Two new courses, AB Diplomacy and International Relations (AB Dip IR) and BS Information Technology Entrepreneurship (BS ITE), have been added to the official roster of degree programs being offered in the Ateneo.
The AB Dip IR degree is under the Political Science Department while the BS ITE degree is under the Quantitative Methods and Information Technology (QMIT) Department.
In line with the goal of economic and political integration within the Asean region by 2015, the Political Science Department now offers the Dip IR program, with a specialization in East and Southeast Asian Studies.
“We will benefit from Asean… if the region in which we are a part of [is] integrated,” said Political Science Department Chair Alma Salvador, PhD.
She noted that the course provides “an interesting counterpart to [European Studies] considering developments in Europe increased trade and exchange with Asean.”
On the other hand, it has been observed that there is a need for Information Technology (IT) experts in the local market, hence the creation of BS ITE.
QMIT Instructor Joselito Olpoc said, “The vision that we have [for BS ITE] is that at the end of four years, the students themselves have an ongoing IT business which they can continue even after they graduate.”
A multidisciplinary approach to diplomacy
AB Dip IR was co-conceived by Salvador and Ambassador Rosario Manalo, a faculty member of both the Political Science Department and the European Studies Program. It was Salvador’s experiences with the students and Manalo’s dream of building a Foreign Service program that prompted the creation of the new course.
“[AB Dip IR] is a program that provides training to students in the practice of diplomacy and negotiation,” Salvador said. “Students specialize in the field of international relations and diplomacy and subspecialize in East and Southeast Asian studies.”
She attributed the non-existence of an East and Southeast Asian studies program in the Loyola Schools as one of the reasons behind the chosen specialization for the new course.
Although the Ateneo is not the first Philippine university to offer a diplomacy program, Salvador said that the multidisciplinary approach to the East and Southeast Asian studies makes AB Dip IR distinct.
Classes in history, sociology and anthropology, economics, and political science, among others, mainly constitute the curriculum of AB Dip IR.
Salvador also said that AB Dip IR graduates could eventually venture into diplomatic careers in international and regional organizations.
The course did not make it in time to be offered to the freshmen of the current academic year, but it will be officially offered already. Requests from upperclassmen to double major in the course have been made, however.
Building a business in college
Having been the program director for BS Management of Information Systems (MIS), Olpoc said that in each graduating batch, there would be students with IT businesses who tell him that they experienced problems with the “management aspect” of their enterprises.
In order to address that problem, BS ITE was developed. Olpoc said that ITE graduates are expected to create and run their own IT-based business by the end of their stay in the Ateneo.
In addition to classes on computer science, entrepreneurship, and management, ITE students would be learning how to develop their own applications, he added.
He also said that what “adds flavor” to BS ITE is that the students build their business over the course of their college life, unlike in technology management courses from other institutions.
Olpoc said that the curriculum was programmed in such a way that most core courses are to be taken in the first year, while business idea generation, business development and business deployment follow in the next three years.
“You’re effectively given three years to set up an IT business,” he said.
He also said that by the first semester of the students’ third year, they will have to pitch their idea to a panel of IT and business experts. “We more or less mimic how you set up a business outside, within the four years,” Olpoc said.
The Ateneo is the first to offer an IT-specific entrepreneurship course in the undergraduate level. Thirteen freshmen for the current school year are enrolled in the BS ITE program, as well as six shiftees as of press time.
Student feedback
Ateneans gave mixed reactions about the new course offerings. Some praised their creation for its timeliness, but others cast their doubts.
Exequiel Salcedo, a junior political science major, said that the courses look promising. “It’s good that the [Political Science] Department came up with a new program which specializes on diplomatic relations, especially in the Asian context. Considering the national issues that we confront, it seems to be timely as well.”
On the other hand, Jacob Chan, a senior computer science major, commented that BS ITE is a good course, especially as it addresses the recent demand for IT in businesses. He said, however, that there is a risk of BS ITE being similar to BS MIS.
Aron Asor, an MIS senior, said that the creation of BS ITE is a “nice initiative by the school,” but he finds the curriculum problematic as it tries to cram too much into four years.
Still, he noted that the course remains relevant. “There are opportunities at every angle if you want to make a startup.”
