Mapua University President Reynaldo Vea praised the role of Filipino engineers' social responsiveness amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, noting that the role of engineers is proving to be more essential in the areas of infrastructure and technological development.
In a statement, Vea said Filipino engineers have developed a reputation in the industry as some of the most hardworking and skilled workforce.
Vea cited Filipino-American engineers Gregorio G. Villar III, Genevie V. Yang, and Edward Gonzalez who took part in the safe landing of the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations' (NASA) Perseverance Rover on Mars in February 2021.
He also lauded engineers Mark Angelo C. Purio, Izrael Zenra C. Bautista, and Mapua alumnus Marloun P. Sejera who launched the Philippines' second cube satellite, the Maya-2 CubeSat, to the Internation Space Station.
"This achievement in which our proud alumnus is part of implies that Philippine space engineering exists and is growing. The creation of Maya-2, the country's second nanosatellite received great local and international support, which we should see as a serious undertaking nowadays in our country that our young hopefuls should be looking out for," Vea said.
Vea also praised Carvey Ehren Maigue, a Mapua Electrical Engineering student who became the first-ever Sustainability Winner of the James Dyson Award in 2020 for inventing the AuREUS System which can generate electricity by absorbing the UV light.
"We hold a very promising future for our engineering students. Students nowadays are very passionate and involved in community building. They understand what society needs from them. That is why when passion and social responsiveness both come to play, our learners become unstoppable," he added.
An engineer himself, Vea believes that coming from an underprivileged background and a developing country like the Philippines "serves as an eye-opener and fuel for the creative minds of the young and upcoming engineers."
"The Filipino youth understands how it is to grow up and continuously thrive in a developing country. They have seen the world through a lens that is different from what other nations are exposed to. This makes them a force built out of compassion for people and with high regard for protecting and improving their communities and environment," he said.
Vea also stressed that support to Filipino engineers and students "is necessary and must be accessible" for developmental growth and knowledge to thrive.