Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México

Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Motto	"Los mejores profesores para los mejores estudiantes"
Motto in English	"The best faculty for the best students"
Established	1946
Type	Private
Rector	Arturo Fernández Pérez
Academic staff	239
Students	5,000 (undergraduates and graduates)
Location	Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Campus	Urban
Former names	Mexico Institute of Technology
Colours	Dark Green and Dark Red
Nickname	Itamitas
Mascot	Dragones del ITAM; Colmillos Blancos del ITAM (American Football)
Website	http://www.itam.mx/

The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM; Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico) is a private, non-profit center for higher learning without religious or political ties that was founded in 1946 by Raúl Baillères. Devoted to teaching and research—focusing on management, politics, and diverse branches of engineering—its mission is to “contribute to the holistic training of the individual and the development of a freer, more just and more prosperous society.” It is located in Mexico City and is divided between two campuses, Río Hondo (for undergraduate licentiate and engineering degrees) and Santa Teresa (for postgraduate degrees and certificate courses), both governed by the same administrative system.

History

Origin

Originally known as the Instituto Tecnológico de México (ITM; Technological Institute of Mexico), ITAM was founded by Mexican entrepreneur Raúl Baillères (1865–1967) on March 29, 1946. A prominent businessman born in Silao, Guanajuato, Baillères’s far-reaching business activities included founding the bank Fundación de Crédito Minero y Mercantil (Mining and Mercantile Credit Foundation) and the acquisition of companies such as beer manufacturer Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma and department store El Palacio de Hierro, among others; antecedents of what today constitutes Grupo Bal, a holding company diversified in a variety of companies and activities. He was also president of the Asociación de Bancos de México (ABM; Association of Banks of Mexico). Motivated by a keen interest in education, Baillères assembled a group of bankers and businessmen to form the Asociación Mexicana de Cultura A.C. (the non-profit Mexican Association for Culture)—of which he was president of its governing body—which was converted into the board of trustees of the Instituto Tecnológico de México. The first university degree offered by the Institute was in Economy in 1946; a year later the Escuela Preparatoria (High School) and the Escuela de Administración de Negocios (School of Business Management) were established. The ITM’s first campus was located at Calle Palma Norte 518, between Belisario Domínguez and República de Cuba in the downtown Historic Center of Mexico City, where it remained for four years. In the 1950s the ITM underwent a multifaceted process of expansion. Its facilities were moved to the street of Serapio Rendón 65, in the neighborhood known as the Colonia San Rafael, and in 1951 degrees for Public Accountant and Private Accountant were offered, sparking growth in the student body from 50 to 500. The demand for these majors may be explained by the country’s “Stabilizing Development” phase, the period of Mexico’s economic growth beginning in the 1950s. The ITM continued to refine its mission as a center of higher learning and in 1954 it closed its high school to focus on higher education. At the end of the decade the ITM moved to a venue built expressly for it at Marina Nacional 350, on the land adjacent to the national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos Tower, which was built later. In 1959 as a reflection of the growing importance in the nation of economics and management as disciplines, the ITM founded the Licentiate program in Business Management.

