IT Is the Future

One of the reasons I put up this blog is to write IT (information technology) and related stuff for people (like me) who do not have formal education in IT. I thought having a blog of this type serves two purposes:

1. You get to relay to other individuals knowledge and information about IT in the simplest and clearest way possible.
2. You get to retain these knowledge in your memory bank because writing them down in forms like this one somehow helps you "memorize" them.

Anyway, I just want to share that a good friend of mine, Rico,  is taking a post-grad study in ICT (infomation and communication technology) education at the University of the Philippines Information and Technology Training Center or UP ITTC. He has started schooling (more like review sessions at the moment) and I think he is enjoying it but experiencing some challenges because of the pace of the discussion. But I have no doubts he can make it. :-)

http://ittc.up.edu.ph/

Anyway, the certificate course is a 1-year program divided into 4 quarters. They also have 3 specializations:  Applications Development, Network Systems, and Mobile Computing and Embedded Systems. Details of these specialization are provided below (just copied this from their Web site).

• Applications Development: This focuses on application software development. Students will learn how to develop software projects that conform to the IT industry's software engineering best practices. Students will be trained on different programming languages such as Java including Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), PHP, C/C++, and PL-SQL among others. Moreover, they will learn how to use database engines such as Oracle, MySQL, MS Access and PostgreSQL. Web development is another aspect of this track where students will be exposed to different web technologies like HTML, XML, JavaScript, and CSS. They will undergo training on application security to hone their skills on designing and implementing secure software. After graduating, they will be capable software engineers, web developers, and database administrators.
• Network Systems: This focuses on network design and management. Students will learn how to design and implement local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) not only by simulation but also through actual implementation. The students will be able to use our network systems facilities, whose equipment alone costs PhP 20M. They will learn how to configure network devices such as routers, switches, firewalls and VOIP phones just to name a few. Students for this track will have hands-on practice on deploying internet services such as DNS, web, mail, DHCP and other such services. In addition, students will be exposed to network management tools like Nessus and MRTG. Network security is another key aspect of this track where students will understand the importance of securing a network against known vulnerability attacks. Network programming is also an integral part for it lets the students understand network protocols such as UDP and TCP better. After graduating, they will be capable systems administrators, network administrators, network engineers, and network programmers.
• Mobile Computing and Embedded Systems: This focuses on development for embedded systems. Students will learn the fundamentals of electronics as well as computer organization and architecture. Low-level programming for embedded systems such as C and Assembly are necessary but high-level programming like J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) is also essential. The students will also get to work with real-time operating systems particularly the ITRON 4.0 specification and embedded Linux. Students will also be taught different technologies on microprocessor-based systems, HDL-based digital design and Linux device drivers. One of the privileges of taking this track is that they get to work on different hardware platforms namely ZILOG, M16C (motorolla) with Study I/O board, and the ARM11 board. After graduating, they will be capable embedded systems engineers, embedded systems analysts, and device driver specialists.

If you are interested, you might want to visit their Web site here.