Marikina City Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro and his wife, Marikina First District Representative Marjorie Ann “Maan” Teodoro, urged the city's youth to pursue science-related programs as well as increase interest and enrollment in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and its related courses for undergraduate students.
(Photo from Marikina LGU)
This, after the local government unit (LGU), the Department of Science and Technology -National Capital Region (DOST-NCR), and the Department of Education (DepEd), inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aiming to promote science, technology, and innovation (STI).
The program, dubbed as "Push4Science: Marikeños Exploring Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Change through STEM”, was launched on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
This initiative seeks to enable the youth to discover various opportunities in STEM including scholarships and careers, in the form of mentoring, campaigns, demonstrations, film screenings, and trainings.
“The Push4Science campaign, this initiative is not really a campaign. It is a call to action. A beaconing towards a future where the brilliance of Marikina’s youth, our students who are present today, is harnessed for the betterment of our community and beyond,” Mayor Teodoro said.
“At the heart of the Push4Science campaign lies the commitment to propel our senior high school students towards excellence by becoming DOST scholars through targeted trainings,” he added.
Rep. Teodoro said the city’s collaboration with the DOST is founded on “innovation, human-centeredness, and societal impact.”
“Today, we are in the first stage of the push for science project and this initiative aims to encourage our Marikina students to apply as DOST scholars who will pursue degrees on STEM or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” she said.
The lawmaker stressed that building a STEM competent workforce will propel the country to the future.
“As a former educator, I find that the solutions we seek in life lie in the academic potential of our youth—a potential we can harness for continued progress,” she explained.
After the MOA signing, the DOST turned over VISSER STEM kits to Marikina schools. These kits allow students to conduct over 50 science experiments in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering.