Mapúa University

Mapúa University
Former names
 Mapua Institute of Technology (1925 - 2017)
Motto Learn, Discover, Create
Type Private, Research, Nonsectarian
Established 1925
Academic affiliations
 Intramuros Consortium, PACUCOA, ABET
President Reynaldo B. Vea
Academic staff
 approx. 900
Undergraduates approx. 16,000
Location Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Campus

Intramuros Campus: 17,996.7 m² ;

Makati Campus:
Hymn "The MIT Hymn"
Colors Red gold
Nickname Mapúans
Sporting affiliations
 NCAA (Phil),
Mascot Cardinals
Website www.mapua.edu.ph

Mapúa University (MU, formerly known as Mapúa Institute of Technology) is a non-sectarian, research-oriented, Filipino university located in Intramuros, Manila and in Makati.

It was founded by the first registered Filipino architect, Tomas Mapua, a graduate of Cornell University, in 1925. After he died, the tradition was continued by his children, Óscar M. Mapúa Sr., a graduate in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Gloria M. Mapúa-Lim.

Mapua University is a source of architects, engineers, and science graduates in the architectural and engineering fields [1] as Mapúa University specializes in these fields in the undergraduate and graduate levels, aside from its widening range of undergraduate programs such as psychology, computer science, digital cinema, multimedia arts and sciences,[2] technical communication, information technology, accounting, entrepreneurship, business management, hotel and restaurant management,[3] and nursing.

The university has been granted with the Level IV Accredited status to its Civil Engineering program by the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA), which is one of the first engineering programs to be accorded such status.[4][5] In addition, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recently recognized Mapúa’s Mechanical Engineering (ME), Computer Engineering (CpE), Civil Engineering (CE), Environmental and Sanitary Engineering (EnSE), Chemical Engineering (CHE), Electrical Engineering (EE), Information Technology (IT) and Electronics Engineering (ECE) programs as Centers of Excellence for Engineering (COE). While Industrial Engineering (IE) and Computer Science (CS) as a Center of Development.

Mapúa is also the first Philippine and Southeast Asian educational institution to have ABET certification, rendering the Institute to be at par with US-based colleges and universities.

History

Early activities

The institute was founded on January 25, 1925, by Tomás Mapua, a graduate of Cornell University and the first registered Filipino architect and Gonzalo T. Vales. At first, the institute only provided architecture and civil engineering programs. It is the first institution in the Philippines to offer a bachelor's degree in architecture.[6] There were 80 students and a dozen faculty members at that time; classes were held in a rented commercial building in Carriedo Street near Feati University in Quiapo, Manila. In 1928, the Mapúa Institute of Technology Pre-Engineering High School was established in Doroteo Jose Street through Rizal Avenue Sta. Cruz. Then in 1930, Mapúa joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association as the Mapúa Cardinals.[6]

World War II and after-war development

During World War II, Mapúa's Intramuros Campus was used as a garrison by the Japanese forces during the occupation of Manila, and all classes and organisations were suspended. The Institute would continue to suffer throughout the war as the effort of the Institute to continue the studies of the students were suspended and Senior students were forced to prematurely graduate. In 1945 the Institute suffered total destruction during the liberation. As a part of the rehabilitation program, the former De Luxe Fashion School in Doroteo José was acquired and housed the high school department in 1948. In 1951, the Mapúa family acquired a piece of land from the La Corporación Fransicana where the present Intramuros Campus stands. The campus opened at 1956 and the building construction was completed in 1963. All college programs under deanship of Gonzalo T. Vales were transferred from the Doroteo José campus to the Intramuros Campus in 1973. Tomás Mapúa died on December 22, 1965 and his son Óscar Sr. took over the presidency until his death in 1998.[6]

It was under Tómas Mapúa, and later his son Óscar Sr., that the institute gained prominence as an engineering school. During this period, the institute took the top 10 and even the top 20 slots in most licensure exams for architecture and engineering. It also achieved the highest passing rates in the board exams among other competing schools in architecture and engineering.[6]

Yuchengco administration

Tomás Mapúa's grandson, Oscar Mapúa Jr., took over his duties until December 1999, when the Mapúa family sold the institute to the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) headed by Alfonso T. Yuchengco and appointed Reynaldo B. Vea as president.

In 2002, the old RCBC Building in Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. in Makati City was purchased and converted into the Mapúa Makati Campus, where the School of Information Technology was moved from the Intramuros Campus. A spin-off of the School of IT, the Mapúa IT Center, as the Makati Campus is named, was established. The MITC offers 2-year diploma programs that eventually lead into an associate degree ladderized to the bachelor's degree (4-year) IT courses of Mapúa.

Starting 2002, Mapúa, which originally was on a semestral system, pioneered the Quarterm System. This new academic system allows students to graduate faster (e.g. the original 5-year engineering programs could be taken in four years) and to focus on less, interrelated course subjects in an 11-week term. On the other hand, Mapúa High School was closed down on 2005, since it was operated in the red. Along with the establishment of the Malayan High School of Science and Malayan Colleges Laguna, the Administration intends to encompass all its educational institutions under the name Malayan Colleges, to be later pushed through to university status as is under the Vision 2020 initiative with Mapúa Institute of Technology as the College of Engineering.

