Harman Patil (Editor)

Instituto Politécnico Nacional

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Type
  
Public

Dean
  
Jesús Ávila Galinzoga

Phone
  
+52 55 5729 6000

Mascot
  
White Donkey

Established
  
1 January 1936

Academic staff
  
17,534

Founder
  
Lázaro Cárdenas

Colors
  
White, Maroon

Instituto Politécnico Nacional

Motto
  
La Técnica al Servicio de la Patria

Motto in English
  
Technology to meet the needs of the Nation

Address
  
s/n, de, Av Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Lindavista, Nueva Industrial Vallejo, 07738 Ciudad de México, Mexico

Founded
  
1 January 1936, Mexico City, Mexico

Director
  
Enrique Fernández Fassnacht

Notable alumni
  
Ernesto Zedillo, Guillermo González Camarena, Josefina Vázquez Mota, Pedro Rudomín Zevnovaty, Jerzy Rzedowski

Similar
  
National Autonomous University, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Profesional Interdisci, CINVESTAV, ESIQIE

Profiles

Instituto polit cnico nacional


The Instituto Politécnico Nacional ([instiˈtuto poliˈtekniko nasjoˈnal], National Polytechnic Institute), abbreviated IPN, is one of the largest public universities in Mexico with 171,581 students at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It was founded on 1 January 1936 during the administration of President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río as a response to provide professional education to the most disadvantaged social classes in that period, a practice that is maintained because it is one of the few vocational schools in the world.

Contents

The institute consists of 98 academic units offering 293 courses of study. It includes 78 technical careers, 80 undergraduate and 135 postgraduate programs. Its main campus, called 'Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos' or 'Zacatenco', is on approximately 530 acres (2.1 km2) north Mexico City.

The IPN is based primarily in Mexico City and its suburbs, but with several research institutes and facilities distributed over 22 states.

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 and donated by the federal government.

Prominent astronomer Luis Enrique Erro, former revolutionary Juan de Dios Bátiz Paredes and former minister of education Narciso Bassols were among its initial promoters.

During the administration of former director Alejo Peralta sufficient lands were given to IPN. Expropriated lands of Santa Maria Ticomán (213 ha) and San Pedro Zacatenco (43 ha) were used.

The construction of what is now the Professional Unit "Adolfo López Mateos" (Zacatenco) began in 1958. In 1959, former President Adolfo López Mateos, the former minister of education Jaime Torres Bodet, and former director of IPN Eugenio Mendez Docurro, inaugurated the first four buildings of Zacatenco, which were occupied by the Superior School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (ESIME) and the Superior School of Engineering and Architecture (ESIA).

Organization

The institute is organized around 98 academic units including 18 vocational high schools (operates as CECyT), 26 university colleges, 20 scientific and technical research centers, 17 continuing education centers, 4 units for educational support, 3 support units for education innovation, 8 support units for research, development and technological and enterprise foment, and 2 units affiliated to science, enterprise research and development.

These schools are primarily in Mexico City, although several extension and research facilities are distributed over 22 states.

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. Since November 2014, its director-general is Enrique Fernández Fassnacht.

In addition to its academic endeavors, and as part of its cultural promotion strategy, the institute operates 'Canal Once', the oldest public broadcast service in Latin America featuring original cultural, scientific, information and entertainment programming, foreign shows and classic, rare, and non-commercial films from all over the world.

Academics

The Institute offers 80 undergraduate programs leading to four- or five-year bachelor's degrees and 135 postgraduate programs leading to 29 postgraduate diplomas, 70 master's degrees and 36 doctorate degrees.

Like most public universities in Mexico, in addition to its undergraduate and graduate schools the institute sponsors several vocational high schools called 'Centros de Estudios Científicos y Tecnológicos' (C.E.C. y T.), most of which are in Greater Mexico City. Upon completion, they lead to a technician degree. For this level of study, the institute offers 78 technical careers.

Athletics

IPN fields 27 varsity teams in sports or activities such as archery, American football, athletics, baseball, basketball, body building, bowling, boxing, chess, cycling, frontenis, gymnastics, handball, indoor soccer, judo, karate, kendo, mountaineering, rowing, soccer, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, touch football, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.

The university maintains a fierce rivalry with all the athletic teams from the National Autonomous University of Mexico but have a particularly bitter competition with its football program, the "Pumas Dorados" (Golden Pumas).

Scientists and technologists

  • Guillermo González Camarena: television pioneer; inventor of an early color television transmission system.
  • Jerzy Rzedowski: plant scientist; pioneer of neotropical floristics.
  • 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.
  • Ruth Rivera Marin: architect, the first woman to study architecture at the College of Engineering and Architecture.
  • Constantino Reyes-Valerio: chemist and art historian, discovered the recipe to create Maya blue and coined the term Arte Indocristiano.
  • Raúl Rojas: professor of computer science and mathematics and a renowned specialist in artificial neural networks.
  • Politicians

  • Ernesto Zedillo: former President of Mexico (1994-2000).
  • Josefina Vázquez Mota: former Secretary of Education (Mexico).
  • Reyes Tamez: Secretary of Education during the Fox administration.
  • Victor Bravo Ahuja: Secretary of Education during the Echeverría admninistration.
  • Eugenio Méndez Docurro: Secretary of Communications and Transportation during the Echeverría administration
  • Héctor Mayagoitia Domínguez: former Governor of Durango (1974-1979).
  • Miguel Borge Martín: former Governor of Quintana Roo (1987-1993).
  • Roberto Kobeh González: ICAO Council President (2006-2014)
  • Notable faculty

    See also Category: Instituto Politécnico Nacional 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.
  • References

    Instituto Politécnico Nacional Wikipedia