Company Visit: NetworkLabs

As part of our IT-EXPO class, we get to visit NetworkLabs in UP Ayala Land Technohub last March 8, 2013, which is a joint venture of Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) with various partners to establish a Research and Development center to support the operations of Nokia Siemens Network. They provide software solutions and application support for the many projects that NSN undertakes. 

We were accommodated by DLSU alumni, Mr. Alvanson So and Mr. Marlon Tong. 

Mr. Alvanson So (picture below), an HR staff, briefed us on what NetworkLabs is, what they do, and where they currently stand. He also showed us some of NetworkLabs' software (for attendance, recruiting, borrowing of rooms/equipments) that HR is using to efficiently carry out the process in the department. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Marlon Tong (picture below), the line manager and Software Engineer of NetworkLabs, answered our questions regarding the company. 

With fellow IT-EXPO students

Mrs. Arcilla and Ms. Abesamis together with the speakers after giving the certificate and token of appreciation 

Afterwards, we were given the chance to tour the two-story office of NetworkLabs! \m/

 Upon entering the lobby, this is the first room that caught my attention. The exam room where applicants will take the exam, and also where employees get their foods. 

1st floor - golf themed (picture above) and 2nd floor (picture below) office

Trivia: all employees regardless of their positions work at the same place, there is no special room for employees with high position (this is to show that all individuals are equal)

Here are some of the hang-out spots or meeting place within the office:

Of course, there's also a pantry where employees can enjoy their lunch and take a time off to relax! 

1st floor pantry - Boracay-ish setting

Perks of working at NetworkLabs? XBOX!!!

... and Karaoke room! 

2nd floor pantry - Finland-ish setting

The tour wouldn't be complete without pictures with friends and classmates...

 NetworkLabs most definitely became one of my chosen companies after the tour. I can see that they provide the best experience for their employees by transforming the office as though it is their home. Also, they treat each other as equal individuals which I think is a good practice. 

* Some pictures grabbed from JJ Granada

Brady Company Visit

The first ever IT-EXPO Company Visit was at Brady, Mandaluyong, which was scheduled last March 1 from 9:00AM to 12:00PM. 

We were greeted and welcomed warmly by the friendly Brady staffs. (AN1MO!☆)

Ms. Caroline Co, one of Brady's HR staff, showed us a very informative clip made by Ms. Kiran Budhrani and other DLSU students that features Brady's Call Center. 

Afterwards, she introduced the speaker who happens to be visiting the Philippines, Mr. Allan Goh.

Mr. Allan Goh, the IT Manager of Brady Singapore, discussed Brady's IT infrastructure, and the role of IT in call centers. 

He also predicted the top 5 technological trends for 2013-2015: 
1. Consumerization and Mobility, 
2. Big Data, 
3. Hybrid Clouds, 
4. Reducing IT complexity, and 
5. Integration of Social Media

Lastly, Mr. Goh shared the key success factors in an IT career which is based from Microsoft's survey of 500 IT executives. 61% said that soft skills were more important than IT skills. Some of the soft skills are:

• strong work ethic
• positive attitude
• good communication skills
• time management abilities
• problem-solving skills
• interpersonal relation
• self-confidence
• working well under pressure 

And the most interesting part of the company visit was, of course, the tour!

Locker room of employees (employees are not allowed to use their cellphones
inside the office so they need to put it in the locker)

Brady's Sports fest award which is separated by departments

The almost empty office of Brady (employees come in at afternoon)


While touring, Ms. Caroline happily answered our questions

 What intrigued us the most was the room names in the company which were named after famous destinations/getaways in the Philippines (e.g. Boracay Room, Baguio Room, El Nido Room). 

And, interestingly, they have a male and female sleeping quarters which consists of several beds to accommodate their employees most especially those who came from the province. Not only that, tired employees can take some time off to rest in the sleeping quarters. 

Free Krispy Kreme! 

      Some pictures taken with my IT-EXPO group mates

                

 

Freebies from Brady (Shirt and Notebook w/ Pen) + Prize of Chopsticks with Spoon & Fork

S15 IT-EXPO class w/ Ms. Pauline Abesamis, Ms. Caroline Co and Mr. Allan Goh

                                       
* Some pictures grabbed from Jan Marvin Tee

The influence of media in campaigning

As we all know, media is a very effective factor in reaching out to a large audience by mass communication. There are several types of media such as: broadcast media, print media, Internet media, etc. 

Broadcast media or electronic media electronically sends information via television, radio, film, movies, CDs, DVDs, and the like. 

Print media uses newspaper, magazines, comics, books, brochures, newsletters, leaflets, and pamphlets in relaying information. 

Internet media is very famous because it provides many services: social media, email, websites, blogging, and Internet.

