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The AC²E Challenge

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

With edits from Timyas del Mundo

On October 24 to 25, 2019, Globe Telecom held its first-ever cloud bootcamp a-la-hackathon event, the AC²E Challenge, in partnership with Yondu and powered by apper.ph.

What is the AC²E Challenge and why should this interest you?

The AC²E Challenge (pronounced Ace) is actually a 2-day workshop part of AC²E (Accelerated Cloud Cadetship Enablement) a cloud program by Globe, in partnership with Yondu and powered by apper.ph, which offers a 7-month holistic technical and professional development plan for aspiring young adults. Back in September 20th, AC²E made its first impact with the release of the AC²E Online Assessment. Hundreds of fresh graduates and young professionals took the online exam which produced the 100 qualifiers who went on screening. The top 50 candidates, who were hand-picked based from their scores and CV’s, made it to the next round, the AC²E Challenge.

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

Day 1

The AC²E Challenge took place in the The Globe University, Pioneer St, Mandaluyong City. Call time was 8:00 AM in the morning as breakfast and coffee were served. There was deafening silence and excitement  as the top 50 candidates, who were mostly fresh graduates, waited in the Collaborate Room. Miguel Cocjin, Change Manager of Globe Telecom, made the introductions and went on to become the host of the 2-day workshop. Melissa ‘Mepo’ Banzon, Head of Globe Telecom’s Information Systems Group Transformation Office, welcomed the top 50 cloud cadet candidates with an encouraging talk. We learned from Mepo that aside from the top 50 who got the highest scores from the online assessment, there were ‘wildcards’ chosen by the Globe Team from all over the country.

Challenge start!

Day 1 was all learning and labs. But first, the challenge would not commence without the teams. To form the teams, a set of questions were given to the candidates. An answer can be found in each candidate’s event ID’s which corresponds to one of the questions. Each question eventually formed one team. All in all, eleven teams were formed.

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

Grilling Time

The cloud computing bootcamp started with an introduction from apper.ph’s Diwa del Mundo. Diwa looked back on how his cloud computing journey started and how important is cloud computing now in today’s technology. The top candidates also received pure encouragement and inspiration from our Principal Cloud Architect. Following the introduction was the start of cloud computing immersion led by apper.ph’s mentors, Michael Rayco and Felix Marasigan. According to our mentors, it was also a challenge to them to conduct the apper.ph-style of mentorship in a large class. “It’s like multiple (CAMP) cycles all at once”, quoted by Sir Felix.

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

Overall, the candidates had five labs, with two being a team lab. Aside from this, the teams were also given a Mini Case Challenge where they were tasked to create a solution and product deck to one of the three scenarios given and present it to a panel the next day. Talk about another thesis after graduating! For sure this would not be a problem as most candidates were fresh graduates. The teams were given until 8:00 PM to stay in the Globe University, coffee and internet connection were readily available. Other teams brainstormed outside while others continued online.

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

Day 2 or maybe, Judgment Day

D-day has arrived and the eleven teams from the top 50 were more than ready to present! Our judges for that day were comprised of the apper.ph Cloud Enablement Team with Globe Telecom and Yondu, Inc. executives.

It was judgment day for the teams and to think that Halloween was already nearing. Each team was given ten minutes for presentation and five minutes for Q&A. Timing was strict as Q&A started as soon as their presentation time ended.

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

Awards

After twelve hours of grueling cloud computing immersion and presentations, the AC²E Challenge came to a successful conclusion. The Best AWS Solutions Architecture award went to Team Pili.Ph. Each member received an Amazon Echo Dot from apper.ph to hone their skills in developing voice apps with Amazon Alexa. Team Pili.Ph also received the mythical “Axe of Solutions Architecture”. The Best Idea award went to Team Muve. Each member received a special prize from 0917 Lifestyle courtesy of Globe Telecom.

The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
Team Pili.Ph receving the 'Axe of Solutions Architect'
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
Team Muve bagging the Best Idea
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper
The AC2E Challenge by Globe, Yondu, and Apper

The AC²E Challenge was definitely a success! The youth today are brimming with untapped talent and potential that are crucial to developing modern technology like cloud computing. Events like the AC²E challenge are important for honing skills in this generation that are beneficial for everyone’s future. This was the aim of Globe, in partnership with Yondu and powered by apper.ph.

In apper.ph, we bring the cloud to all.

Dan del Mundo

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