As an institution that actively lives the Jesuit mission –– that is, service of the faith, promotion of justice, sensitivity to cultures, interreligous dialogue, and reconciliation with creation –– the Ateneo de Davao University frames its praxis based on on-the-ground, faith-based discernment always responding to where God calls for transformative engagement.
The University’s Strategic Plan for 2015-2020 provides a way of proceeding that seeks to build a community working for social justice and the common good.
Together, as a university community, we will pursue 11 goals in a manner consistent with our identity and guided by our 5 core principles. These 5 are the guiding principles, which will allow the university’s mission to be realized. We refer to them as A.F.I.R.E. –– transformative administration and services (A); integral formation (F); excellent instruction (I); robust research and publication (R); and vibrant engagement and advocacy (E).
Goals 1-9 are our mission goals or what we want to achieve in relation to our mission. Essentially, we want to produce graduates, and an Ateneo de Davao University community who, rooted in faith, would:
- Be educated leaders in society for the common good, especially for Mindanao;
- Express their faith through works of justice;
- Positively contribute to belief, in a secular world;
- Engage in dialogue with people of different faiths and cultures; and work for peace;
- Live out and promote environmental stewardship;
- Have an entrepreneurial spirit; produce wealth and ensure it’s equitable distribution in society;
- Work for and with vulnerable communities for their development;
- Serve the Roman Catholic Church; and,
- Lead in promoting educational reforms.
Goals 10 and 11 pertain to what we want to pursue as an organization and as a university: achieve efficient and effective university operations responsive to the demands of the common good; and attain glocally responsive and globally competitive standards in formation, instruction, research and engagement, with distinct integration of the university’s vision and mission.
To pursue our goals, we are committed to undertake the following strategic actions in the next 5 years:
Administration and Services
We will ensure symbiosis of formation-instruction-research and engagement and institutionalize quality assurance in the university. Three new centers and offices will be established in pursuit of university goals. These are the Institute of Politics and Good Governance, a university-wide Ecoteneo Office and the Institute for Urban Planning. We will maximize information and communication technology to enhance formation, instruction, research and engagement and provide support to learning and working on and off campus. We will recruit and retain quality staff, and maintain good and harmonious relations between administration and labor unions as partners in pursuit of the vision and mission of the university. We will ensure long-term financial stability and sustainability of the university as well as continuing improvement of our facilities.
Integral Formation
We will develop integrative formation programs ensuring that the mission areas and goals are integrated in the formation programs. We will provide varied platforms toward shared understanding of the common good and hold various consensus-building activities that discuss burning issues in light of the common good. We will collaborate with others such as basic ecclesial communities for the formation of students, faculty and staff, as well as develop formation programs for the Bangsamoro and indigenous peoples schools as necessary and appropriate.
Excellent Instruction
We will further strengthen our curriculum ensuring the integration of mission modules in the programs. We will maximize the service learning pedagogy for students’ and faculty engagement and strengthen practicum and apprenticeship programs. In 5 years, we will also deploy students in practicum courses in key government offices and encourage graduates to serve in the same institutions. We will strengthen tie-ups with government, industry and civil society groups that can influence the development of the curriculum in pertinent courses. A Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Urban Planning will also be offered and the environment science program shall be established as a separate department.
We will also intensify faculty development. We will develop our faculty through higher degrees, faculty exchanges, financial and capacity-building support, recognition and other incentives. We will also enhance faculty capability to use and maximize online teaching platforms toward the development of distance learning programs. We will tighten collaborations among academic programs, centers and units for joint initiatives. In 5 years, we will pursue internationalization appropriate to the university’s vision-mission-goals. We will widen access to the Ateneo education especially for poor and deserving indigenous peoples and Bangsamoro by increasing scholarships given to them. An indigenous peoples partner school will also be established to help students prepare for university entry.
Research and Publication
We will strengthen the research and publication culture in the university by pursuing disciplinal, inter-disciplinal and collaborative research. We will also engage in creative and innovative ways in scaling up the quality of research and publication in the university. We will ensure that our research and publication agenda are directed toward the promotion of justice and the solution of human problems. We plan to maximize the utilization of research and publication products of the university. Along this line, we will pursue research and publication that is not just restricted to analysis but more so propose intelligent recommendations and solutions such as policies that can protect the weakest members of society and promote true social development.
Engagement and Advocacy
We will heighten advocacy initiatives for social justice and the common good. In particular, we want to have greater impact on public policy reforms. We will deepen and widen collaboration with peoples and institutions as we do our community engagement and advocacy. We will develop and strengthen programs around our mission goals. We will also directly engage with vulnerable communities and pursue community-based projects or partnerships around our mission goals and as appropriate to an academic community. Finally, we will improve university mechanisms for engagements and advocacies. We will produce a collaboration matrix indicating the convergence of various units around university goals and initiatives.
This University Strategic Plan is, ultimately, about a community of students, alumni, faculty and staff which cooperates toward transforming or creating conditions so that all human beings can flourish as human beings together optimally, despite the limitations that this world presents. It is toward this “transformed world enjoying the fullness of Christ” that the Ateneo de Davao University will commit itself in the next 5 years.
