National Polytechnic Institute
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| National Polytechnic Institute | |
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| Instituto Politécnico Nacional | |
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| Motto: | La técnica al servicio de la patria |
| Established: | 1936 |
| Type: | Public |
| Director-general: | José Enrique Villa Rivera |
| Students: | 137,809 (2006)[1] |
| Undergraduates: | 82,808 (2006)[1] |
| Postgraduates: | 4,922 (2006)[1] |
| Location: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Colors: | Burgundy & white |
| Mascot: | Burros blancos (White donkeys) |
| Website: | ipn.mx |
The National Polytechnic Institute (in Spanish: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, IPN) is one of the largest and finest public universities in Mexico. Based primarily in Mexico City and its suburbs, it offers over 64 different undergraduate and 114 graduate programs to some 87,000 students.[1]
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[edit] History
The Institute was founded on January 1, 1936 during the administration of President Lázaro Cárdenas in what had been previously known as the Ex hacienda Santo Tomás; a large estate initially owned by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in the 16th century[2] and donated by the federal government.[3] Prominent astronomer Luis Enrique Erro, former revolutionary Juan de Dios Bátiz and former minister of education Narciso Bassols were among its initial promoters.[3]
[edit] Organization
The Institute is organized around 77 academic units including 24 university colleges, 15 scientific and technical research centers, 11 continuing education centers and 16 vocational high schools located primarily in Mexico City, although several extension and research facilities are distributed over 15 different states.[1]
Some units (particularly the semi-autonomous, internationally renowned Cinvestav) enjoy a high degree of academic and budgetary freedom. The Institute as a whole is headed by a Director-general appointed by the President of Mexico, usually (but not always) after some consultation with members of its academic community.[4] Since 2003 its Director-general is José Enrique Villa Rivera.
In addition its academic endeavors, and as part of its cultural promotion strategy, the Institute operates Canal Once, the oldest public broadcast service in Latin America[5] featuring original cultural, scientific, and entertainment programming, foreign shows and classic, rare, and non-commercial films from all over the world.
[edit] Academics
As of 2006 the Institute was offering 64 undergraduate programs leading to four or five-years bachelor's degrees and 114 graduate programs leading to 24 postgraduate diplomas, 63 master's degrees and 27 doctorate degrees. [1]
Its 2006 general admission rate for undergraduate programs was 39%,[1] although this varies greatly among its schools.
Like most public universities in the country, in addition to its graduate and undergraduate schools the Institute sponsors several high schools called Centros de Educación Científicos y Tecnológicos, CECyT, most of which are located in Greater Mexico City.[1]
[edit] Notable people
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] Scientists and technologists
- Guillermo González Camarena: television pioneer; inventor of an early color television transmission system.
- Esther Orozco: biology researcher, winner of the 1997 UNESCO/Institut Pasteur Medal and the 2006 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her work on amoebiasis.
- Evangelina Villegas: biochemist laureated with the 2000 World Food Prize and whose work with maize led to the development of Quality Protein Maize (QPM).
- Pablo Rudomín: neuroscientist laureated with the Prince of Asturias Award (1987).
- Gilberto Calvillo Vives: president of the United Nations' Statistics Commission.
- Alberto Pérez Gómez: architectural historian and winner of the 1984 Alice Davis Hitchcock Award.
[edit] Politicians
- Ernesto Zedillo: former President of Mexico (1994-2000).
- Josefina Vázquez Mota: current Secretary of Education.
- Reyes Tamez: Secretary of Education during the Fox administration.
- Victor Bravo Ahuja: Secretary of Education during the Echeverría admninistration.
- Héctor Mayagoitia Domínguez: former Governor of Durango (1974-1979).
[edit] Notable faculty
- Alexander Balankin: scientist, winner of the 2005 UNESCO Science Prize for his works on fractal mechanics.
- Heberto Castillo: inventor of tridilosa and founder of several political parties.
- Juan O'Gorman: architect and painter.
- Arturo Rosenblueth: physician, physiologist, and noted researcher.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h National Polytechnic Institute. Estadísticas institucionales 2006 (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ National Polytechnic Institute. Antecedentes del Centro Histórico y Cultural "Juan de Dios Bátiz" (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ a b National Polytechnic Institute. Historia (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ La Jornada (2006-11-09). Villa Rivera: nombrar director del IPN, facultad sólo del Presidente (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ Canal Once. Acerca de Canal Once (Spanish). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
[edit] External links
- National Polytechnic Institute (in Spanish)
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