EFFECTIVE INFORMATION technology (IT) took centerstage in “KinEITics,” an annual student conference organized by the Management Information Systems Association (MISA) on September 21 to 22 at the Robinsons Cybergate Tower 2, Mandaluyong City.
Focusing on the role of information technology in the process of nation-building, KinEITics covered four of today’s key issues: online marketing, e-learning, effective communication through mobile and web technologies, and green IT.
Anton Diaz, owner of Filipino food and travel blog OurAwesomePlanet.com, Jose Lloyd Espiritu, Ph.D., former dean of the College of Computer Studies of De La Salle University, Yehey! Chief Executive Officer Donald Lim, and representatives from Chevron, an energy company, spoke during the conference.
The conference also highlighted the youth’s potential in using IT as a tool for progress. “Sometimes we’re into politics, we’re just into business, but we don’t see our opportunity in IT,” said Project Director Francine Elaine Gomendoza (III BS MIS) in a mix of English and Filipino.
Students fromtop universities in Metro Manila, and some provinces, attended KinEITics. A presentation of project proposals, which served as an application of insights learned at the conference, capped the event.
Blog tourism, e-learning
In the conference, Diaz explained how blogs can be marketed and used to generate income. His food and travel blog, Our Awesome Planet, enabled him to drop out of his former job in Proctor and Gamble, since the blog provided a better source of revenue, he said.
“[Diaz] markets about the great places in the Philippines, puts them in his blog, so people worldwide can [read] about them. [In that way], when people read the blog they know which [places] to visit,” said Gomendoza.
She added that Diaz’s blog serves as an example of how blog tourism can boost the country’s tourism industry.
Espiritu, who is part of the team who pioneered eSkwela, an educational program for out-of-school youth, emphasized how IT, as a communication tool, is also used to spread knowledge in the form of e-learning.
“Yung mga public schools, hindi gaano nabibigyan ng funds… konti lang talaga yung nakakatapos ng college (Public schools are not given enough funds… only a few are able to finish college). That’s why we chose e-learning [as a topic],” said Gomendoza.
Marketing, thinking green
Lim, of all-Filipino Web portal Yehey!, also discussed different strategies, such as viral marketing, that an IT professional can use when marketing on the internet. Meanwhile, representatives from Chevron explained how the company practices green IT, through efficient use of energy.
Chevron also discussed career advancing, which, according to Gercelane Dioquino, a participant and fourth year IT student from the University of Sto. Tomas, was the best part of the conference. “As graduating students we tend to think of… the future, what are the companies, sino yung pwede apply-an ([which companies] we could apply to),” she said.
Harvey Keh, director for youth leadership and social entrepreneurship of the Ateneo School of Government, also spoke during the conference to emphasize the youth’s responsibility in the nation’s progress.
“What struck me [in the conference] is in our own little way, we can make a big difference in solving the problems of our country, with the use of IT,” said Ryan Dale Bondoc (III BS MIS), another participant.
Not only IT
“As you can see, IT is everywhere. So we can’t deny that it’s imbibed in the way we live our lives,” said MISA President Mark Alvin Valdoria (IV BS MIS).
Bondoc said that the speakers spoke through experience—“[their] experience with regards to dealing with problems and how IT helped them in solving those problems.”
He added that Ateneans can contribute to nation-building not only through IT, but through other fields as well. “Our problems right now come from all directions. We need a comprehensive approach,” said Bondoc.
