OVERVIEW
Field Trip and Seminars, based on the definition of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_trip, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment. The purpose of the trip is usually observation for education, non-experimental research or to provide students with experiences outside their everyday activities, such as going camping with teachers and their classmates.
Just last September 20-25, we had a Field Trip and Seminars in Metro Manila. Field Trip and Seminars is one of our courses for this semester. We are the second batch who took this course. This was added to our curriculum with the aim of educating us about the new technologies that different large companies are using.
During our 5-day trip, we visited different companies around Metro Manila. Though the companies differ in nature from one another, the common thing about them is that they use technology in improving the productivity of their company. Each company prepared a couple of presentations about their company and the different technologies they are using. They also gave us the chance to see these technologies and gave us details about it.
We have planned for the Field Trip and Seminars for a couple of months. We paid quite a large amount of money that is due for all our expenses for the trip. But I must say that all the efforts and the amount we paid are worth it. I went to Manila not sure of what will happen to me after graduation or if I really want to be in this field, but I went home to Davao loving myself for choosing Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and I am now sure that a bright future awaits me. In our visit to the different companies, I saw that there are different things that an IT person can do and I love it. Each day of the trip made our minds full with different new knowledge about our field. The whole trip fired up my passion for what I am doing.
DAY 1
September 20, 2011, Tuesday, was the first day of our Field Trip to Manila which we have been planning for months. I woke up early out of excitement and maybe because I was afraid that I might get left behind. At around 4:20 in the morning, my classmates and I were already gathered in front of the airport. It took almost an hour for all of us to check in. After all of us have checked in, we stayed in the terminal and waited for our flight. At around 6:20, we boarded the plane. I was excited and at the same time nervous because it was my first time to ride an airplane. The one and a half hour trip went on smoothly.
At 8:15, we arrived at Manila. Outside the airport, our bus was waiting for us along with Ma’am Mae Ann and Kuya Byron—our tour guide. We went directly to our first company visit at the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company at Mandaluyong City. We had our breakfast on board during our travel to PLDT because we were in a rush to arrive at PLDT on time. We didn’t want to be late because from what we heard, PLDT is strict, especially when it comes to schedules and time. Good thing we arrived at PLDT at exactly 9:00 in the morning. We explored the Innovation Laboratory and Telecommunications Education Center of PLDT or simply known as the Innolab. The first part of the tour was all about the history of PLDT. The guide discussed about how PLDT started and the different ages PLDT had gone through. PLDT had been in the business for around 83 years. Since its beginning, PLDT faced a couple of obstacles and had even fallen but was able to rise again. And this time, PLDT started to grow rapidly. The company was a great help in the economy of our nation. It was able to employ quite a large number of Filipino. From 1998 up to the present, the Chairman of the Board of PLDT is Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan, also known as Manny, a Filipino business man. Along the rapid change of technology, PLDT was able to cope with it. They use these new technologies to improve the service they can offer and develop the products that they can give. PLDT had grown. Smart, the largest wireless network provider in the Philippines is now, PLDT’s sister company. The second part of our visit to PLDT was a short presentation from Mr. Edmund Mamboyo. In the presentation he said that PLDT is only selling the wire that is connected to the telephone of their customer and that the service they offer is optional. He discussed about the networking of PLDT around the country. He was also able to mention about the Fiber to the Home or FTTH which they will be launching this year. According to PLDT, FTTH uses fiber optic technology which transmits data via light signals sent through hair-thin strands of pure glass. Instead of the usual copper going to the homes of customers, thin fiber optic cables will be used. The new platform will be able to deliver simultaneously voice, video and data services at much higher speeds and larger capacities than DSL or cable technologies. They also said that it is a quantum leap forward in terms of broadband services and that it demonstrates PLDT’s commitment to offer its customers cutting edge communication technologies. When Mr. Mamboyo finished his presentation, I thought that we were already done with our first company visit but I was wrong. The third and last part of the trip was the part I liked the most. They showed us the different technologies that they are using and some technologies that they are working on and will be launched in the near future. They are developing technologies that will surely improve every aspect of people’s lives. PLDT is currently developing different technologies for homes and businesses. Our visit to PLDT filled our brains with knowledge and information with new things regarding the use technology. I just feel that it lacks a little more because though they were able to show us the technologies they are developing, they were not able to tell us much about it maybe because of some confidentiality reasons. At around 12:30 in the afternoon, our first company visit was done.
