COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING – An electronics and communications engineering (ECE) faculty member attended the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program’s (SWEEP) 12-day Faculty Immersion Program held in Bantay, Ilocos Sur on May 28-June 8.

Abegail E. Ruiz was one of the 20 participants from SWEEP partner schools who were given opportunity to work in Smart as ‘tempo’ or on-the-job trainee engineers. They were given a pro-rated allowance during the weeklong immersion program which included content/technology discussion and training with Smart engineering groups like Network Operations Center and Network Operations and Maintenance.

The SWEEP Faculty Immersion Program is a training exposure given to faculty members from SWEEP partner schools for them to learn professional skills related to electronics and communications engineering (ECE) subjects by working in an actual workplace. Some of the topics discussed during the program were: 2g, 3G, HSDPA, and Smart Bro; test equipment familiarization on data tester and SWEEP tester; transmission;  preventive maintenance routine; and field operations activities.

The 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 ECE. The program is designed to complement the school’s existing ECE programs by providing training and lectures on the latest developments in wireless technologies. It was launched on March 28, 2003 with the inauguration of the first wireless laboratory at the Bulacan State University. To date, Smart has signed memoranda of agreement and installed wireless laboratories in 8 universities and 1 training institution in NCR; 10 universities in Northern Luzon including MMSU; 4 in Southern Luzon; 10 in the Visayas; and 8 in Mindanao.    

With the program, Smart believes that ECE graduates of SWEEP partner schools would be better equipped to work in the telecommunications industry. Also, they would not only have access to cellular equipment for training but also first-hand exposure to the practical experience of Smart engineers in building and operating the country’s most extensive digital mobile phone network.