Busy week for us at the Y4IT.

But don't ask me to comment on the presentations and the speeches. Truth be told, even if I could, I'd never want to be in either speaker or students' shoes because the programme was packed. As a speaker, you'd have to wage a battle trying to get your message across to an audience soaked in an atmosphere of teen adventure. Literally, you'd have to hit a home run with each slide, tone of voice and content for that matter. As an audience member, good luck as you would be continuously bombarded not just by information but sensory overload from all sides. It really would be a feat to stay focused trying to learn and distill wisdom and insights amidst the hoopla and the crowd.

And how was it from the booth?

Busy, too but at least the chance to connect more personally with visitors albeit for a brief moment with a single exchange or two can prove significant.  Even a single question as, ' What type of work do you expect to have when you finish your course?'  can yield a rich mine of insights, not necessarily provide you with answers but more often, lead to more sets of questions.  It also pays to be able to get that chance meeting with members of the academe with regards to the opportunities available to them leveraging companies who participate in the exhibit (beside the goodies and wasteful pamphlets). 

On a final note, you just can't ignore the numbers - the throng of students pinning their hopes on the promise of IT coming from universities and colleges unfamiliar to most Metro Manila residents like me.  Good thing IT works for them because of the power of web connections that make information more accesible despite the distance.  On the other hand, I sure hope it isn't a mad rush to the quest for jobs and profitability as much as it is a youthful passion and ideal.  Otherwise, not even a number of iPods or caps thay get from us would make up for the time when they mistook Y4IT for a mall trip.

PS:

Congratulations to the winners of our 'Text G2iX' campaign and other booth promos!  Catherine, Francis, Stephanie, Cecilia, Mark, Andy H and Andy M!  Yup, this is no joke! 

Updated:  You can check out the massive photo uploads from the Y4IT event here.