The Benilde of the Future Initiative (BOFI) is a plan to move forward and address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while at the same time, transitioning Benilde into a 21st-century educational institution. Educational institutions are social arenas. A no contact, fully online environment is not the way for us to go in a post-pandemic world. There has to be a semblance of the past, albeit greatly reduced, in order to continue delivering a holistic educational experience with emphasis on the development of interpersonal skills and lasting relationships amongst Benildeans. 

The post-pandemic Benilde will be inclusive, incorporating off-campus provisions and in-campus facilities to cater to as many students as possible who have challenges in adapting to the new world due to issues in equipment, connectivity, physical space and mental health. All members of the Benildean community who will be on campus will be required to adhere to health and safety protocols and physical distancing guidelines. Classes will be conducted and attended from within the campus and from homes. Dual-lab setups will also be considered. Classrooms and labs will be equipped with professional video conferencing equipment and apps. The school’s Internet will be boosted to make sure it can handle simultaneous streaming of all classes. 

BOFI will be an aggregation of traditional and technological systems that are flexible enough to cater to different learning styles and learners. It will require re-evaluation of existing policies and guidelines, and re-imagining of temporal and physical spaces that govern our academic and non-academic operations.