UV, Altair inks MOU to establish high-tech Centre of Excellence in PH

CEBU CITY – The University of the Visayas (UV) and global technology firm Altair entered into a partnership to establish a high-tech Centre of Excellence in the Philippines with a state-of-the-art engineering and technology center being developed by UV, the first-of-its-kind in Cebu.

The UV Centre of Excellence serves as a campus-wide innovation hub focused on applying cutting edge technologies to produce qualified, world-class graduates in engineering, architecture and science and was launched on April 18 this year.

“The University of the Visayas chose to work with Altair in setting up their Centre of Excellence in the Cebu region due to its progressive mindset, and is keen to include breakthrough technologies to modernize their curriculum,” Srirangam Sri Rangarajan, Managing Director of Altair, ASEAN and ANZ said, in his opening message.

Rangarajan said that though the MOU both parties plan to provide exposure to all students of the university, especially engineering, architecture and science students and to those that aspire to work in the areas of design simulation, AI, Machine Learning, High Performance Computing, Electrification and the Internet of Things.

The university also serves as the catalyst for conducting advanced certification programs for practicing engineers who are keen to build on their skillsets and adopt trending technologies, he added that with higher education and technology constantly evolving, UV has embarked on a clear mission to produce graduates of a high caliber – prepared to contribute to industry and national development in meaningful ways, either by being employed in the private and public sectors or by being entrepreneurs.

The university’s collaboration with a highly reputable technology company is also aimed at continuously upgrading the knowledge and skills of its educators and researchers to be aligned with industry best practices in their respective fields.

The Centre of Excellence will run an intensive certification program, where students attend training sessions, workshops, seminars, forums and conferences – held by industry-specific technology experts from Altair and members of the faculties. 

The Centre will also require students to be involved in publishing research papers, incubation projects and student competitions to simulate the experience of working in a competitive, intellectually demanding environment.

The University of the Visayas (https://uv.edu.ph/about-uv/) is a private, non-sectarian internationally recognized university, founded in 1919 and it is the first university in Cebu.

Altair is a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI. It has more than 3,000 employees with headquarters in Troy, Michigan, USA and operate in 86 offices in 25 countries serving more than 15,000 customers across broad industry segments. (Photos: PrWorks/Mafe Barcelo)