Village Connect
Mapúa University, one of the top engineering and technological schools in the Philippines, is set to redefine the classroom experience with AI-led collaboration and connectivity tools for the upcoming academic year starting August 2024.
In collaboration with Cisco, as part of its Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program in the Philippines, UGNAYAN 2030, these pioneering digital classrooms support Mapúa’s Tri-X (triple experience) teaching framework. This framework allows students to choose their mode of participation for each lesson, be it face-to-face, synchronous, or asynchronous learning.
“The future of education is here, and our learning modalities at Mapúa are breaking barriers by creating limitless opportunities for personalized, accessible learning. We are excited for this next chapter of our partnership with Cisco to enable students to achieve better learning outcomes with greater flexibility and personalized learning with our digital classrooms. This is a big step towards our vision to foster sustainable socio-economic growth through innovation, digital transformation, and lifelong education,” said Dr. Dodjie S. Maestrecampo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mapúa University.
The CDA program in the Philippines, UGNAYAN 2030, aims to build greater digital resilience by addressing gaps in connectivity, collaboration, and cybersecurity. This strategic partnership with government leadership, industry, and academia seeks to accelerate the country’s national digital agenda.
“Technology is transforming the way we work, learn, and live. We are excited to support Mapúa University’s transformative journey to become a leading innovation hub that utilizes cutting-edge teaching and learning methods under UGNAYAN 2030. By helping the university leverage AI and inclusive collaboration tools in the classroom, we are closing the learning divide, enhancing student access, and ensuring quality education for every student nationwide so that no one gets left behind,” said Zaza Soriano-Nicart, Managing Director of Cisco Philippines.
With support from ICT solutions integrator Microdata, Cisco’s AI-powered collaboration tools and smart cameras will create inclusive, engaging, and secure hybrid learning experiences. At an exclusive media preview, Mapúa showcased the full range of these capabilities:
- Webex Boards enable students and teachers to join video meetings and serve as a digital canvas for digital whiteboarding and annotating shared content.
- AI-powered features through Webex Suite deliver immersive experiences with background noise removal, people focus cropping, and real-time automated closed captions, enhancing accessibility and connection in hybrid classes.
- AI-generated meeting summaries, including highlights, chapters, and action items, help students catch up on missed content.
- Meraki cloud-managed smart cameras offer enhanced surveillance and physical security with wide-angle, fixed-focus lenses and low-light coverage.
Secure by design, Webex ensures enterprise-grade protection with built-in encryption to verify learners, protect devices and browsers, and secure communications.
Mapúa University now boasts five digital classrooms: three at the Intramuros Campus (Engineering, Architecture, Liberal Arts, and Athletics) and two at the Makati Campus (Information Technology, Media Studies, Business, Health Sciences, and Nursing). These classrooms will officially open for use in the new academic year, supporting course lectures, extracurricular activities, and inter-campus planning sessions across Intramuros, Makati, Laguna, and Davao Campuses.
These smart classrooms represent a step toward realizing Mapúa’s ambition of becoming a full-fledged smart campus, with plans to further leverage digital classrooms for cross-border education and an internationalized student experience.
