The UP Diliman (UPD) Industrial Engineering (IE) program continues its journey towards excellence with the visit of a program evaluation team from the Philippine Technological Council-Accreditation and Certification Board for Engineering and Technology (PTC-ACBET). UPD officials, some members of the PTC-ACBET program evaluation team, and the QAO team at the exit meeting. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO According to Director Aura C. Matias of the Quality Assurance Office (QAO), one major benefit for graduates of PTC-ACBET accredited programs is the recognition of engineering qualifications outside of the country. “Our graduates that are accredited by PTC get mutual recognition as engineers in member countries of the Washington Accord. So, in effect, if our graduate migrates or finds a job in other countries like the US, Australia, Saudi Arabia, or whoever is the country signatory, you have the credentials of an engineer. You don’t have to subject yourself to the licensure of that country.…We want our graduates to be on par with all other engineers, even in the first-world countries,” Matias said. PTC logo. Image from the PTC Facebook page According to the International Engineering Alliance website, the Washington Accord “is a multi-lateral agreement between bodies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary-level engineering qualifications within their jurisdictions who have chosen to work collectively to assist the mobility of professional engineers.” So far, the accord has 23 signatories and seven provisional signatories across the globe. The program evaluation team led by Cynthia Posadas (team chair) and Dennis Anthony Kilong-Kilong (program evaluator) along with Lourdes Lasian (program evaluator on training), Engineering Accreditation Commission Chair May Rose C. Imperial, PTC President Federico Monsada, and ACBET Chair Lydia Tansinsin visited IE facilities and laboratories, and interviewed key IE personnel from April 24 to 26 and presented their preliminary findings at the exit meeting attended by University officials and held at the GE Theater on April 26. The IE program joins the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering, and Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering programs which have been assessed by the PTC-ACBET. UPD Vice Chancellor for Administration Adeline A. Pacia speaking at the meeting said, “The increasing number of quality assured degree programs is a testament to our efforts and commitment towards continuous quality improvement and making our degree programs at par with world’s best.” The result of the IE accreditation visit is expected to be released in the latter half of 2024. The next program to be assessed later this year is the Bachelor of Science in Geodetic Engineering.

The UP Diliman (UPD) University Council (UC) supports the College of Arts and Letters’
(CAL) assertion for a permanent and quality administrative base, and teaching and
research spaces it can call its own.

UP Diliman (UPD) bids farewell to four former faculty members and an administrative staff member: Carlos Ojeda Aureus, PhD, a former faculty member of the Department of English and Comparative Literature (DECL); Elsie S. Ramos, a lawyer and a former faculty member of the Departamento ng Kasaysayan; David M. Kummer, PhD who once taught at the Department of Geography (DGeog); Daniel G. Santos, a lecturer at the Department of Broadcast Communication (DBC); and Ma. Elena C. Ignacio, an administrative officer at the National Engineering Center (NEC). Aureus passed away on April 23, Ramos on April 24, Ignacio on April 26, and Santos on April 27. Meanwhile, DGeog announced Kummer’s passing on its Facebook page on April 26. Aureus. Image from the DECL Facebook page According to a post on the DECL Facebook page, Aureus was a faculty member who “devoted his life to sharing the knowledge he acquired from decades of writing and research, and he will be fondly remembered as an esteemed professor, a generous mentor, and a cherished colleague. A keen observer of shifting social tides, Sir Caloy expressed his astute observations and personal reflections in Nagueños, a collection of short fiction set in his hometown of Naga City on the precipice of the 21st century. He led a simple life and wished to be remembered as a humble public school teacher.” Aureus started teaching in the University as an instructor at the DECL in 1978. He retired in 2012 but was appointed as a professorial lecturer in the same department until 2014. According to the March 1994 issue of the UP Gazette, Ramos was appointed as an assistant professor at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy in 1994. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history in 1987 and 1992, respectively. She later left the University and pursued a law degree. Ramos. Image from the Departamento ng Kasaysayan Facebook page DGeog, in its Facebook post, described Kummer as a “Fulbright scholar, peace corps, professor (Westchester, NY; UP Diliman), friend, ally, mentor, guardian, and geographer.” The October 1978 issue of the UP Gazette stated he was appointed as a “visiting instructor… at the College of Forestry of UP Los Baños.” Kummer. Image from the DGeog Facebook page Meanwhile, Ignacio had been serving at the NEC since 2021. Prior to that, she was an assessor at…