After our visit, we had our lunch, still on board. But unlike our breakfast, we were really able to taste our food in the lunch. We did not have to rush because our next company visit is scheduled at 2:30 in the afternoon and we still have a lot of time. After everyone finished eating we headed our way to SPI Servisoft at Paranaque City. Though the trip to Paranaque was quite long, we were not bored because of Kuya Byron. He was like a walking history book. I bet he knows everything about all the cities of Metro Manila. He keeps on telling us things about all the remarkable places that we pass through. And every time he wants us to see something, he’ll point at it and say, “There oh”. Our travel time was about a quarter of an hour. We arrived early and were still ahead of our scheduled visit time. Kuya Byron negotiated with someone from SPI if we could start our visit to their company earlier than what was scheduled. Luckily SPI agreed. The first part of the visit was a presentation. They discussed about what SPI Servisoft is all about. SPI Servisoft is a BPO or Business Process Outsourcing. A BPO, from the definition of wikipedia.com, is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. SPI offers a host of IT-oriented services that support the creation, conversion, management, and presentation of enterprise content to deliver cost-effective business solutions and improved business performance. They also discussed about the networking in their company and about the System Development Life Cycle or SLDC which is a conceptual model that describes the stages involved in an information system development. After the presentation, they gave us a tour around different workplaces in their company. Every workplace is divided into teams. Each team has a task different from the others. They introduced us to some people who are the team leaders of a team and they gave us an idea of what their team is doing. I was amazed with one of the workplaces which work with how the books look like. I thought arranging the content of a book is easy but I guess I was wrong. I saw that the people on that place were really serious and focused on what they’re doing. It seems like they need a deep concentration. We finished our visit at SPI with a picture taking with some of their employees. I did not like that much the first part of the visit. The presentation seemed an orientation for new employees. What I liked on the visit was the tour but they were not able to explain thoroughly what every workplace does and how does it work. At around 5:00, we were already done with our company visit for the first day of our field trip.
Base on our itinerary, after every company visit, we will have a shopping in different malls. Immediately after our visit to SPI, we went to the biggest mall in Asia—the SM Mall of Asia. We did a little walking around the mall. I did not enjoy that much because I was already exhausted from the day’s activity and all I wanted to do was to take a rest. At around 7:30 in the evening, everyone was already in the bus. We started our way to Kabayan Hotel where we will be spending staying for the whole duration of the trip.
When we arrived at the hotel, we went directly to our rooms. We took a quick rest before going to dinner. We had our dinner only at the hotel. The food was delicious and it made me full. Somehow, I regained my energy. We decided that since we are already in Manila, we will take this opportunity to see different places. We were also told that there are night markets where different stuffs were sold at a very cheap cost. After our dinner, we decided to go to Baclaran Church. Our side trip took about two hours. When we returned to the hotel it was almost 11:00 in the evening. When I lay down my bed, it did not take long for me to go to sleep and the first day of our Field Trip was over.
