By Arturo Belano

DESPITE its big drop in ranking, Ateneo de Manila University remained the top education institution in the country for 2024 based on the latest Times Higher Education World University Ranking.

Landing on the 1001-1200 bracket, Ateneo had an overall score of 28.3-32.6 based on five pillars —teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook.

The university dropped from its previous ranking of 351-400.

The University of the Philippines and the De La Salle University also fell to the 1201-1500 and 1501+ brackets, respectively.

UP was in the 801-1000 spot in 2023, while DLSU was ranked 1201-1500.

Meanwhile, the University of Santo Tomas was in 1501+ bracket, an improvement from last year’s “reporter status.”

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 include 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions, making it the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

The assessment is based on new WUR 3.0 methodology, which includes 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance in five areas — teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.

This year’s ranking analysed more than 134 million citations across 16.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 68,402 scholars globally. Overall, THE collected 411,789 datapoints from more than 2,673 institutions that submitted data.

Meanwhile, Cebu Technological University, Central Luzon State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Mapua University, Mariano Marcos State University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Nueva Ecijia University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Tarlac Agricultural University, and Visayas State University submitted data for inclusion in the rankings but did not make the cut.

By Arturo Belano

A PROFESSOR of the Ateneo de Manila University was the recipient of the Outstanding Psychologist Award given by the Psychological Association of the Philippines.

Dr. Edith Liane Alampay, chairperson of the Department of Psychology, received the award during the 59th Annual Convention of the PAP.

Alampay was recognized for her outstanding achievement in all aspects of the discipline of psychology, including teaching, research, and practice.

“This is a great honor for our department, and we are proud of Dr. Alampay for receiving this prestigious award,” Ateneo said.

Established in 1962, PAP is committed to promoting excellence in psychology`s teaching, research, and practice and its recognition as a scientifically oriented discipline for human and social development.

It is also the Accredited Integrated Professional Organization for registered psychometricians and psychologists of the Professional Regulation Commission, and the oldest and largest professional organization of psychologists in the country.

The organization certifies specialists in seven areas of expertise within the broad discipline of psychology. Concurrently, it also has seven major divisions representing each of these specialty areas.

By Patricia Lanzagarita

ATENEO De Manila University formally inked a partnership with University of the Philippines Open University to explore and advance educational opportunities through the MICROCASA Project.

The collaboration came about after the UPOU along with its academic and industry partners organized the 5th International Conference on Open and Distance eLearning (ICODeL) 2023, as part of the TriConference 2023.

MICROCASA Project aims to address diverse economic and societal challenges by developing and providing competency-based educational modules that will lead to micro-credentials.

“The collaborative efforts between institutions like the University of the Philippines Open University and Ateneo de Manila University are a promising step towards enhancing the educational system in the region,” ADMU said.

The panel stressed the importance of embracing this specific mode of teaching, accepting and recognizing the evident ability of micro-credentials to make a significant impact on the educational landscape of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.

(by Arturo Belano)

THE Ateneo de Manila University will offer a new program under its Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design.

This is the first undergraduate education offering of the university known as BS Learning Science & Design or BS LEARN.

The newly created program is aligned with a strategic priority area of the university —Educational Reform and Transformation, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.

“The four-year undergraduate course is unlike other traditional teacher undergraduate courses as it is not only about teaching in traditional spaces like classrooms in schools and universities, but it is also about preparing learning professionals who will design and promote learning in different environments,” Ateneo said.

“Its graduates will not be limited to the teaching profession in basic education or higher education—instead, BS LEARN has been designed precisely to produce learning professionals in any field,” it added.

Graduates will be equipped for alternative careers that involve instructional and learning design beyond formal education, such as online learning, professional development and training.

The program also aims to produce graduates who can offer technology-empowered, innovatively designed and science-backed education.

It will combine core subjects such as English, Filipino, Math, Natural Sciences, History, Philosophy, Theology and more.

Major courses include Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education, Educational Psychology, Social and Emotional Learning, Learning Analytics & Educational Data Mining, and Creative Thinking for Educators, among others.

“BS LEARN adopts a multidisciplinary approach and offers various disciplinary tracks such as Science, Math, English, Filipino, Social Sciences, Guidance and Counseling, Religious/Values Education, School Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Training, and Education Technologies,” Ateneo said.

By Arturo Belano

GRADUATE students of Ateneo de Manila University bagged second runner-up honor in the ASEAN Data Science Explorers National Finals held earlier this month.

Team Blurple composed of Theresa Denise Magsajo and Kimberlee Say bested other participants in the competition to secure the victory.

During the contest, they presented their data story titled ‘Exploring the Multifaceted Issue of Clean Energy.’

The data examines factors leading to the ASEAN region’s lag in achieving United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.

Magsayo and Say are currently studying Masters in Data Science.

The ASEAN Data Science Explorers competition aims to empower youths across the ASEAN member-states with data analytics and visualization, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills by having participants present data stories tackling issues related to UN SDGs

By Arturo Belano

THE Ateneo de Manila University joined forces with the De La Salle University in a bid to advance social entrepreneurship and sustainability in the country.

A memorandum of agreement was recently signed by key officials of the two universities.

“Social enterprises have been recognized as a vehicle that help towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ateneo said in a statement.

“The United Nations report on Youth Social Entrepreneurship and the 2030 agenda indicates how youth social entrepreneurship has the potential to make young people agents of change especially when nurtured in an enabling environment,” it added.

The three-year partnership will be facilitated by the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship and the Lasallian Social Enterprise for Economic Development.

It aims to focus on the promotion and advocacy of social entrepreneurship and sustainability; mobilization of internal and external stakeholders for cooperation-building, resource generation, and capacity-building endeavors and sharing of good practices in the fields of social entrepreneurship and sustainability.

“The collaboration of Ateneo and DLSU not only strengthens both schools’ mission towards poverty alleviation and social justice but also supports in the achievement of the SDGs,” Ateneo said.