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FEATI University IT department provides exclusive access for students through valuable partnerships with PSITE and Spiceworx
The Information Technology department of the FEATI College of Engineering has been extremely busy networking with valuable partners for the benefit of its students. Partners like PSITE and Spiceworx have proven to be assets for students wanting to go beyond the theoretical knowledge offered by the confines of the classroom. The Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators or PSITE is a professional association of information technology education practitioners in the Philippines.
Its members are primarily from the academe; teachers of computer science, information technology, information and communication technology, engineering, mathematics and other allied fields. However industrial practitioners, such as programmers, systems analysts, web developers and the like are welcomed as well ( for more information check out the PSITE website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Society_of_Information_Technology_Educators). Spiceworx is a Filipino-Japanese partnership that provides unique and high value-added services founded on deep knowledge and expertise in IT, IT Services and BPO industries (See http://www.spiceworx.com/).
The networking efforts have paid off for two FEATI IT students in particular, Dominique "Nikki" Joy Marasigan, and Jinno Penolio, both of whom are seniors.
Nikki and Jinno were given the opportunity to participate in and complete a 7-day training program, "Joint Global Business Training Program for Filipino and Japanese IT Professionals" held at the AIM Conference Center in Makati City. The objective of the training program was to expose IT students to current global business mindsets and the requisite skill sets. The program also served as a platform for reaching mutual understanding among Japanese and Filipino IT professionals.
During this program, Nikki and Jinno learned how to work in a team with a different cultural mindset and work ethic, even as they hurdled mental and physical tasks with aplomb. Points were earned by each team for completed tasks and these scores were translated into team standings on a daily basis. They also got practical tips on how to "sell" ideas as well as on the packaging of sales presentations. Each day for them meant informative lectures, interactive role plays, and physical exercises.
Looking back at this experience, Nikki says, "The training tested my ability beyond the classroom. As a member of a team, I had to learn to pull my own weight while collectively working on a task with the other team members. I had to assert my ideas in selling and negotiating in a way that was acceptable to my Japanese teammates so it was quite a juggling act. It felt good to earn their respect. Jinno also commented, "This training program taught me valuable insights that I can use once I start working professionally.
I must say that the entire time that I spent learning from the Spiceworx team was well worth every second. Spiceworx gave us so much in terms of knowing what it's like to be working in the corporate world. It's a plus to have made friends, too!"
"We are proud of Nikki and Jinno for this big step and extremely thankful to PSITE NCR and Spiceworx for helping institutional members like FEATI University. The access that they have so generously provided to us is paying off for our students. The take-away here is that Nikki and Jinno came out of the training program more capable students and more confident in their ability to work. The IT department's goal in 2012 is to widen our scope of partnerships so that more students can secure training programs especially those that are practically free-of-charge," states Engineer Jovy Lopez-Factor, Chairperson of FEATI University IT department. (AMD)
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