From autonomy to the present

On January 19, 1963, the ITM obtained its autonomy via a decree published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (Federal Register) by president Adolfo López Mateos and with the backing of Jaime Torres Bodet, then secretary of Public Education. With the status of Free University School, the now Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM)—officially designated as such in 1985—joined the group of self-governed centers of higher learning, such as the national university known as the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico; autonomous since 1929). At the end of that decade, in 1967, the Asamblea de la Asociación Mexicana de Cultura A.C. (Assembly of the Mexican Association of Culture) established the Governing Body of ITAM, the first step of a strategy for institutional consolidation and strengthening, which in 1969 led to the establishment of an Integral Development Plan that transformed the academic structures of research, administration, and organization. This Plan also included the creation of the Centro de Investigación y Extensión Universitaria (Research and University Extension Center), and the opening of new degree programs and postgraduate studies. Today the Governing Board is the only authority with the capacity to transform, modify, or eliminate the statutes and guidelines that govern the entire Institute. In 1974 the licentiate program in Applied Mathematics and the master’s degree in Management were established. A year later, the licentiate program in Social Sciences, which was replaced in 1991 by the current degree in Political Science, was created. The 1970s and 1980s were marked by the expansion and growth of academic options with the opening of degree programs in Law (1980), Actuarial Sciences (1982), Computer Engineering (1983), International Relations (1992), Telematics Engineering (1993), Industrial Engineering (1997), and diverse joint programs: Management and Public Accounting and Financial Strategy, as well as Economics and Political Science. Recently ITAM opened new licentiate degree programs: Business Engineering (2005) and Financial Directorship and Mechatronics Engineering, both in 2010. The Institute’s academic expansion made it necessary to expand its facilities. At the beginning of 1978, ITAM moved its venue to Río Hondo 1, in the neighborhood known as San Angel in Mexico City in the facilities of a former Jesuit seminary. The consolidation of postgraduate studies was marked by the inauguration of the Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Posgrado (Postgraduate Studies and Research Center) at an alternate campus at Avenida Santa Teresa 939, in the neighborhood Colonia Héroes de Padierna.

Rectors 1946–2011

Since its foundation, ITAM has been headed by directors and later by rectors, posts that have been filled solely by the Board of Trustees. The individuals who have headed the Institute are: Eduardo García Máynez, director general from 1946 to 1951; Agustín de la Llera, director general from 1952 to 1967; Gustavo Petricioli, director general for a brief period in 1967; Enrique Moreno de Tagle, director general from 1967 to 1968; Joaquín Gómez Morfín, rector from 1968 to 1971; Antonio Carrillo Flores, rector from 1971 to 1972; Javier Beristaín, rector from 1972 to 1991; and Arturo Fernández Pérez, the current rector since 1991. Throughout the last four decades, Alberto Baillères, son of Raúl Baillères and an ITAM graduate, has presided over the Asociación Mexicana de Cultura and the Governing Board of the Institute, which awarded him a doctorate honoris causa on May 20, 1999. In his acceptance speech, Alberto Baillères reflected on the Institute’s mission and development: “At ITAM we have aspired to offer excellence in the education imparted here, guided by academic rigor and freedom. I am proud to sustain with full conviction that this has been a factor of success in the Institute’s life.” On the other hand, he expressed the educational ideal that governs it: “Holistic training must make our students capable of looking beyond the borders of their disciplines and be guided by a vision of the world and of life that strengthens and broadens their professional development, their creativity, and feeling of responsibility.” Alberto Baillères is a distinguished and respected entrepreneur in the country who has presided over the Institute’s Governing Body since 1967; his generosity has been of enormous value in maintaining and developing the Institute.

Educational opportunities and teaching

ITAM’s internal structure is composed of five Academic Divisions that encompass fourteen Academic Departments that serve as the foundation for thirty-eight academic programs. The five divisions are: Actuarial Sciences, Statistics, and Mathematics; Management and Accounting; Economy, Law and Social Sciences; General Studies and International Studies; and Engineering. ITAM describes its academic style as follows: “We emphasize our commitment to providing the best professors for the best students. Classes are small and dynamic and we try to avoid groups larger than thirty students.” Because of its size, ITAM fosters the personalized attention of professors and program directors who maintain close, ongoing ties with the student body. Some 94 percent of the teaching staff has completed postgraduate studies at the top universities in the world. A non-profit organization, ITAM has a scholarship program that benefits some 30 percent of the students enrolled. In other words, one in three students receives financial aid to be able to cover the cost of his or her studies at the Institute, including living costs.

Licentiate and postgraduate studies

ITAM has nine licentiate degree programs: Actuarial Sciences, Management, Political Science, Public Accounting and Financial Strategy, Law, Financial Directorship, Economics, Applied Mathematics, and International Relations. In addition, it offers five engineering degrees: Computer, Mechatronics, Business, Telematics, and Industrial Engineering. Students can study more than one major at a time through the twenty-four joint programs the ITAM offers at licentiate and engineering levels. Licentiate students study the core curriculum in General Studies: a program that consists of seven subjects offered by the division of the same name. Through these subjects, the goal is to offer students humanistic training in order to forge individual, independent criteria that can be integrated into their professional and personal lives. As for postgraduate work—which 50 percent of the licentiate graduates go on to do—ITAM has eleven programs, all backed by official recognition: Management (2007), Risk Management (2002), Management Sciences (2006), International Directorship (2007), Executive MBA (2004)—in conjunction with Tulane University, Economics (2007), Finance (2008), Marketing (2011), MBA (2007), Economic Theory (2007), and Information and Management Technologies (2008). It also offers a doctorate in Economics (2007). The master’s degrees can be done on a part-time or full-time basis.

