What does an online college student look like? The outdated stereotype suggests someone permanently holed up in a room, wearing “pambahay” clothes, detached from campus life, and laser-focused solely on a laptop screen.
Karis Evangeline Carlos completely shatters that narrative. As a third-year Industrial Engineering student under Mapúa University’s Ubiquitous Online Experience (UOx) program, Karis is also the Team Manager of Cardinal One—Mapúa’s elite Shell Eco-Marathon squad. Her journey is a masterclass in how a fully online digital learning space can fuel real-world, high-performance success.
The Power of Self-Directed Flexibility
Karis deliberately chose the UOx track for its asynchronous, self-paced structure. Rather than tying her down to rigid physical schedules, UOx empowered her to become strategic, accountable, and highly resourceful with her time. The digital-first model allowed her to seamlessly balance rigorous engineering academics with personal passions like running, kickboxing, church service, and ultimately, leading a massive collegiate engineering project.
Joining the Cardinal One team in 2023 as a first-year student with zero traditional classroom experience, Karis rapidly climbed the ranks. Initially handling operations, her sharp communication skills, systems-thinking mindset, and natural leadership quickly earned her the appointment of Project Manager.
Stepping into the role meant steering the team through intense academic demands, complex vehicle technical developments, tight international timelines, and resource constraints. To succeed, Karis applied industrial engineering systems thinking to optimize team dynamics, asserting herself through open communication, absolute integrity, and trust-building.
Redefining Productivity on a Global Scale
The inherent structure of the Mapúa UOx program completely reshaped how Karis managed her productivity. With all course materials, digital tools, deadlines, and deliverables mapped out well in advance, she could deliberately plan her coursework around demanding team operations. When project responsibilities peaked, the flexibility of UOx allowed her to adjust her study hours without ever compromising her academic performance.
While UOx champions independent learning, Mapúa ensures students are never isolated. The ecosystem provides robust institutional support through dedicated mentors, life coaches, remedial sessions, and a vast repository of world-class digital educational resources to ease the student workload.
This seamless synergy between digital flexibility and real-world execution has placed Mapúa’s Cardinal One on the international map. Under the guidance of university mentors Dean Aldrin Calderon, Professor Sherwin Magon, and Professor Louie Villalon, the team competed in the 2024 Shell Eco-Marathon Regional Finals in Indonesia. Competing in the Internal Combustion category, their vehicle sailed through the rigorous Technical Inspection phase and ultimately swept the prestigious Technical Innovation Award, clocking an astonishing 274 kilometers per liter (km/L) fuel efficiency.
Accelerating forward, the team shifted gears to full electric propulsion, engineering their first-ever battery-electric prototype: the Aguila Neo Electric. The vehicle represented the country at the Shell Eco-Marathon Regionals in Doha, Qatar, where it once again cleared the strict Technical Inspection phase, registering a highly efficient 91 kilometers per kilowatt-hour (km/kWhr).
The Ultimate Digital Advantage
For prospective students looking to conquer both their degrees and their career milestones simultaneously, Karis proves that a digital education from Mapúa is a premium competitive advantage.
“Being an online student is not a limitation; in many ways, it is an advantage. You are trained to be self-directed, resourceful, and disciplined—qualities that are essential in large-scale, high-impact projects. But involvement requires intentional effort. You have to seek out opportunities, engage meaningfully with teams, and contribute beyond what is expected,” Karis shared.
She encourages future digital learners to take the initiative, even when facing massive, unfamiliar challenges. “Real growth only happens when you step out of your comfort zone, stretch your capacity, and anchor your work to a deeper purpose.”
To discover how you can master your time, outpace traditional limitations, and experience a world-class, future-focused education, visit www.mapua.edu.ph and explore the Mapúa UOx programs today.
