MACFAST

* www.macfast.org

MACFAST Panoramic View

Rev. Dr. Abraham Mulamoottil observed during his doctoral studies in Europe how Europeans perceived India. The image of India was pictured in TV and other media as a land of snake-charmers, slums and bullock carts. Meanwhile, in Germany during 1990s, the Parliament had a debate regarding the migration of 1 lakh Indian IT professionals to boost their IT development, which had already happened by then in the United States. Even though, the talks failed then, for an Indian like Dr. Mulamoottil, this instilled a sense of pride that India was going to emerge as a super power in the IT field. It then made the student Dr. Mulammootil think about founding an institute in India to provide IT education which can change the image of India in this new millennium. This was the passion for Dr. Mulamoottil to start MACFAST in 2001 beginning with an IT course- Master of Computer Applications. Subsequently, Master of Business Administration, M.Sc courses in Bioinformatics, Food Science and Technology, Biochemistry, Plant Biotechnology and Phytomedical Science and Technology have become well-established.

College Profile Video

MACFAST (Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla) , Kerala, India, a post graduate and research institution, was started in 2001, with the objective of offering specially designed courses in Business Management, Information Technology and Biosciences. MACFAST is owned and managed by the Corporate Educational Agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Tiruvalla, with His Grace Dr. Thomas Mar Koorilos as the President and Patron. In the past 76 years this agency has contributed to the establishment of a large number of schools, colleges, hospitals, medical and paramedical institutions throughout the country.

MACFAST is located in the commercially active town of Tiruvalla, Kerala. Amidst the lush green, stands this multi-storeyed building with a built-up area of 3,00,000 sq. ft.
MACFAST strives to raise its students to meet the challenging demands of the Corporate and Scientific world. In such a mission, research pursuits and technology initiatives gain significance. This had led to the recent establishment of the MACFAST Centre for Research and Development (MCRD). The MCRD offers Ph.D programmes in the Biosciences and is poised to enhance student creativity and produce high quality research.
A research journal titled Journal of Science, Technology and Management (JSTM), has also been initiated in 2008. JSTM is dedicated to bring together research in these three fields from around the world and also publish original work from the MCRD.
MACFAST owns an on campus Community Radio Station. Radio MACFAST 90.4 is the first on campus Community radio in the State and 46th in the Country.
MACFAST Industry Interface (MII), which began in 2010, initiated an era of exalting the College from a self-financing to self-sustaining one.

HISTORY AND GROWTH

MACFAST (Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla), Kerala, India, a post graduate and research institution, was established in 2001, with the aim of promoting professional and quality education to students with the specific objective of offering cutting edge courses in Business Management, Information Technology and Biosciences. With the commencement of MCA in 2001 and MBA & M. Sc Bioinformatics in 2002, MACFAST has been able to provide education in the primary areas of scientific and technological development. In the subsequent years, specialized courses in Biosciences have been introduced. Along with the addition of courses, the face of MACFAST has been transforming from a single building to multi-storeyed building, and with the construction of a separate campus for Biosciences.The infrastructure too has been modified with the setting up of world class auditorium, library covering an entire floor, digital library, state-of-the-art labs and research facilities, wireless connectivity, food court and separate hostel for women and a 6 storeyed hostel for men

There are modern equipments in all the laboratories, gadgets worth mentioning are Silicon Graphics Lab, Retort Sterilizers, Modified Atmospheric Packaging Machine, Pulverizer, Fruit Pulpers, Automatic Filling Machines, Retort Feelers, Spectrophotometer, Laminar Air flow Device, Electronic Barrels, PCR etc.. The latest centre to be added to the campus was the Food Science Pilot Plant and Incubation Centre for developing ethnic and unique food products.

MACFAST has reached a new height of success with the establishment of the MACFAST Center for Research and Development (MCRD), a research centre approved by the M.G.University in early 2008. The MCRD offers Ph.D programmes in Biosciences and is poised to enhance student creativity and produce high quality research.

A research journal titled Journal of Science, Technology and Management (JSTM), has also been initiated in 2008. JSTM is dedicated to bring together research in these three fields from around the world and also publish original work from the MCRD.

A Community Radio was launched in November 2009. Community Radio MACFAST 90.4 believes that the emergence of a Knowledge Society is possible through focused work at the grass-root level. It realizes that transfer of Knowledge happens in both directions-from the urban society to to the rural and vice-versa.

In the month of November 2009, MACFAST started an innovative program in partnership with the well established and highly reputed McDaniel College in Maryland, USA to provide a post-graduate degree in Education which will enable successful candidates to obtain the Master of Science (M. S.) degree as well as the US teaching license from the MSDE (Maryland State Department of Education) under an accelerated and intensive course work including structured class room teaching in regular secondary schools.

P. G. Diploma in Food Science & Technology conducted by IGNOU was introduced in 2010.

Synergizing the capabilities in the diverse fields like Computer Science & Management, MACFAST has established MACFAST INDUSTRY INTERFACE (MII) at Technopark in Trivandrum in 2010. Such interface can give rise to a robust, high quality, interdependent, long-term relationship between industry and academy leading to a win-win situation for both.

MILESTONES

2001 – Commencement of MCA

2002 – Introduction of MBA and M.Sc. Bioinformatics (MACFAST is the first College in Kerala to start M. Sc.Bioinformatics)

2003 – Introduction of M. Sc. Plant Biotechnology (MACFAST is the first College in Kerala to start M. Sc. Plant Biotechnology)

2003 – Introduction of M.Sc. Food Science and Technology

2004 – Introduction of M. Sc. Biochemistry

2005 – Introduction of M. Sc. Phytomedical Science and Technology (MACFAST is the first college in India to start M. Sc. Phytomedical Science and Technology)

2008 – Approval of the MACFAST Center for Research and Development as a research center under the M. G. University

2008 – Journal of Science, Technology and Management (JSTM) initiated

2009 – Launching of Radio MACFAST 90.4 FM

2009 – The MACFAST-McDaniel Partnership Programme

2010 – Post Graduate Diploma in Food Science & Technology, IGNOU Centre, St.John’s Campus

2010 – MACFAST INDUSTRY INTERFACE (MII)