Dealing with the new normal because of the pandemic. More and more schools have resorted to online classes as a safe and innovative way for students to continue learning new knowledge and skills.

To help students adapt to this new normal, mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. has launched Giga Study, a prepaid data pack aimed at giving students simpler access to a selection of learning apps and productivity tools.

Register via *123# or the new Smart App

Available to all Smart Prepaid and TNT subscribers, Giga Study 99 comes with 1 GB of data for specific study apps every day for 7 days, plus 2 GB of open-access data for only P99. To register, simply dial *123# and choose Giga and select Study. Subscribers can also avail of the promo conveniently via the new Smart App.

Giga Study offers access to Google Suite, which includes Google Classroom, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Meet, and Drive. Learning via video is also an option with YouTube and YouTube Kids. The data pack also offers access to Microsoft 365, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Teams, and OneDrive.

Giga Study adds to Smart and TNT's line of Giga offers, which are designed to cater to the various lifestyle needs and passions of customers. Recently, Smart also introduced Giga Work for those who need access to work and productivity apps.

Country’s fastest mobile data network

Smart and TNT subscribers can enjoy all these Giga offers powered by Smart LTE, the country’s fastest mobile network, as certified by third-party mobile analytics firms such as Ookla and Opensignal.

Ookla, the global leader in internet testing and analysis, recently named Smart as the country’s fastest mobile data network in the first half of 2020 after it achieved a Speed Score™ of 18.33, with average speeds of 15.94 Mbps for download, and 7.57 Mbps for upload, based on 2,810,963 user-initiated tests taken with Speedtest®.

On the other hand, Opensignal, an independent mobile analytics firm, reported in its April 2020 Mobile Network Experience Report for the Philippines that Smart remained ahead of the competition in terms of Video Experience, Upload and Download Speed Experience, Voice App Experience, Games Experience, and 4G Availability.

For more details on Smart’s products and services, follow Smart’s official accounts on Facebook at www.fb.com/SmartCommunications and Twitter and Instagram at @LiveSmart.

Thomas Ossowski (German Ambassador to the Philippines),  Father Anthony Paul Bicomong (Provincial Superior - Don Bosco), Michael Mager (Executive Board, Grohe AG), Father Gaudencio Carandang,Jr. (Rector/TVET Director, Don Bosco), Suzanne Franke (Manager, Corporate Cooperation, Don Bosco Mondo)

Just a few weeks ago Don Bosco-GROHE Dual Tech Academy opens its door by inaugurating and blessing the building and its equipment, marking the start of a new beginning for the young people of Tondo, Manila. The Salesians of Don Bosco together with GROHE initiated in organizing the event with the apprentices from other disciplines of the Don Bosco Youth Center, attended by guests from the local business and academic communities as well as the German Ambassador, Thomas Ossowski, and representatives of the German Chamber of Foreign Trade.
Being one of the individuals who was a product of scholarship and an NGO who looks after underprivileged individuals makes me proud and knowing that an institution like this in Tondo, Manila can be of great help.
GROHE, a water fittings manufacturer together with Don Bosco Mondo e.V. teamed up with a view in helping young people have better lives. The partnership started in 2009 that helped some 780 young people in Mumbai, India to start a new life. The successful GROHE Dual Tech aid project also made it to the Philippines in the area of Tondo, Manila where its new training facility was opened.

Father Gaudencio Carandang,Jr. (Rector/TVET Director, Don Bosco)  Michael Mager (Executive Board, Grohe AG), Alpha Ang (General Manager, LWT/Grohe Philippines), Thomas Ossowski (German Ambassador to the Philippines), Father Anthony Paul Bicomong,  Provincial Superior - Don Bosco

 Mr. Michael Mager, GROHE Management Board member opened during the inauguration, "Today is an important day for all of us." "In the six years that have passed since we launched our partnership with Don Bosco Mondo e.V. in India, we have achieved a lot and learned a lot. Our work has borne fruit and demand for our trained and skilled plumbers is huge. We now want to continue this strategy in the Philippines and offer apprenticeships to the young people of Manila-Tondo to give them a genuine chance to earn a living from skilled work. At the same time, our local partners will benefit from the availability of professionally trained plumbers."
The project aims to enhance the professionalism of the local plumbing trade that's why GROHE Dual Tech make sure of it by providing a high-quality training programme leading up to NC II qualification. The programme not only supports the apprentices but also addresses the lack of skilled labor while at the same time helping to advance the industry. With the direct cooperation of local companies gives young people employment opportunities after their training, making their future more secure.

Kerwin Tan (Account Manager, Projects), Alpha Ang (General Manager), Manfred Kuhn, Michael Mager, Alen Alban, Carlo Malantic, Joralyn Ong, Heide Lopez (Account Manager, Projects), Valerie Suspine (Account Manager, Projects), Mary Ann Rabonza (Specifications Manager)

 Christian Osterhaus, Managing Director of Don Bosco Mondo says that "We are happy to offer these new training programmes in Manila-Tonda, a place that is known throughout the world for poverty and adverse living conditions. We give young people the chance to train and enhance their skills in order to compete successfully in the local labor market, to earn their living and to become active members of society."

Grohe Showroom

 The GROHE Dual Tech programmes in the Philippines targets socially disadvantaged people aged 17 to 25 who are unable to obtain vocational training. Courses in the academy start twice a year with some 30 participants each and comprise a 12-month apprenticeship at the Training Center including a 6-week internship at a GROHE partner company. What's great with the academy is that it has a widely recognized graduation certificates that young plumbers can use when they apply for a job with any other firm after their training.
GROHE Dual Tech also offers short-term training courses for assistant plumbers as well as further training courses comprising customized modules for young employees of construction and plumbing companies.
GROHE Dual Tech is a develoPPP.de project. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) fosters the involvement of the private sector at the point where business opportunities and development policy initiatives intersect. The programme is put into practice by Deutsche INvestition-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) on behalf of the BMZ. DEG promotes business initiatives in developing and emerging countries and finances sustainable investments.

Alen Alban (Country Manager, LWT/Grohe Phils), Father Edwin Ulanday (Provincial Economer, Don Bosco)

So for moms who's knows young people in Tondo who seeks help and is willing to learn can be referred on this academy to have a future.