TechZania was an online Junior Officer (JO) event held last March 15, 2023. It provided College of Computer Studies (CCS) students with a brief overview of some career paths that they may be able to pursue in the future. There were four occupational fields showcased at the event namely, Software Development, Cybersecurity, Data Science, and UI/UX Research with each showcase being led by a knowledgeable and insightful guest speaker.

The event took off with a short prayer and an introduction wherein the participants were briefed on what was to come. It then immediately proceeded with the first career spotlight, Software Development, which was tackled by Mr. Seiji Villafranca, a Filipino developer based in the Netherlands. Mr. Villafranca talked about his career with passion and explained just how much developers are needed now more than ever as breakthroughs in software development, particularly in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) are on the rise.

The next career showcase was about Cyber Security and it was discussed by Mr. Gabrielle Louise Hije, a cybersecurity analyst from Thomson Reuters’ Information Risk Management Team. Mr. Hije discussed the importance of maintaining a protected experience while using one’s electronic devices as this will ensure the safety and integrity of personal data online. He also talked about how one could make a career out of this by providing companies full-time support when it comes to the prevention and mitigation of leaks, cyber-attacks, and malware infection.

Next up after Mr. Hije was Ms. Millicent Singson, a senior data analyst at Speed who took the floor to discuss the world of data science. She explained just how in demand data scientists are right now seeing all these advancements in industry-level data gathering. Companies are now in great need of people who specialize in programming and machine learning to make conclusions regarding business patterns, business optimization and data monetization among others with information collected from business-related processes.

Finally, Ms. Giselle Nodalo, a design researcher for Metrobank’s Digital Banking Division, ended the program with an overview of UI/UX research wherein she discussed the importance of good User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design. More and more people rely on the practicality technology now brings, thus she expressed the need for more people to pursue a career that involves thinking of ways to make technology more inclusive and accessible to a wider range of people.

Overall, the JO team behind TechZania did an excellent job spearheading what they have been meticulously planning for months. According to Mr. Josh Esteban, the Associate Vice President (AVP) who guided the group, “The event was ambitious, though its execution had its flaws, it still managed to succeed in its objectives by bringing together like-minded people and getting to know professionals from the four fields selected.” Of course, the effort of the group did not go unnoticed as he went on to saying, “This group has a lot of potential, if they continue forward with LSCS next year, I can see them developing into leaders that can really inspire and bring out the best from people.”