DAY 2
September 21, 2011, Wednesday— second day of our educational trip. Our day started early. We all woke up at 4:30 in the morning. We prepared ourselves for today’s activity—the Philippine Youth Congress in Information Technology or Y4IT. The Y4IT is considered the biggest IT gathering in the country. Its aim is to provide a venue where IT experts and practitioners, industry players and academics can share to students and computer enthusiasts alike current researches, trends and developments in IT and hopefully inspire audiences to take the forefront in shaping the future of the Philippine IT industry. We had our breakfast in the hotel. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 6:30 in the morning. It was still 6:00 when everyone was already in the bus so we departed earlier than what was scheduled. When we arrived at UP Diliman, the event did not started yet but the place was already very crowded. We went to the University Theater. At around 9:00 in the morning, the congress started. The welcome remarks was given by no other than our dearest instructor, Sir Randy S. Gamboa. The key note was given by Vicente Sotto III, senator of the Philippines. After Mr. Sotto’s speech, we had a break. We went outside the theater to get some food. When we returned, someone was singing and I was shocked to see that it was Liezel Drillion and Hansen from the Philippine Dream Academy. After we were refreshed by the intermission number, the congress went on to the program. The topic was about game development. Two speakers, both from the International Game Developer’s Association, discussed about the topic. Every talk or speech was short to make sure that everything in the schedule would be followed.
Around 12:00 noon, the first part of the congress was finished. Outside the theater, there was a stall giving out freebies, and because it was still early for our scheduled lunch, we took the time to grab the opportunity. We returned to our bus and had lunch. I must say that, so far, every meal served to us makes us very full that’s why I also call our field trip a “Filled” trip.
After an hour of lunch break, we went back for the continuation of the congress. This time, we went to the Film Institute. When we entered the Film Institute, someone was already giving her talk. The speaker, Mr. Yung-Cheol Bun, from Jeju National University, discussed about Smart Life and Smart Applications. It was fun. Everything that he needs to do is in his phone. He discussed his activities in a day and talk about how Smart Life and Smart Applications can help him in every activity. The next topic was about competitive computing. After the talk, we had a break. We went out of the Film Institute but instead of returning, we went to another building. We went to the Bahay ng Alumni. We did not sit down and listen to different speakers this time. We just went to see the different exhibitors. The congress did not last long. We decided to ride the UP Ikot—the name of the jeepneys inside the campus. We went to see the famous UP oblation. We had a picture taking and headed our way back to the bus. Before we went to Trinoma Mall, we stopped by a souvenir shop inside UP. We also had a picture taking again in the oblation, this time with the whole class. We also went to the famous Pinoy Big Brother House and took some pictures outside. And finally, we went to Trinoma. What I liked about the mall is that it has a mini park inside. After two hours of window shopping, we went back to the hotel. On our way back, everyone fell asleep, of course except the driver.
We had our dinner, still at the hotel and just like the first day, no matter how tired we were, we decided to go on a side trip. After dinner we went out to experience riding the MRT/LRT. It was again a first time for me and it was really fun. After strolling down the streets, we decided to return to the hotel. This time, MRT/LRT stations are already closed so we rode a bus. We arrived at the hotel before 11:00 in the evening. As I lay down my bed, sleep easily found its way to me and the second day of our trip was over.
DAY 3
September 22, 2011, Thursday-- third day of our field trip. Just like the day before, our day started early. We prepared ourselves for another company visit. We ate our breakfast at the hotel. We waited on the bus, when we were already complete; we started our way to our next company visit.
Fluor Daniel is located in Alabang. Just by riding the elevator, I can see that this is a great company to work in. Just like the other companies, Flour prepared a presentation. The first topic discussed was about the six things that a person must have in order to achieve success. Then they talked about the company overview. Fluor is one of the world’s leading publicly traded engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management companies. They also discussed about the company’s IT Service Delivery. I liked it because the things that they discussed were all related to us. Before going on the next part of the visit, they gave us food and some souvenirs from their company. What I liked in our visit to Fluor was the tour around their company. We were able to see different workplaces inside the company and they also gave us the chance to see their data center. In the data center, it was unusually freezing. Someone from the company explained that it is to maintain the security of the place. The data center, of all places of the company is the one that must be greatly looked after. The employee discussed about the different devices in the data center and how each device works. We did not stay longer because we would soon turn to ice. In our visit to Fluor, I said to myself, “I would want to work here in the future”.
We had our lunch at a mall just near Fluor Daniels. Our next company visit was still scheduled at 2:00 in the afternoon. We still had a lot of time to stroll inside the mall. When we were already tired, we went back to the bus. We stayed in the bus for about an hour and watched a movie. It was raining outside.
