The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)—a Malaysian private university—that will allow Filipino teachers to hone their expertise in the fields of petroleum engineering and mechanical engineering through scholarships in masteral and doctoral education.
In a ceremony held recently at UTP in Perak, Malaysia, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña and Science Education Institute (SEI) Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo led the Philippine contingent in signing the MOU with UTP’s Vice Chancellor Datuk Ir Dr. Abdul Rahim Bin Hj Hashim.
The agreement will allow faculty members from the Palawan State University (PSU) and Batangas State University (BSU)—the only universities in the Philippines offering BS Petroleum Engineering—to pursue graduate studies in the said fields under the Foreign Scholarship Component of the Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program of DOST-SEI.
De la Peña said the agreement is a response to the immediate need to build the capacities of BSU and PSU faculties to better train future petroleum engineers who will be exploring the oil-and-gas deposits and other energy resources of the country, and working in other areas of the energy sector.
“They will pursue MS Petroleum Engineering and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UTP. Hopefully, after four years we will be able to succeed in our desire to have enhanced the skills of these scholars, so that they will be more empowered to teach what they have learned to their students in their respective universities in the Philippines,” de la Peña said.
Datuk Abdul Rahim said that while UTP rarely partners with any government agency, the collaboration with Asian countries is a very important step for Malaysia to improve its industries and become globally competitive.
“There is always something to learn from each other, especially through these student- and staff-exchange programs,” Datuk Abdul Rahim said. “The MOU is the beginning of a more and longer relationship.”
The six scholars who will take MS in Petroleum Engineering and the two to avail themselves of the PhD in Mechanical Engineering will begin their classes this month. The target graduation is in 2021.
“We highly appreciate the fact that our scholars will be trained in one of Malaysia’s leading science and technology institutions of higher learning,” de la Peña said.
S&T Media Service