepaid number before it allows a text message or call to get through.” (PR)
