State-funded universities and colleges in the Philippines have the distinct duty to offer low-cost but quality education for the masses of Filipino students, which, in this post-pandemic era means a fully modern and digitized environment. Kalinga State University (KSU) is one such institution which aims to bring its campus and students into the 21st century, with an advanced IT infrastructure and a fiber connection powering up its operations.
Eric Paloy, Information and Technology Office Director at KSU shares the vision and mission of the school: “We have a vision for our university to become a knowledge and technology hub in Asia Pacific. That means we try to have, as much as we can, new technology and new programs to offer students not just from the Kalinga province, but to other neighboring countries in ASEAN.”
Part and parcel of this dream is to achieve that goal which every competitive school in the country is vying to become: a smart and integrated campus. Underlying this ambition, is of course, the basic requirement of connectivity for which it chose the relatively new, maverick ISP provider in Tabuk City, Converge ICT Solutions.
“We have a policy in place in the IT department where we promise no interruptions in the connectivity and digital operations of the university. We had a strategy on this, and based on our research, Converge has given the fastest and most reliable connection in the province, so that’s why we chose them as a partner,” Paloy added.
The ICTO Director, who has been with KSU now for 11 years, said that, as with many state institutions, the onset of technology and modernization has been gradual but steady in campus operations. The university started with outmoded technology but soon caught up with the wave of digitization, and with it, the proliferation of more diverse academic programs.
“ In previous years, our internet connection was only DSL. Hindi gaano kabilis and kulang talaga sa bandwidth. So when the fiber-based internet of Converge came to us, it really helped speed up the daily operations of the university,” he added
He shares that now, with a robust and efficient digital infrastructure in place, KSU can continue bringing excellent academic instruction with a focus on cultural heritage, to its hundreds of students.
With the power of digital connectivity, the institution’s delivery of online learning, remote access to learning resources, online collaboration and coordination supporting academic and administrative functions, and information delivery through social media are all made possible.
“In the future, I think our university will achieve its vision and mission – to be a knowledge and technology hub in Asia Pacific. With the help of a good ISP partner in Converge and technological infrastructure in place, we can achieve this vision,” ended Paloy.