At around 1:00 in the afternoon, we started heading our way to our next company visit—to the Department of Science and Technology. We arrived at DOST early so we started early than what was scheduled. Someone from DOST is a dabawenyo. He discussed about IP address, particularly about IPv4 which is slowly running out of addresses. The solution to this is the IPv6 which is a 128 bit addressing scheme. They also discussed about the different websites of DOST. The visit did not last long. We were again ahead of schedule so we decided to visit the DOST museum. It was full of different works of different Filipinos and the profiles of the famous Filipino scientists. After about an hour of roaming around the museum, it was time to proceed with our schedule. I did not like our visit to DOST. It was like we just went there to hear someone talk about IPv4 and IPv6. We already discussed it in the school.
At around 4:00 in the afternoon, we went to Market Market for our shopping schedule. We saw a stall of the famous Krispy Kreme. We agreed to have a taste of it. Inside the mall was a bazaar where items were sold at really cheap prices. We took the opportunity to buy some pasalubongs for our family and classmates. After about two hours of shopping, we got tired and decided to go back to the bus. When we were already complete, we started our way back to the hotel.
After dinner we had another side trip. This time, we went back to SM Mall of Asia but not to stroll around the mall but to go to San Mig by the Bay. It was the perfect place to really have fun. There were live bands playing in the restaurants, there were also stalls of food. It was a park just beside the bay. We stayed later this night. We arrived at the hotel just before it strikes 11:00 in the evening. We did not immediately went to sleep. Some of my classmates bought French fries from McDonald’s. We had a little chitchat before going back to our own rooms. At around 12:00 midnight, I lay down my bed and realized that the trip will soon be over. It made me sad and thinking about it made me fall asleep and the third day of our trip was over.
DAY 4
September 23, 2011, Friday—fourth day of our educational tour and also the last day of our company visits. Our day started later than the other days. We did our normal routines. We prepared ourselves and ate our breakfast at the hotel. Our scheduled company visit for this morning is at the Social Security System or SSS.
At around 8:30, we arrived at SSS. We were again ahead of schedule. We went inside and waited for them to finish their preparations. They prepared a presentation for us. They discussed about what social security is all about, what are the features of SSS, its coverage, its contributions, and all other stuffs about SSS. It also did not last that long. After the presentation, we had a picture taking together with some of the employees and then after, we had a tour to where different SSS transactions are held. I also did not like it because they discussed all about SSS and did not see its connection to us. I wanted to hear something from their IT department-- what are the things they do and how do they do it. Also, there was nothing in the tour. It was just like a typical trip to SSS when you transact or process your SSS membership. I was disappointed because I really wanted everything to happen great because its our last day for company visits.
At around 12:00 noon, we went to Tramway—an eat-all-you-can buffet located in Mandaluyong City. We had our lunch there. We ate for about an hour. We were very full when we returned to the bus. We still have more time for our next company visit so we went to Greenhills. I chose to stay on the bus because I was not feeling well. I slept for about a quarter of an hour when my classmates returned. When we were complete, we headed our way to the last company that we’re going to visit. At 2:00 in the afternoon, we arrived at Exist Global located in Ortigas Center. We started earlier than what was scheduled. They also prepared a presentation for us. But unlike some of the previous presentations in the other companies, their presentation really relates to us. They discussed about their company and how it works. They also discussed stuffs about what an IT people must be and must not be. I can see that they really value the people working for them. Though Exist is just simple and not that big, I can say that this is the company I want to work for. What I liked most about our visit to Exist is that they were able to satisfy my expectations. They have presented us with the things that we want and we need to know. I just wished that they had toured us around their workplace and explained to us the things that they do. At around 4:00 in the afternoon, our visit to Exist was over and our company visit was finally over.
We did not go to any mall after our visit to exist because we are going to Divisoria tonight and we’re planning to have an early dinner at a time to rest before we go to Divisoria for our shopping. On our way back to the hotel, my classmates and I had a game. Whoever loses will have a punishment. It was a good way for us to get to know each other more and to bond. The trip lasted an hour so we had an hour to get close to each other.