On May 18, 2017, Mapúa Institute of Technology has been formally granted University Status, per Commission en banc Resolution No. 379-2017, dated May 9, 2017 at the CHED Auditorium in Diliman, Quezon City.

On January 8, 2018, Yuchengco Group of Companies and Ayala Corporation, through a joint press statement, has announced the possible merger of their education arms, namely Ayala Education, Inc. and iPeople, Inc, with the iPeople, Inc. being the surviving entity. It has been stated that the potential merger will be finalized in the first quarter of 2018. This will bring together AEI’s APEC Schools and University of Nueva Caceres and iPeople’s Malayan Education System, operating under the name Mapúa University and its subsidiaries, Malayan Colleges Laguna (MCL) and Malayan Colleges Mindanao (MCM) a combined student population of over 40,000.

Campus

Intramuros

Intramuros Campus

The Mapúa Intramuros Campus is located in Manila, inside the walls of historic Intramuros. Accessible from the campus are malls and recreational centers such as SM City Manila behind the Manila City Hall, Robinson's Place Ermita, Harrison Plaza in Vito Cruz, Rizal Park and the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard. The Intramuros Campus holds the Architecture, Engineering, Multimedia and Visual Arts, and Social Science programs. The campus underwent through a lot of renovation in the past and is equipped for further studies in the fields of engineering.

Outside the MIT Campus

The Intramuros Campus consists of 7 interconnected buildings:

  • Juan Mapúa Memorial Hall (Administration Building): Houses the Registrar's Office and the Treasury
  • South Building: Houses the Multimedia Arts and Sciences, Digital Cinema, Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental and Sanitary Engineering, Architecture and Industrial Design Facilities, and Senior High School classrooms.
  • Southwest Building: Intersection of West and South Building, Houses the Multimedia and Visual Arts Facilities and Senior High School classrooms.
  • West Building: Houses the Canteen, Student's Lounge, Audio Visual Rooms, the Library, and Senior High School classrooms.
  • Northwest Building: Intersection of West and North Building
  • North Building: Houses the Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Earth and Material Science and Engineering, Psychology Department, Graduate Studies Facilities, and Senior High School classrooms.
  • East Building: Renamed as the Yuchengco Innovation Center. It houses the institute's new laboratories for research and development purposes. It stands on where the Student Pavilion used to be.
  • Southeast Building: An extension of the South Building that directly faces the East Building. It houses the security office, the bookstore, and the admission's office.
Inside the MIT Campus

Additional Facilities:

  • Gymnasium: The place where Physical Education activities are held, as well as game and concert events
  • St. Rita's Chapel: The chapel near the North entrance of the institute. It is where masses are regularly held and extends to the east side as the Guidance's office.

There are reports that Mapúa-Intramuros will start further expanding its infrastructure at the end of its 86th Foundation Week Celebration. This expansion mainly includes the Gymnasium Area and the Juan Mapúa Memorial Hall.

Makati Campus

MITC Building, Makati Campus

The Mapúa Information Technology Center (MITC) is located in Makati City and occupies the former RCBC building at the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Nicanor Garcia Street. Accessible from the campus are malls and recreational centers such as the Ayala Center. Aside from the associate degrees held by the Mapúa IT Center, the Makati Campus hosts the Schools of Information Technology, Health Sciences and Business & Management. The campus is equipped with a simulated hospital for the School of Health Sciences and appropriate equipment to support the Information Technology programs. The Makati Campus' library is equipped with electronic resources and offers the Library Plus service by default. The campus will soon feature state-of-the-art laboratories, test kitchens, and mock-ups for its upcoming Hotel and Restaurant Management program.

The Makati Campus is a fully air-conditioned building with three floors:

  • Ground Floor
    • West Wing: Computer Laboratories
    • East Wing: MITC Facilities
  • Second Floor
    • West Wing: Faculty Rooms, Student's Lounge, Cisco Lecture and Laboratory Rooms
    • East Wing: MITC Computer Laboratories, Simulated Hospital
  • Third Floor
    • West Wing: Library, Prayer Room, Skills Laboratory, Lecture Rooms
    • East Wing: Audio Visual Rooms, Anatomy, Biology and Chemistry Laboratories, Lecture Rooms, Canteen

