Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City


Tecnológico de Monterrey, campus Ciudad de Mexico is located in the Tlalpan borough of Mexico City near the intersection of Periferico Sur and Calzada México-Xochimilco. It is physically small, densely packed campus that is divided into two parts. In one are the academic and administrative facilities, and in the other are the sports facilities. The design of its buildings reflect the various architectural styles that exist in Mexico City from the 17th to the 20th centuries., and is designed to reflect the historic center of this city.
The campus offers programs and degrees from the high school/preparatory level to the doctorate level. Most university and graduate school programs focus on the sciences and technology, with a number of business and legal programs. The campus also sponsors research programs in the applied sciences as well as recreational and counseling programs for its students. The campus was founded in 1973 and was originally located in downtown Mexico City. When the campus had grown sufficiently, land in the southern part of the city was purchased and a new campus built there in 1990. Since then the campus has grown with new programs and new installations.

Preparatory programs

The preparatory program has four divisions. PrepaTec Bilingüe, PrepaTec Bicultural, PrepaTec Bicultural Interdisciplinaria and Bachillerato Internacional. The Bilingual program emphasizes high academic standards, international programs, student-centered learning and critical thinking. Study of English is required. The Bicultural program differs in that it focuses on students’ better appreciation of both the Anglo and Hispanic cultures that make up the Americas. Students are required to study both English and French. The Interdisciplinary Bicultural program has similar requirements as the Bicultural program, but learning through projects and field experiences is emphasized. The International Baccalaureate is part of a Europe-based program that can be found in 119 countries around the world.

University-level studies

University-level studies are separated into four administrative divisions: Health Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering and Architecture and Business. The Health Science Division offers degrees in Biomedical Engineering, Nutrition, Medicine and Biotechnology. The Humanities and Social Science Division offers degrees in Communication, Law, Journalism and Mass Media, Political Science, Organizational Psychology, International Relations, Animation and Digital Art, Liberal Arts, Law as well as dual degrees in Law/Economics, Law/Political Science and Law/Finance. The Engineering and Architecture Division offers degrees in Architecture, Industrial Design, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mechanics Administration Engineering, Mechanical-Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Business and Information Technologies Engineering. The Business Division offers degrees in Business Administration, Financial Administration, Public Accounting and Finances, Economics, Marketing, International Business, Administration of Human Capital and Knowledge, Creation and Development of Businesses, as well as dual degrees in Economics/Finance, Economics/Political Science.

Post-graduate studies

There are three schools on this campus that offer post-graduate degrees: Escuela de Graduados en Administración y Dirección de Empresas or EGADE, Escuela de Graduados en Administración Pública y Política Pública or EGAP and Escuela de Graduados en Ingeniería y Arquitectura or EGIA. EGADE offers master's degrees in Administration, Finance, Marketing, Business Economics and MBA-Executive. EGAP offers master's degrees in Public Administration and Public Policy, International Law, International Studies, Economics and Public Policy, Political Analysis and Information Media and Law. EGIA offers degrees in Telecommunications Administration, Computer Science, Engineering Science and Industrial Engineering. Doctorate degrees are offered in Humanistic Studies, Financial Science, Administrative Science and Computer Science.

Research

The campus considers research to be a fundamental component of its educational mission and is oriented to making a scientific, economic and or social impact on the ITESM system in general. Most of the projects carried out here are of a technological nature, focusing on applied sciences. Research projects are divided into groups called “cátedras de investigación”. There are fifteen of these at Campus Ciudad de México, working with Campus Santa Fe with a total of ninety researchers. These groups research issues such as risk management, civil society, marketing, international law, mechatronics, e-learning, Mexican studies, international studies, ethics and human rights, technological innovation, logistics and supply chains, electromechanic Microsystems, public policy, economic regulation and indicators and the information age. Research is carried out in Centers, such as the Center for Design and Engineering and the Center for Business Studies, to link researchers with resources inside and outside of the ITESM university system. Researchers at this campus and Campus Santa Fe published 23 books, and 53 specialized research articles in international journals. Since the campus is oriented to applied technologies, the granting of patents is a valuable marker of research here as well. In 2008, the ITESM system was the number one organization with patent applications in Mexico, five of which originated with this campus.

Cedetec-Cemex

CEDETEC, which stands for Centro de Desarrollo Tecnológico, is an installation that is co-sponsored with CCM by the cement maker Cemex. The facility has sixty-nine high-tech laboratories for classes and individual study in fields such as communications, engineering, design and architecture. Part of this facility is the Media Center with laboratories equipped to train students to produce television programs, films, videos, teleconferences, commercials, animation and more using high-definition technology. The center belongs to the Humanities and Social Science Division of the school as a space “dedicated to promote creativity, innovation, and technology for students in the communication, animation, digital art, journalism and mass media fields.” The facility also offers classes for the general public in computer programs such as Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator. Pro Tools, Maya and Final Cut

Student life

The campus has a Direccion de Asuntos Estudiantiles or DAE, which offer four basic services: student clubs, athletics, art and culture classes and academic and personal counseling. Student clubs exist to assist in the “integral formation” of students in their communities by fomenting an appreciation of culture, history and social structures, as well as developing a sense of self as a member of the Campus. Student groups sponsor symposiums, congresses, trips and other activities, developing organizational and leadership abilities. Many of these groups are also sponsored by companies and other organizations outside of the school. The campus has fifty two different clubs divided by scholastic level and professional interests. The Difusión Cultural division offers recreational classes in culture and arts. It also sponsors events and shows such as the Dance Festival, the Song Festival, the Literary Creation Contest, the Safety Poster Contest and the National Leadership Congress.
Like student clubs, sports associations on campus are meant for “integral formation” in addition to developing physical conditioning. Sports programs have trained professional staff and installations and allow student to compete in tournaments both inside and outside the Tec of Monterrey system. Programs offered here include: American football, soccer, track and field, basketball, volleyball, Tae Kwan Do, tennis, swimming, Tae-bo, spinning, aerobics, Pilates and yoga. The campus has also its own radio station named Concepto Radial, which is mainly run by students.
Academic and personal counseling is available to students in confidentiality and with specialists. One-on-one counseling is available as well as workshops in psychological and emotional issues as well as academic development, such as study strategies. There is also vocational counseling.

