National University’s first-ever Mindanao campus opens in Davao City
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 April)– National University-Davao (NU Davao), the first-ever NU campus in Mindanao under the Sy family-owned SM Group of Companies, will be welcoming students across the island starting July this year.
In a chance interview during the launch of NU Davao on Saturday, Hans T. Sy, chairperson of the executive committee of SM Prime Holdings, said the Sy family wants the private non-sectarian academic institution to be closer to Mindanawons to provide them with quality education.
“As we would say, education is my father’s (Henry Sy) legacy, and he saw that through NU. We are going all out to give all deserving students a chance to really study. Our intention here is to make a quality school and yet affordable,” he said.
When asked how much the company invested to build the Davao campus, Sy declined to disclose the amount but noted that the mall subsidized part of the cost.
The NU Davao campus occupies the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors of a seven-story building, with a total area of 28,640.78 square meters, adjacent to the main mall of SM City Davao in Ecoland. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd floors are part of the mall’s expansion, while the 3rd and 4th floors serve as parking spaces.
“It’s a design that we have done to somewhat subsidize NU. The first two floors are commercial, and that’s the one taking the hit on capex (capital expenditures). Most of the cost is absorbed by the company,” he said.
The NU Davao is the school’s 15th campus in the country.
Sy described the Davao Campus as “nothing fancy and yet everything is very functional.”
“That is the marching order. We have to make sure that the toilet is simple and clean, and all of it is running,” he said.
Edwin J. Loma, executive director of NU Davao, said the entire campus has a capacity of 18,000 students. However, Loma said for its inaugural year, the target enrollment is at least 1,500 students.
He said that when the campus opens, they expect to have around 200 faculty members and administrators, along with 100 non-teaching staff.
The Davao Campus has 62 classrooms, all equipped with 65” TV and fully airconditioned, but Loma said at least 13 will be opened initially once classes start in July.
“Aside from the inclusive and diverse education we can provide, based on our experience, we can make sure that we’re able to offer the most updated, most relevant education,” he said.
Within five years, Loma said NU is set to open additional campuses in Mindanao, one in General Santos City and another in Cagayan de Oro City.
Most of the enrollees come from Davao City, but there are also students from various parts of the Davao Region, as well as from South Cotabato and Tawi-Tawi, according to Joshua Noel M. Cagas, the school’s admission coordinator.
The NU Davao also sports a FIBA-sized basketball court; a physical education room; a chapel; a prayer room; a clinic with consultation rooms equipped with 6 complete sets of hospital beds, and readily available oxygen tanks, a dental chair; a Learning Resource Center with 5,231 physical books and two discussions, a multimedia room, and a computer room; and two computer laboratories.
Programs to be offered include BS Accountancy, Architecture, Computer Science with specializations in Digital Forensics and Machine Learning, Management Accounting, Medical Technology, Psychology, and Tourism Management. Meanwhile, Civil Engineering and Nursing are still under evaluation by the Commission on Higher Education. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
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