Student Life

Innovations

  • Mapúa was the first institute in the Philippines to feature a RFID or Radio Frequency ID card system which they call "CARDINAL Plus" which stands for CARD and Integrated Network Access Log-in Plus. It is a two-piece plastic PVC card with a microchip and antenna inserted in between. The CARDINAL Plus functions not only as an identification card but acts as a Library card as well. It also has the capability to store student logs, grades, guidance records, schedules, and more. As a security measure, all students flash their cards on top of the readers at the entrance. A person will be identified easily with his photo and information appearing on the monitor. It also serves as an ATM Card powered by RCBC MyWallet (a YGC Member). Other schools adopted the RFID identification system later on.
  • Mapúa offers a 24-7 Wireless Internet for students with its "BISHOP" (Broadband IP Systems Hotspots for On-the-go People) service. BISHOP uses the wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology and operates on the 802.11b and 802.11g Wi-Fi standards. Data transfer varies from 11 to 54 megabits per second (Mbit/s) depending on the wireless LAN card or the number of online users for peer to peer transmission. Although the service is free of charge, students without WLAN cards have to rent them from the campus with a fee. Mapúa Makati now uses Linksys WRT54GS wireless routers for the lobby area, replacing the old Nokia 802.11b access points which frequently hanged because of its poorly planned location where it is susceptible to a lot of electrical noises such as signal interference from mobile phones.
  • The Institute offers an online student information, enrollment and load reservation service through its MyMapúa service.[7]
  • Mapúa has its own SIM card, the Mapúa Cardinal SIM which is powered by Smart Communications. The Cardinal SIM contains all the usual features of a regular Smart SIM card with the addition of the MapúaTXT service, which allows students to receive important school announcements and check for the remaining matriculation charges on their mobile phones.[8]
  • The Institute was visited by the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) in October 2009 and in several succeeding dates, particularly to study the School of EECE(Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering)'s application request. All ABET-accredited courses can be compared to those courses offered by other renowned schools in the United States and all other prestigious engineering schools worldwide. Following the School of EECE's lead are the Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental & Sanitary Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology. All-in-all, the Institute already has 10 ABET-Accredited Programs as of 2011, in which eight of them are the aforementioned engineering programs subjected to the Engineering Accreditation Commission.[9]
  • In 2016, ABET has also accredited Mapúa's Biological Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering—having a total of 13, thus holding the most number of ABET-accredited programs in a single campus in the Philippines.
  • The Mapúa Robotics Team is a pioneering organization that has been granted several major projects by the Philippine Navy, the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine National Police intending to modernize the weapons and equipment used by the Philippine government. Projects, to name a few, include the following:[10]
    • Mechanical Anti-terrorist Concept or MAC (a bomb-defusal robot now used by the PNP-Makati City)
    • The Project Trident Strike (a remotely operated sentry gun mounted in naval gunships and perimeter defenses)
    • Project Phalanx, a compact version of the Trident Strike.
    • MAC-2 (an improved version of the first Mechanical Anti-Terrorist Concept), will be released by the Robotics Team by February 2010.
    • The Philippine Electric Vehicle (electric car designed for urban mass transportation sponsored by the DOST)
    • The Submersible Rover (a scouting equipment for the Philippine Navy)
  • The institute's Civil Engineering program has received Level 4 Accredited Status from the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation PACUCOA as of January 2009, the first engineering program that has been granted this status in the Philippines.
  • The institute, effective on first term of AY 2011-2012, is pioneering the program Technical Communication (TechComm) under the School of Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences; the Institute is the first to offer the program in the Philippines.
  • As of January 5, 2016, Mapúa's Chemical Engineering and Computer Engineering are recognized as Centers of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Philippines. Also, its Information Technology program is recognized as a Center of Development.
  • As of April 1, 2016, Mapúa's Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental and Sanitary Engineering, and Information Technology were recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence (CoE); Industrial Engineering as Center of Development (CoD).

Malayan controversy

On February 10, 2005, as a part of Mapúa's plans for elevating the institute to university status, the administration announced the renaming of the institute to Malayan University, inspired by the name of the insurance company owned by the Yuchengcos, the Malayan Insurance Company. But while waiting to become eligible for university status, the name "Malayan Colleges" will be used and the name "Mapúa Institute of Technology" will be retained for the College of Engineering, Architecture and IT.[11] This move was very unpopular with the students and the alumni.[11] On February 14, 2005, the students protested outside the campus where Muralla Street at Intramuros was filled with Mapúa students clad in black shirts protesting against the decision of the administration and criticized them for not consulting the students before making such a decision. This event has been called as the "Black Valentine" protest.[12] Despite the efforts of the students, faculty and alumni against the decision, the Board of Trustees and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED Philippines) have approved the name change and will be implemented in the near future.

Notable Mapúans

References

  1. ↑ Mapua The New Builder, Issue no. 3, Year 1962
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  5. ↑ List of Institutions with PACUCOA Accredited Programs as Certified by FAAP as of May 2010
  6. 1 2 3 4 "History of Mapua". Mapua. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Mapua Payment". Mapua. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Mapua txt". Mapua. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  9. ↑ The New Builder Vol. 41 No. 4 Page 1, "Challenging the World: Mapua Takes Center Stage"
  10. ↑ The New Builder Vol. 41 No. 4 Page 2, "Mapua Robotics Team Calls for Investors"
  11. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-06-27.

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