History of the campus

Campus Ciudad de México was initially founded in 1973 on the eleventh floor of a building in Colonia Doctores in the center of Mexico City with 97 graduate-level students, with its first general director, Francisco Abel Treviño. By 1977, 72 master’s degree candidates had graduated and the Open Preparatory School System began with twelve students. In this same year, the school moved to a larger building in the same section of the city. During the 1980s the facility grew, adding more students and more programs. Research centers devoted to quality management, productivity, computer science, international business and entrepreneurship were opened. By 1986, the new campus has 1,035 students. Near the end of the decade land was purchased in the Tlalpan borough in the south of the city to build a permanent campus. It was decided to build it as a mix of architectural styles from various centuries to represent technological development over time. The first stone was ceremoniously laid in 1990 to begin the first phase of construction, which included thirty classrooms, an administrative building, a football field, two tennis courts and parking. This was completed for the start of classes in August 1990.
The 1990s were marked by the growth of the campus, both in the number of programs offered and new construction, with a student population of 2,800 students in 1991. Some of the new programs added to the campus include master's degrees in Education, Applied Economics, Administration and Economics and bachelor's degrees in Communications, Electronic and Communications Engineering, Economics, International Commerce, Electronics Systems Engineering, Administrative Mechanics Engineering, Architecture, Financial Administration, Journalis and Mass Media, Organizational Psychology, Law and Political Science and others. The Virtual University project was begun. The first class of preparatory students also graduated during this decade, which added the International Baccelaureate program later in the decade.
The campus was the first in Latin America to partner with MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Yale in the form of a consortium. New construction included the Aulas II and Aulas III classroom buildings, the main parking garage, the student center and the cafeteria. Construction also included major artworks such as the Chess pieces done by Mexican sculptor Miguel Peraza. The large chessboard and sculptures based on chess pieces have given the facility the nickname of the “Campus del Ajedrez”. The “King” sculpture is located next to the main library. Other artworks include the mural by Raul Anguiano “El Hombre, la Palabra y la Técnica” in the Centro Electrónico de Cálculo.
In the 2000s, new postgraduate programs in Industrial Engineering, Public Administration, and Marketing were added as well as the first doctoral programs. These and other programs received accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The campus also graduated its first class of medical students in this decade as well. In cooperation with the Mexican corporation CEMEX, the campus opened the Centro de Desarrollo Empresarial y Tecnológico-CEMEX, . It was inaugurated by President Vicente Fox Quesada with 14,630m2 of construction to supply the campus with workspaces in architecture, industrial design, computer, mechanical, electronic industrial laboratories as well as “laboratories” for business, humanities and social sciences. It also houses the Center for Educational Innovation, installations of the Virtual University, the Media Center and the “New Business Incubator.”

2017 Earthquake aftermath

After the September 19, 2017 earthquake in Mexico City the existing campus suffered a series of damages that made most buildings unusable in the short term until aesthetic details were fixed and legal issues arose due to the death of 5 students because of the collapse of a series of bridges connecting three buildings. In order to avoid losing the ongoing semester and a sign of support between educational institutions, the "University Solidarity" Interinstitutional Agreement was created between the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education's Mexico City regional office and private universities inside the city: Anáhuac University, Iberoamerican University, La Salle University, Panamerican University and the Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology. This agreement allowed for students of the affected campus to temporarily transfer to any of these universities to continue with their semester studies and return to ITESM during 2018. All of these universities as well as the National Autonomous University of Mexico offered classrooms and other spaces for ITESM professors and students to use as temporary classrooms and continue their studies with the same program as before the earthquake.
While classes continued both virtually and in a diverse array of places in Mexico City, access to the campus was partially restricted because of ongoing forensic and structural investigations were conducted in the damaged buildings. At the same time, a new temporary campus was being built in the sports and cultural complex of the campus, with geodesic domes and other structures serving as the new classrooms to be used during finals week in December 2017 and as a full-time temporary campus starting in January 2018. To complement these new spaces, the buildings that did not suffer of any type of damages were used again starting in December 2017 as well as a newly acquired lot besides the existing campus that was previously owned by bank group Citibanamex that would now serve as the new spaces for cultural and sports activities, as well as the new location for the general campus library and other administrative spaces.
In June 2018, the demolition of the damaged buildings started.

New Campus

Shortly after the academic activities of the campus restarted, academic authorities announced that the institution had decided to demolish 11 out of the 14 existing buildings and refurbish 2 of the remaining ones in order to rebuild the campus and create new spaces that better adapt to the new Modelo TEC21 eduacation model, similar to the new library constructued at the school's Monterrey Campus. Initially, demolition and construction works were planned to start as soon as January 2018, but they did not start until June 2018. The first buildings for the new campus are slated to be completed in late 2019 or early 2020 with more to come during the following months.
As part of the institution's intentions to involve the community during the design and construction processes of the new buildings, students from the Architecture major were invited to participate in the design stage as an option to comply with their social service credits.
Unlike the existing one, the new campus will not be externally gated and the outside grounds will be open to the community with security checkpoints in every building for students, professors and other collaborators. With the new acquired lot plus the existing cultural and sports complex, the total gross land area of the full campus will be 24 hectares.