University Extension and Executive Development

In addition to university degrees and postgraduate studies, the Institute has a Continuing Education Program, officially known as University Extension and Executive Development, which seeks to keep its alumni up-to-date and to offer educational opportunities to other groups of individuals in society such as companies and governmental institutions, among others. This Program offers international certificate courses, online certificate courses, executive programs, and refresher courses; it forms part of UNICON (International University Consortium for Executive Education), which also includes other centers of excellence such as Harvard University, Wharton Business School, Kellogg School of Management and Stanford University. The courses and certificate courses are offered in the areas of: Management; Actuary Sciences and Insurance; Accounting and Finance; Law; Economics; Statistics; Innovation; Technology and Computer Sciences; Industrial Engineering and Operations; International Relations; Public Sector and Society; and Humanism. It also runs special projects and programs, designed to meet the training needs of specific companies and these can be given on or off campus. This dimension is based on the idea that “all education must be aimed at improving human beings by enriching their worthiest values.”

National and international impact of ITAM students and alumni

ITAM’s enrollment represents less than 0.5 percent of the nation’s university enrollment and totals roughly 4,500 students at licentiate and engineering level. However, ITAM exerts a major impact on its community of alumni and on the nation’s life. To be admitted to ITAM candidates must take the PAA (academic aptitude test for Spanish speakers), an admissions exam given at the Institute and the leading universities internationally. The young people who are admitted to ITAM obtain high scores on this test and thus belong to a select group of students who obtain the highest scores in Mexico and in the world. In the classification “the 300 most influential leaders,” annually conducted by the magazine Líderes Mexicanos, since 2006, ITAM graduates have represented, on average, 7 percent of the list. In 2011 thirty-two alumni from the master’s and licentiate program appeared on the list. Business magazine Expansión conducted a study in 2007 that found that 14 percent of the fifty most influential women in Mexico were ITAM graduates, which attests to the efforts in favor of gender equality made by the Institute throughout its existence. Even though it is small school compared to a number of large-scale Mexican universities, it has fostered the development of a united spirit among alumni that promotes ties with the Institute even after students have completed their studies. The majority of ITAM graduates are positioned at the highest management levels of corporations or institutions where they work, more than half elect to go on to postgraduate studies at universities of excellence abroad, and according to a survey, alumni are satisfied with the preparation they have received. Institute graduates achieve strong positioning in the labor market. ITAM has an employment office and 60 percent of the students find a job before receiving their degree.

Outstanding Alumni

To recognize the professional caliber of ITAM alumni and its contribution to Mexico’s development, ITAM and the Alumni Association established “Race to the Universe” and “Professional Merit” awards of recognition in 1999. In 2010, Georgina Kessel, at that time secretary of Energy, was the first woman to receive this maximum recognition for her thirty years of experience. A number of Institute alumni have gone on to play an important role as professors, directors of international private-sector agencies, directors of private sector corporations, as well as officials in the public sector. Outstanding examples include: Miguel Mancera Aguayo, former governor of Banco de México (the nation’s central bank); Francisco Gil Díaz and Pedro Aspe Armella, former secretaries of the Treasury; Plácido Arango Arias, co-founder of conglomerate Grupo Cifra; Alonso Lujambio, secretary of Public Education; Alicia Lebrija Hirschfeld, director of the Televisa Foundation; María Asunción Aramburuzabala Larregui, vice-president of the Board of Directors of beer manufacturers Grupo Modelo; Diódoro Carrasco Altamirano, former governor of the state of Oaxaca; Jesús Reyes-Heroles González-Garza, former secretary of Energy and former ambassador of Mexico to the United States, and Agustín Carstens, governor of Banco de México. Free of a political agenda, ITAM does not inculcate its students with any specific ideology. Its classrooms have produced alumni of different political persuasions, including members of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI; Institutional Revolutionary Party), Partido Acción Nacional (PAN; National Action Party), and the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD; Democratic Revolution Party).

