Saturday, March 17, 2007 UP to yield competent IT grads
A LOCAL state university assures Cebu’s information communication and technology (ICT) industry will not run short of high-level information technology (IT) graduates in the coming years.
This after the Computer Science (ComSci) program of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC) was recently awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) as a Center of Excellence (COE) for IT Education in Central Visayas.
“Now that the university is recognized as a COE, this will benefit the local ICT sector in assuring them that our ComSci graduates are globally competitive,” Dr. Enrique Avila, UPVCC dean said.
According to Avila, a COE, being the highest recognition given by Ched, was awarded to only two universities in the region—UP Cebu and the Cebu Institute of Technology, in the field of IT education.
As a COE for IT education, Ched will provide the UP Cebu ComSci program with funding for its line of activities in the areas of instruction, research, extension, intense private sector involvement, and its role in supporting the development of IT by other institutions of higher learning and across other disciplines.
Points considered for a COE award include, among others, scholastic achievements of its faculty, the performance of its graduates, existing facilities, research, and publications.
All hired
Citing official records, UP Cebu ComSci faculty Pauline Wade said its ComSci graduates are 100 percent employed, where 76 percent are hired by private IT companies as high-level IT professionals working as software developers, and programmers, to name a few.
In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Robert Roxas, Natural Science and Mathematics Division chairman, said the ComSci department will reportedly receive P3 million each year from 2007 to 2010 that will be utilized to fund IT-related projects in the university.
“It will be proposal-based,” added Ralph Leviste, UP Cebu ComSci coordinator.
In line with this new development, Leviste said the ComSci department has already lined up some proposals to enhance its existing program.
Apart from a strong focus on research, other proposals include the plan to increase the number of faculty staff and students, updated facilities, especially the IT incubation facility, a Master of Science in ComSci (MSCS) degree, and the move to have the program as a separate department.
“IT teachers don’t stay too long because of the attractiveness of the industry,” said Wade, adding that the department is hoping to lure more faculty members to add its existing staff of nine.
Roxas echoed Avila’s call on the need to increase the number of students from 60 to 90 by the next school year.
Avila remains optimistic in acquiring a good number of enrollees for the ComSci program despite the increase in UP Cebu’s tuition.
“The increase in tuition should encourage students to enroll because its means UP Cebu is geared towards improving the quality of education in the country through added facilities, etc.,” he said.
Currently, UP Cebu’s tuition is pegged at P600 per unit, which Avila said is relatively cheaper compared to other universities.
Meanwhile, Roxas said opening a degree in MSCS will be a first in the region.
“An MSCS is imperative in helping the IT industry,” Wade said, adding that an MSCS compared to a Masters in ComSci is “more theoretical, and more difficult.” (MMM)
