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Events, Events, Events

I consider the past week as one of the busiest week on my calendar, aside from my chocolate business that was in full swing with orders for chocolate roses (I was barely sleeping a week before valentines) Monday February 12, 2007 was the start of the Engineering Week in PUP and the 3rd Student IT Conference which opened last February 15, 2007. I got the opportunity to visit events that are both relevant to me as a member of the academe and as an entrepreneur, The Expo Estudyante 2007@ Gateway Mall Trade Hall and the Weddings & Debut 2007 @ the SM Megatrade Hall.

3rd Student’s Conference on Information Technology
February 15-21, 2007 Computer Engineering, PUP Sta. Mesa
This one week conference on Information Technology for the computer engineering students of PUP is one of my babies. I got the idea of organizing an IT conference for students June of 2004, I realized that seminars and conferences on information technology is geared mostly towards IT professionals and businesses and there is a lack of events intended for students, many of my students asks me to let them attend IT events with me for I usually have access to some IT events.

I realized IT seminars if open to the public sometimes carry a high registration fee that students usually can’t afford, thus this pushed me to organize an IT conference for students that would allow students access to seminars on the latest technology trends and experience the feel of a real professional event. I organized it with my class and in cooperation with the student organization in which I am an adviser and conducted the First Student IT Conference January 2005 and the second one last January 2006.

And now that it is being conducted for the third year is a very important milestone for me, for this year I am no longer the organizer/adviser for the event. I get to savor it, for now I know that even if I am no longer part of the conference that I started and nurtured for two years it is already stable and is now a part of the our students’ school lives and will be eagerly anticipated in the years to come.

Expo Estudyante 2007 (1st Expo in Technical Vocational Education & Training)
February 16-18, 2007 Gateway Trade Hall, Gateway Mall, Cubao, Q.C.

I got the invitation for this event through email from JOBSDB.com but I did not thought I could visit the expo due to the busy week I am having and asked my students to check it out, I accidentally dropped by when I was with my son and my father eating in Cubao friday afternoon and happen to see the dragon dance being performed at Araneta Center and started to follow it as it went inside the Gateway Mall. We stopped following it when it went up to the cinemas and I realized I was at the entrance to the Trade Expo. So with my three-year old son in tow my father and I went inside.

The expo is free and open to the public there were more that 30 booths occupied by schools and companies offering trainings on technical and vocational courses. It was very diverse, there were IT schools, culinary schools, call centers, nursing schools and vocation schools and even schools for fashion and modeling. It was geared not just for the young people but also for the OFWs and budding entrepreneurs promising to train you so you can start your own business even my father enjoyed it, and remarked that if he was younger he would have taken the welding course offered by TESDA. I was almost enrolled in a 6 week course on English(so I can teach Koreans and other nationalities the English language which they say is a good part time job)by a company, I though it was free, hehehe.

There was also a mini stage set up where short demos and seminars were conducted for the public when we were there they were preparing the stage for the demo on practical nursing. The students who attended were really enjoying themselves.

Weddings & Debut 2007
February 16-18, 2007 SM Megatrade Hall SM Megamall

I regularly check out events at the SM Megatrade Hall and this event is one that I planned to visit since January. I went to the event last Saturday to see for myself if there is a market for my products as event giveaways, check out the competition and to meet with one of my client as the same time. I was impressed with the participants they were there to impress and inspire people on the look out for wedding suppliers. I realized that the Wedding and Events Management industry is booming, they are really thriving judging by the number of people visiting the booths (even though the event is not free) and by the quality and number of exhibitors. The mood is love, and the promise that you will really have it all, be a princess for a day, ride off in the sunset was there. I even remembered my own wedding.

I could not believe there were invitations costing almost 10,000php and photography packages were like you were planning to have your own movie made, but people were really interested. This industry have really have come a long way, there were few events management agents when I was married 7 years ago and the choices for venues now are many, not like before where you only have hotels to choose from.

For me it was time well spent, got my ideas and even know the prices and packages my competitors. All in all it was a very busy and fruitful week and I am happy about it.

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