CDITE-XI at 7

How time flies. The Council of Deans for IT Education in Region XI (CDITE-XI) started in year 2001 and spread its wings under the presidency of Vic Calag (UP-Mindanao) for three years until year 2004. I took over as president until July 2007. In six years, CDITE-XI has grown stronger and has made significant inroads in the field of IT Education as well as contributed to the growth of the local IT industry of Davao. CDITE-XI is now on its seventh year with Chrys Ibarra (Holy Child School of Davao) as the new president.

The first three years of CDITE-XI under the leadership of Vic Calag was basically the laying down of the foundations of the organization. The first three years were characterized by periodic meetings in different schools, sharing of best practices in curriculum development and student researches, faculty enhancement seminars and trainings, dialogue with the local IT industry, representation in the ICT Council of Davao, collaboration with PSITE, and the IT Olympiad (student programming competition and quiz bowl).

The next three years of CDITE-XI under my leadership was basically sustaining the gains and making inroads. The main accomplishments are: (1) having a legal identity as a SEC-registered organization; (2) clarity of roles vis-a-vis PSITE-XI; (3) administrator-focused seminars; (4) curriculum prototypes for BSCS, BSIT and BSIM with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among IT Education Heads and CHED-XI; (5) continued collaboration with PSITE-XI, especially the IT Education Weeks and the hosting of the 4th National Conference on IT Education (NCITE) last October 2006; (6) Summer Seminar-Workshop Series; (7) Technopreneurship Training and development of the SEED Technopreneuship Course; (8) linkages with PSITE-National and the other regional chapters, ICT Davao Inc. (the umbrella organization of all IT organizations in Davao), Davao Business Community, Technology Providers, and the various government agencies as well as the local government unit; (9) and saving the best for last, the four Centers of Development in IT Education (ADDU, UIC, UM, UP-Min).

It would be worthy to note that the vision of CDITE-XI is to make Davao as the center of quality and world-class IT education and training in Mindanao. The mission is to produce highly competent and efficient IT professionals with sound social and ethical standards. The five main programs are: (1) Administrators and Faculty Development; (2) Academe-IT Industry Linkage; (3) Inter-School Cooperation; (4) Advocacy; and (5) Networking. The core values are commitment, professionalism, excellence, continuing education, integrity, social relevance and unity.

CDITE-XI is composed of twenty-seven member IT schools. The bulk of the membership comes from Davao City with nineteen IT schools (refer to the table above -- the 19th school is Assumption School of Davao with their BSCS program). There are two member IT schools in Davao del Sur, four in Davao del Norte, one in Compostela Valley, and one in Davao Oriental (refer to the table below). Almost all member schools offer the BSCS and BSIT programs. Only five schools offer the BSIM program. Among the twenty-seven member IT schools, only three of the universities offer masters degree courses (ADDU, UIC, USEP). The shared vision of CDITE-XI and PSITE-XI is making Davao as the IT Education capital of Mindanao which complements the vision of ICT Davao Inc. -- that is to make Davao as the IT capital of Mindanao.

There are still some unfinished business to focus on, namely: (1) student competencies and immersion framework; (2) faculty immersion, consultancy, research & development partnerships; (3) IT Educators Academy; (4) technopreneurship program; (5) continuous dialogue with IT industry; and (6) school-initiated technology development programs. These are tall orders to attain, but definitely not unreachable. On its seventh year, CDITE-XI, under the leadership of Chrys Ibarra, will focus on these concerns.

We in CDITE-XI have indeed come a long way in six years. We have developed into a cohesive and forward-looking community because of long-standing relationships and respect for each other's pace and growth. We just have to capitalize on our gains and soar further to greater heights. As the Jedis would say, "the force is with us..." -- and I greatly believe in this. :-)

Note: This is the narrative form of the President's Report I delivered to the Joint CDITE-XI and PSITE-XI Regional Assembly for IT Educators last July 20, 2007 at the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP).