After a 10-day immersion program with engineers from the telco 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," says 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."
Last summer, 37 teachers were deployed as temporary engineers in facilities of Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) across the country. Bulay-og and two other teachers made up the very 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).
Fully sponsored by SMART, the faculty immersion program has been running since 2006. The teachers, who receive an allowance that covers 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," says Alvin Tio of SMART’s Network Services Division.
Unlike Bulay-og who is based in Cagayan, Constantino 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 spent seven days in Cagayan where SMART has the complete network," relates Tadea. Then, they traveled back to Zamboanga and spent the last three days in a local facility.
"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 shares. " 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."
Their activities included performing test call procedures. "This is how the engineers check if the lines are still working. It took us newcomers about three hours to do it." Tadea says they also learned about cross-mapping connections. "Say a cell site in one place can’t send the calls, the engineers can cross-connect to a different site so that the calls can still go through."
Tio adds that aside from the regular 8:30 am to 5:30 pm schedule, his trainees also experienced the 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm shift. "They experienced the realities of the job, including corrective maintenance during a critical situation."
After returning to Zamboanga, Tadea relates they were exposed to the transmission medium and the physical components of the cell sites. "We also went to the downtown area to check out ultra sites along the roads, some of which are attached to electric posts. Ultra sites facilitate the calls made from areas that may be too low for cell sites, which are located at a high point."
Tadea says he really values the exposure. "It’s a worthwhile experience. Going through the day-to-day tasks of the SMART engineers was a lot of help. Sometimes, when we felt we were in danger of information overload, we’d ask for a coffee break. But even breaks were opportunities to explain the concepts better. Even when we were in the hotel, we’d exchange ideas and share our experiences in school." /MP
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