A delegation from the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Engineering (COE) just finished the Visayas and Mindanao visits of its series of consultations with other higher education institutions (HEIs) about the shared challenges and opportunities they face in Philippine graduate engineering education.

The latest of Exploratory Discussions on Collaborative Effort to Scale Up Graduate Engineering Education Nationwide, a series of consultations with HEIs, was held from June 27 to July 1 and was organized in partnership with UP Cebu.

Among the topics the delegation discussed were the current practices of the COE and the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT). In turn, the participating HEIs shared their experiences, constraints, and potential solutions related to graduate engineering education. 

These consultations were motivated by the need to increase the country’s capacity to produce more engineers with graduate degrees, which the delegation said, can be achieved by increasing the number of engineering graduate programs offered across the country.

To meet these growing demands, the delegation proposed greater collaborative and academic resource sharing efforts across the HEIs aimed at enhancing graduate engineering education, research, and innovation for the country’s sustainable industrialization. 

They added that these efforts should focus on increasing the country’s researcher density in engineering fields, expanding graduate programs, developing human capital and infrastructure, and promoting resource and opportunity sharing across the HEIs.

The series of consultations began on May 31 at UP Baguio followed by a visit to Caraga State University in Butuan City on June 27, then to UP Cebu on July 1 for the regional meeting.

The delegation was led by COE Dean Maria Antonia N. Tanchuling along with COE Associate Dean for Public Engagement Rowaldo G. Del Mundo; Director Louis Angelo M. Danao of the National Graduate School of Engineering; COE Associate Dean for Research Roel M. Ocampo, project leader of the ERDT; Deputy Executive Director Czar Jakiri S. Sarmiento of the National Engineering Center; COE Information Officer Christian G. Arranz; and ERDT-Project Technical Specialist Joy B. Bolina.—With a report from the COE