We went to our rooms immediately after we arrived at the hotel. After resting for a couple of minutes, we went to our classmate’s room and stayed there until it was time for dinner. We had our dinner at around 6:30 in the evening. At 7:00, we departed from to the hotel. The trip to Divisoria took about an hour. Everyone was silent inside the bus maybe because we were all tired and we were all sad because our field trip will end soon and we will go back to our normal lives. At 8:00 in the evening, we arrived at Divisoria. We were given until 11:00 in the evening to shop. We strolled around different stalls and were able to buy stuffs for ourselves and for our family and classmates. Before 11:00, raindrops started to fall and we were all forced to go back to the bus. When we were already complete, we went back to the hotel. When we were back in the hotel, everyone got busy preparing their things. We packed our things because we will be living early in the morning. After packing our things, we had another bonding moment because some of my classmates bought French fries and they shared it to everyone. At around 1:00 in the morning, we went back to our rooms. I lay down my bed and did not have the chance to think of anything because I was so tired I easily fell asleep.
DAY 5
September 24, 2011, Saturday—the last day of our field trip. Our day started later than all other days. We woke up at around 7:00 in the morning. We prepared ourselves, had our breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Today’s schedule was all about having fun. We went to Luneta Park. We had a picture taking together with the famous Rizal Monument. We also rode a kalesa. After going to Luneta Park, we went to the National Museum. There, we were able to see historical stuffs from a shipwreck. After two hours of strolling in the museum, it was time for us to go back to the bus. We are going to have our lunch at Tutuban Mall because we were also given the chance to have our shopping done. On our way there, we played again. We had so much fun and it made us real close to one another. We arrived at Tutuban Mall at around 12:00 noon. We immediately searched for a place to eat. We ate at McDonald’s. after our lunch, we started our shopping. At 3:30 in the afternoon, we were already back in the bus. We started our way to the airport. We spent the one hour trip just watching a movie because we all got tired from shopping. At exactly 4:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at the airport and it was time for us to say goodbye to our tour guides and to Metro Manila. We checked in at the airport an waited for our flight. We boarded our plane at around 6:30 in the evening and our plane took off. When we were already in the sky and as I watched the lights of Metro Manila slowly fading out of sight, I realized that the amount we paid for the trip was really worth it. It was a Filled trip not just because our stomachs are always full but it was also a trip full of knowledge, fun, and friendship. I hope I can experience this again.
DEVELOPERS CONNECT
Last September 7, 2011, Wednesday, we had our annual Icean Congress with Developers Connect or known as DevCon. The Field Trip and Seminars students together with the officers of the Society of Information Technology Students (SITS) and the Computer Science Society (CSS) prepared this event. In our chosen model for the Field Trip and Seminar, team building was a part of it. Instead of having the team building, because the FTS students were only few, we decided to have DevCon as an interpersonal skills seminar. The activity had two parts.
The first part was in the morning. The fourth year Bachelor of Science in Computer Science students had their thesis presentation. Different theses of the different groups were presented in front of the audience from first year to fourth year students both from Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The presentation lasted the whole morning.
The second part was in the afternoon. This was the part where people from DevCon presented to us different topics. They discussed about the new technologies they are using and developing.
After the presentations of the speakers, there was a Birds of Feathers. It was a debate on what operating system is the best. There were three groups with assigned operating system. The operating system assigned to them was Windows, Mac, and Linux. The Windows team won.
What I can recommend for the improvement of the Field Trip and Seminars program:
Base on my experience, I recommend that the event must be planned thoroughly and without haste. The company that the students would visit must really be thought of. They must be sure that they will gain the proper knowledge from that company.
My advice to those who will take their Field Trip and Seminars in the future:
My advice to the students who will take FTS is that they must take this opportunity to really learn. It will help a lot in firing up our passion in our chosen field. They must also enjoy their time because this will only happen once.