When it comes to media's influence on campaigning, it can be proven to be a very huge factor since we get to know more of the good and bad personality of the candidate while at the same time hearing the voices of the populace regarding their thoughts and opinions toward a certain candidate. Also, media can be the bridge between the voters and the candidates because it will help the candidates in explaining their platform and the leadership skills they possess in order for them to win the vote of the nation. There is also a so-called negative campaigning which is the most influential and will probably be most remembered by the voters because it reveals unfavorable information concerning a candidate (Lane, 2007). 

An example will be of Senator Sotto who lifted verbatim lines from four bloggers and said it as if it was his own words without even quoting it and denying the plagiarism accusations afterwards. The senator also used John Kennedy's words and "tagalized" it without again quoting from the author which resulted to another plagiarism issue and a huge fuss in the social media. 

So if it were me to decide whether or not to use media during campaign periods even if it brings bad image to certain candidates, my answer would be, YES TO MEDIA! 

* all images were grabbed from Google

Health Information System Seminar

As part of the IT-EXPO requirement and alternative class, I attended the Health Information System (HIS) Seminar held at Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Makati. 

Asian Institute of Management just in front of Greenbelt 1

When we (me and my friends) first arrived at AIM, we were relieved to see a parking lot beside the building. However, the guard on duty did not allow us to park the car and told us to park somewhere else instead. Luckily, AIM was just in front of Greenbelt 1 so we went there and easily found a parking space.

GDLC room where the seminar was conducted

Surprisingly, there were many unfamiliar faces at the HIS Seminar which I thought will be for us IT-EXPO students only but there were many guests representing different companies.  

The first speaker was Mr. Alberto Romualdez, M.D. who talked about Reforming the Philippine Health System for Universal Health Care. First off, he identified the most important health problem in the Philippines which is the inequity in health outcomes whether it be in urban or rural areas. 

Currently, the Philippine government doesn't have an Information System that covers the health department. So, Mr. Romualdez hopes that someday the government will implement a National Health Information System.

The next and last speaker was Mr. Alvin Marcelo. He expounded on ways to establish a responsive national Health Information System. There are five elements that are important: governance, human resources, regulation, financing, and services. But according to him, "Everything emanates from good governance."

Key Messages:

• Health information is the glue that keeps the health system together.
• Governance of health information is a fundamental requirement for a responsive health system.
• A simple standards-based information architecture is crucial for adoption.
• Capability building programs must be offered to fast-track health information systems development.

The procedures and components that are used in Health Information System.

Possible modules and users of HIS (photo grabbed from Mr. Marcelo's presentation)

To end the seminar, there was an Open Forum for audience to ask questions

Dr. Ramon Patero (Open Forum facilitator) beside Mr. Marcelo who explained and answered questions 

To the delight of all seminar participants, there were snacks prepared after the seminar. As Mrs. Arcilla said, our mind and most especially our stomach were so full after the HIS talk. :D

Fish fillet, Calameres, and Pork Barbeque!! 

With my blockmates/blockfriends/companions ☺

The Health Information Systems Seminar was very comprehensive since both speakers elaborated on a broad aspect of the field. They explained the problems, solutions, and the effect that Health Information Systems will bring to the society. Not only that, they were also able to suggest possible programs or modules that can be implemented which will make a huge impact to the nation. 

Upon entering the lobby, we were first greeted by two receptionists (wow, sosy!) and the institutes' huge logo (picture at the right). I was surprised at how it doesn't feel like a school but a professional working place instead. I guess the reason behind this type of setting is to train and make graduate school students feel like they're already professionals and not just students. 

BlackBerry "pinoyBBdev" Seminar

Mr. John G. Bibal II of pinoyBBdev

Last July 7, 2012, we were required to attend a Blackberry Seminar for our MOBIDEV class. It was an introduction to developing applications for BlackBerry Smartphones that was conducted by Mr. John G. Bibal II of Philippine Blackberry Developer Group (pinoyBBdev). He was accompanied by volunteers from Blackberry and Novare Technologies.

First thing we did was install some software that was required in developing a BlackBerry application. It took us a whole morning to finish installing because we were not informed ahead of time that we need to install some software before we can proceed with the actual development. While we were installing the software, Mr. Bibal asked if there were any BlackBerry user among the audience and he gave a BB magnetic pin to each of those users. Afterwards, he discussed some facts about BlackBerry, its history, platform, etc.

It was lunch time when we finished installing the Eclipse and Ripple software. We were given a one hour lunch break before continuing with the actual application development.

We followed the workbook provided and asked the volunteers for assistance while doing the step-by-step procedures. The workbook consists of four walkthroughs that we need to follow: reviewing online resources, setting up the development environment, creating and testing a new BlackBerry WebWorks Application and creating and testing a new BlackBerry Java Application. We were able to do the walkthroughs with the help of the volunteers who were there to assist us whenever we have questions or have encountered problems/errors.

pinoyBBdev workbook

The shirt I won during the seminar :D

The seminar was a great opportunity for us, Information Systems students, because we are tackling mobile application development as a partial fulfilment of our course. After the seminar, we now have a broader idea on how to develop BlackBerry applications and its difference in developing Windows applications.