Awards and recognition

ITAM students have received diverse awards and forms of distinction: the Fulbright-García Robles grants of Fulbright Program, the Academia Mexicana de Derecho y Economía (Mexican Academy of Law and Economics) award, the Banamex Economics Award, the Asociación Nacional de Instituciones de Educación en Informática (ANIEI; National Association of Computer Technology Education Institutions) award, the Academic Excellence Award of the Asociación Nacional de Facultades y Escuelas de Ingeniería (National Association of Engineering Faculties and Schools), the Asociación Mexicana de Ingenieros Mecánicos y Electricistas (Mexican Association of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers) Award, the National Financial Research Award of the Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas (Mexican Institute of Finance Executives), and the “Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Program” award. The Institute itself grants awards for the top research projects conducted by its students. ITAM, as an institution, has also received multiple forms of recognition. In 2010, the Engineering Academic Division received the Franz Edelman Award, which is granted to “outstanding examples of innovative operations that benefit organizations.” In 2007, the magazine América Economía lauded it as one of the best business schools in Latin America; a commentary on the news explained this recognition as a function of a solid full-time faculty, many of them holding postgraduate degrees from the foremost universities in the world. That same year, the ITAM received accreditation from the Federación de Instituciones Mexicanas Particulares de Educación Superior A.C. (FIMPES; Federation of Mexican Private Institutions of Higher Learning). Some of ITAM’s most recent institutional forms of recognition that should be mentioned are first place for institutional academic level and first place for the academic level of its professors based on the survey “Top Universities” published by the newspaper Reforma. In its most recent survey, four of the ITAM degree programs ranked first place, while it was also singled out in first place in other areas. A subsection of the ITAM webpage called “Events and news of interest” includes detailed follow-up of the prizes granted to its students and alumni and their incorporation in important positions in the government or corporate world. In 2011 the ITAM academic programs in Computer Sciences and Industrial Engineering received ABET accreditation, as the first educational institution in Mexico City to receive this recognition. ABET is a prestigious international agency that evaluates university programs in Applied Sciences, Technology, and Engineering worldwide.

Research and publications

Research

Apart from its educational services, ITAM has consolidated its reputation as a prestigious center for scientific research. Some of the work produced at ITAM has in many cases determined Mexico’s public, business and industrial policies. The Institute’s research centers are as follows: Centro de Análisis e Investigación Económica (CAIE; Analysis and Economic Research Center), Centro de Desarrollo Tecnológico (CDT; Technological Development Center), Centro de Economía Aplicada y Políticas Públicas (CEAPP; Applied Economics and Public Policies Center), Centro de Estadística Aplicada (CEA; Applied Statistics Center), Centro de Estudios Actuariales (CEAct; Actuarial Studies Center), Centro de Estudios de Competitividad (CEC; Competiveness Studies Center), Centro de Estudios de Derecho Privado (Private Law Studies Center), Centro de Estudios de Derecho Público (Public Law Studies Center), Centro de Estudios y Programas Interamericanos (Inter-American Programs and Studies Center), Centro de Evaluación Socioeconómica de Proyectos (Project Socio-Economic Evaluation Center), Centro Internacional para la Investigación en Pensiones (International Pensions Research Center), Centro de Investigación Económica (CIE; Economic Research Center), and Centro de Acceso a la Justicia (Access to Justice Center). The Academic Division of Management and Accounting has five specialized research centers in different areas of these subjects.

