By Gio J. Tanudtanud
THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines Mindanao will open new college programs to expand and enhance its campus and contribute to the development of Mindanao.
During the Habi at Kape forum in Abreeza Mall on May 7, UP president Angelo A. Jimenez said the newly proposed programs would help address Mindanao’s educational needs, particularly students who wanted to enroll in the university.
“What we really want to have in mind is that our bright and promising students who want to avail of UP Education can come to UP right here at their own doorstep. It will be closer, it will be cheaper, and hopefully, pag dito sila nag graduate dito rin sila ma absorb,” he said.
The new programs to be opened are Civil Engineering, Associate in Entrepreneurship, MS Biology, MS (Master of Science) in Quantitative Methods and Modeling, and others. The programs will help students meet industry requirements and enhance the culture of innovation to drive Mindanao’s economy and generate more jobs.
UP Mindanao will also introduce Doctor of Medicine (MD) programs and establish a college of medicine. However, according to Jimenez, the infrastructure is not yet ready, so they are making temporary measures as the initiative is urgent. He also added they are partnering with the Southern Philippines Medical Center as their training hospital.
The MD programs will also help BARMM as part of UP’s system to serve the country and peacebuilding as Bangsamoro is one of the regions with the lowest doctor-to-population ratios in the Philippines.
“We see BARMM’s and Mindanao’s contribution as critical for the Philippines, not just economically but in terms of creating peace, unity, and national stability. Kung walang stability in any part of our country especially BARMM walang stability sa buong bansa,” he said.
The new programs are to be targeted in the Academic Years 2025 to 2026 in line with UP Mindanao’s “Road to 5K ” plan where the university targets to enroll a population of 5,000 students. The plan also focuses on helping students and passers of UPCAT in disadvantaged areas.
“We can have all the money, we can have all the financial access but if you do not have the soft component, which is capacity, everything will be wasted. We have to have the means, the skills that are required to carry out plans and programs. And this requires the development of our human resources,” he said.
