Posted by Barney Beal, Content Director, NetSuite
A school with a history that dates back more than 400 years still needs to look to the future.
That’s what the University of Santo Tomas (UST), a Catholic school in the Philippines founded in 1605 and still managed by the Vatican, is doing by embracing the cloud as part of its computer science program. UST is the latest school to join the NetSuite SuiteAcademy program, an educational program designed to bring cloud-based business management solutions to university classrooms worldwide.
Alongside students studying nursing, law and education, UST’s undergraduate students will now get the opportunity to take advantage of NetSuite’s leading cloud ERP solution to advance their careers and prepare themselves for a world where familiarity with cloud-based systems is rapidly becoming a significant advantage.
The UST Institute of Information and Computing Sciences incorporated NetSuite cloud ERP into the undergraduate degree curricula in the first semester of 2014 as an elective class. The pilot class attracted over 70 third-year students pursuing BS Information Systems degrees and was led by Gem Yabut, a UST faculty member and Managing Director of CloudQwest, a NetSuite Solution Provider headquartered in Quezon City.
Now, the UST Institute of Information and Computing Sciences plans to deliver a NetSuite-based cloud computing curricula to approximately 200 students this semester, to be led by faculty members trained in the use of NetSuite cloud ERP. UST anticipates the number of participating students and faculty will increase as the new program matures, and expects expansion across the Institute of Information and Computing Sciences’ core programs of computer science, information technology, and information systems. The Institute is also collaborating with other departments, including the UST College of Commerce and Business Administration, to weave SuiteAcademy-based curricula throughout other educational offerings from UST.
Universities around the world are realizing the importance and value of incorporating cloud-based solutions into their programs. While preparing students for the next generation of business applications, cloud computing also spares the schools the time, expense and hassle of maintaining the hardware and software of on-premise systems while providing anytime, anywhere access for students.
In fact, SuiteAcademy has reached more than 25,000 students worldwide since its introduction in 2011 and has partnered with some of the world's leading educational institutions including Purdue University, UCLA, University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Far Eastern University in the Philippines. The SuiteAcademy program offers no-cost NetSuite licensing, resources and training to help schools around the globe equip their students with the next-generation cloud IT and business skills prized by today’s employers.
Graduates taking advantage of UST’s NetSuite program are finding new opportunities in a world where nearly 24,000 businesses and divisions have already deployed NetSuite solutions and are seeking a new generation of leaders to help take them to the future.
For more on NetSuite SuiteAcademy:
Leading Philippine University Gets A+ for Cloud Adoption
NetSuiteSuiteAcademyNow in Australia