Publications

Among Mexico’s private universities, ITAM stands out for its publishing activity and its catalogue includes more than one hundred volumes and six hundred articles produced by its researchers and published in specialized international journals, many of them recorded in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science, “a database with “authoritative, multidisciplinary content [that] covers over 12,000 of the highest impact journals worldwide.” ITAM’s academic journals have been compiled in the catalogue Publicaciones Académicas 1996-1998. Furthermore, the Institute publishes its own magazines in two major categories: institutional and alumni related. The first category includes the publications: Análisis de la Coyuntura Económica, Estudios, Revista Mexicana de Derecho Público, Isonomía, Dirección Estratégica and Segmento. Another important publication, Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, a joint project with the prestigious U.S. journal Foreign Affairs, regarded as one of the most influential international forums, stands out for its public importance and international impact. The second category, referring to alumni magazines, covers titles such as: Caeteris Paribus, Gaceta de Ciencia Política, Gaceta de Economía, Laberintos e Infinitos, Opción, El Globalista, Sintagma and Urbi et Orbi. El Supuesto, the student newspaper, consists of three hundred issues published to date and serves as a means of community communication and a forum of student expression on today’s issues. As a whole these publishing products cover a broad spectrum of subject matter parallel to in-class training.

Libraries, databases, and laboratories

Libraries

ITAM has the Raúl Baillères Jr. Library on the Río Hondo campus; it fulfills the criteria established by the American Library Association for university libraries. Its collection contains more than 400,000 volumes and copies of more than 900 periodical publications related to the disciplines taught at the Institute. At the same time, it offers access to newspaper and periodical, electronic, and audiovisual resources. Its special collections include the Miguel Palacios Macedo collection, the Bibliografía Antigua (Old Bibliography from the private collection of Rüdiger Dornbusch), and the personal libraries of Luis Montes de Oca and José Luis La Madrid Sauza. It has the collection of the Manuel Gómez Morin Library, which belonged to the Mexican statesman who founded the Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party) and contains more than 12,000 books on law, economics, political science, public administration, philosophy, and literature, as well as a series of special editions.

Databases and laboratories

These resources for students and researchers are complemented by databases; together they form the technological infrastructure necessary to promote student academic performance. The Financial Center on the Santa Teresa Campus has specialized programs and databases for financial research: Data Stream International, Dow Jones Interactive, Bloomberg, Reuter 3000/Reuter Graphics and Infosel Financiero. The Río Hondo computer centers include laboratories of performance in physics, electronics, networking, automatization of micro-processes, and telematics engineering. It is also worth mentioning the Centro de Aprendizaje, Redacción y Lenguas (CARLE; Learning, Writing and Languages Center), part of the Languages Academic Department, a dependency of the ITAM Academic Division of General Studies and International Studies. Its mission is to meet the learning objects that students must meet in the areas of strategies of learning, writing, and foreign languages. This Center houses the Cervantes Interactive Hall, the Writing Center, and a Media Library.

Student societies and community service

Student societies are of major importance within the Institute. The ITAM Student Society (CARITAM) is the official arm representing students, and the Consejo Universitario de Honor y Excelencia (CUHE; University Honor and Excellence Council) was formed to foster improved academic performance. As part of a culture of social responsibility, there are other ITAM student groups structured as volunteer organizations. Students participate in them as a contribution to resolve problems in Mexican society. These groups include the following: ALCANCE, with a decade of work in three main areas: community development, street children, and physically or mentally disadvantaged persons. The Centro de Acceso a la Justicia (CAJ; Justice Access Center), composed of Law students and professors, provides free legal aid to individuals in need. The Despacho de Asesoría Gratuita a Organizaciones Filantrópicas (DAGIF; an office providing free advice to philanthropic organizations) offers consultancy services on subjects such as fundraising, compliance with Mexican legal provisions, and communication campaigns. ITAMMUN is a United Nations Model that seeks to promote debate on subjects on the international agenda. The Programa Interdisciplinario para el Desarrollo Sustentable (PIDES; Interdisciplinary Sustainable Development Program) is an association that brings together students who organize activities to promote respect and care for the environment. In this way ITAM achieves active participation in resolving Mexico’s foremost problems.

External links

• (Spanish) Official site
• Official website (English)
• Grupo Bal Official page
• Líderes Mexicanos Official page
• CNN Expansión Official page
• Federación de Instituciones Mexicanas Particulares de Educación Superior Official Page
• America Economía Ranking MBA 2010
• Businessweek analysis about Business Master