iACADEMY, one of the country’s leading information communication technology, design and business schools, has named Mitch M. Andaya as Vice President of Academics and the Dean of the School of Computing.

Andaya’s appointment last September marks his return to iACADEMY, where he had previously served as Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the school from 2002 to 2007.  He was largely responsible for designing and implementing four of the school’s undergraduate degree programs, including: Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science with specialization in Software Engineering; B.S. in Computer Science with specialization in Network Engineering; B.S. in Information Technology with specialization in Digital Arts; and B.S. in Business Administration with specialization in eManagement.

“The student population is now four times bigger,” observed Andaya upon returning to the iACADEMY community.

The biggest difference since his time as COO, however, is the diversification of program offerings.  “Before, our programs were basically computing courses, B.S. in Computer Science and B.S. in Information Technology.  Now we have programs in the field of design: animation, multimedia arts, and fashion design,” said Andaya.

He is a graduate of De La Salle University’s College of Computer Studies Graduate School, where he completed his Masters of Science in Computer Science.  Since then, he has remained a constant presence in higher education and has held titles such as Dean of De La Salle University’s College of Computer Studies, Dean of the Computer and Information Science Program of Asia Pacific College, and Executive Director of the Computer Engineering Program of FEU-East Asia College (formerly known as East Asia College of Information Technology).

Andaya has also been an Accreditor for the Philippine Accrediting Association for Schools, Colleges and University (PAASCU) since 1988 in the areas of Faculty, Instruction and Laboratories for Computer Science and other computer-related degree programs.

As Dean of the School of Computing, Andaya hopes “that we will produce highly-competent industry-ready computing specialists that can hit the ground running.  That is why many of our faculty members are industry practitioners.  Through this, we are actually involving the I.T. industry in the education of our students.”