Future tech, today: Students step into tomorrow at PLDT, Smart innovation playground

Engineering and Information Technology students from Manila and Mindanao got a firsthand look at tomorrow’s technology today – during their tour of the PLDT and Smart Technolab, where they explored cutting-edge fixed and wireless innovations and imagined themselves shaping the future of connectivity.

“PLDT and Smart Technolab is the PLDT Group’s network innovation playground, a space where we test the future before it hits the market,” said Radames Vittorio Zalameda, Head of Wireless Network Strategy and Architecture at Smart. “It plays a key role in pushing the PLDT Group’s digital transformation, to inspire innovation and facilitate meaningful connections for its customers.”

Strategically located in Makati, the PLDT and Smart Technolab is run by the PLDT Group’s Network Strategy and Transformation Office (NSTO). During the tour, experts from the NSTO presented game-changing tech, some of which are years ahead of mass deployment.

Inside the facility, students discovered innovations like Open Radio Access Network (ORAN), transport network disaggregation, new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technologies, Non-Terrestrial Networks, extended reality, and advancements in cloudification and Internet of Things.

For the third-year Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Computer Engineering and Information Technology students from Notre Dame of Marbel University (NDMU) in Koronadal City in South Cotabato, the trip was transformative, with some even finding fresh ideas for their thesis or capstone project from the technologies being tested at the PLDT Group’s innovation sandbox.

“We discovered tech we’d never seen before. These information can motivate us to develop better products and services as our capstone project or as future tech professionals or technopreneurs,” said Kristine Joy Gleyo, a third-year Electronics and Communication Engineering major at NDMU.

Meanwhile, future engineers from the Adamson University (AdU) tested innovations that could one day redefine customer experience. It may be the second time that graduating Electronics Engineering major John Allen Tandoc has visited the PLDT and Smart Technolab but he’s grateful for the opportunity to learn more about one digital innovation that his group has chosen for their research.

“Diving deeper into the Internet of Things helps me refine our group’s capstone project. With 5G powering faster massive data transfers with low latency, this opens opportunities to look for other real-world applications that can improve people’s quality of life,” he said.

The visit wasn’t just about exploring advanced solutions. PLDT and Smart also equipped future tech mavericks from NDSM and AdU with #BeCyberSmart tips to protect their digital experience and to help them navigate cyberspace safely.

Both NDMU and AdU are part of SWEEP (Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program), the Philippines’ first and longest-running industry-academe linkage program led by Smart. For over 20 years, SWEEP has helped mold students into industry-ready graduates or technopreneurs by leveraging on PLDT and Smart’s network, infrastructure and technologies.

Underscoring the value of promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in the country, SWEEP and its initiatives to welcome students to the PLDT and Smart Technolab highlight the PLDT Group’s efforts in helping country meet UNSDG 4 – Quality Education and UNSDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.