THE Mapúa Malayan Digital College (MMDC), a new and digital-first college focused on technology and business, said one of its pioneering learning hubs in the country is open to more applicants from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
MMDC is an affordable, accessible and flexible offering that delivers a cutting-edge online curriculum and offline experiences designed for the modern Filipino student.
In an exclusive sneak peek of its learning hub located on the fourth floor of Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City on Friday, July 1, the digital college announced they have already received at least 150 applicants who are “potential enrollees” for academic year 2022 - 023 since April this year.
Its learning hub in the city, the first in the Visayas and Mindanao, targets to cater to 150 to 200 enrollees for the upcoming opening of classes on August 16, 2022.
Engineer Dennis Tablante, executive director of MMDC, said they can still accommodate enrollees until August 30 as the Commission on Higher Education would allow a two-week extension.
Tablante, however, said they are trying to have the students since the first day of the class so they would not miss a lot of things that might be impossible for them to catch up with.
“Just for the purpose of getting students we will accommodate [late enrollees], we don’t want that,” he said, stressing that the industry would definitely need information technology (IT) and business professionals and for that reason, we want to make sure that we will be able to produce those kinds of graduates needed by the industry.
The MMDC executive director added that “Mapúa and Malayan have always been known for industry partnership and we are taking advantage of that to make sure that there’s always someone that the industry can pull out immediately after graduation.”
Tablante said that in designing the learning space, what makes it exciting for the students is that MMDC is a fully online school and students can do all the work online.
But, understandably, people still want socialization that cannot be provided in an online environment. Thus, the hub can be used where they can meet and sit down to thresh out issues, problems or cases that they are trying to understand, he pointed out.
“We have a booking system for this learning hub. Online, they can always book for a time when they can visit and start the discussion proper, so in that way, the social dimension could come in and it would be a lot easier for them to appreciate one another,” Tablante said.
"They’ll not be learning from the screen, they’ll be learning from the real world. What the MMDC’s platform has is information, data and instructions so for those that are not here because they have to be live data they have to go out," he added.
MMDC said that the program is designed for future-ready students.
Unlike traditional college campuses, it also provides modern spaces where students can organize clubs, and access Student Services and other connectivity needs.
In order to power the learning among its students, MMDC is providing its students with their own pocket Wi-Fi as part of their tuition. Students can also get a laptop and pay for it in installments so they can learn and succeed in their daily work.
Its model modernizes both learning and student life.
Derrick Latreille, chief learning officer of MMDC and co-founder of Ayala Education, earlier said that modernizing business and technology education means having a constant dialogue with local industry players so that students can actually learn and apply the business and technology practices of today and tomorrow and maximize their employability.
MMDC is starting with specializations in IT which include data analytics, software development, and network and cybersecurity, while specializations in the business administration major include marketing management, operations management, and human resource management.
These specializations are made relevant for today’s students by instructional design professionals who have experience in academe as well as the workforce.
Students will also learn through MMDC’s Projects, Problems and Cases (PPC) model, which emphasizes real-world applications for the modern workplace, and evaluates students on their output, and not on traditional testing methods.
“Aside from incoming college students, there are also some who want to return [to school] like those working in a BPO company, some of them have not yet finished their degree [and] they want to return [to school] because it fits very well with their schedule so they can apply and enroll,” MMDC Dr. John Senior Director for Administration Dr. Jonathan Dayao said.
For students interested to inquire and enroll for school year 2022 to 2023, including its Sidlak Scholarship Program and other opportunities, the Learning Hub is open for applicants from Monday to Friday or they may visit www.mmdc.mcl.edu.ph.