by Queen Desiree Dalisay and Nickole Jean Codico
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| International guest professors with AUCHEEDS delegates in front of Benavides Statue |
Asean Undergraduates Chemical Engineering Education Summit (AUChEEdS) continued its second day last September 20 in the University of Santo Tomas (UST), with events lined up for the delegates and professors from various universities in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore to compete in the Quiz Bowl 2016, acquire new knowledge in teaching through demonstrations of five different professors, discuss the new curriculum design, and build connections and kinship with other future Chemical Engineers and professors through the campus tour and fellowship night.
Quiz Bowl 2016
The day started with three student representatives from each of the five universities participating in this year’s Quiz Bowl, namely Batangas State University, Chulalongkorn University, Colegio de San Agustin-Bacolod, National University of Singapore, and University of the Philippines-Diliman, competing for the crown. Along with them are 4 randomly selected students from the crowd who represented the PIChE-Metro Manila Academe Chapter.
The questions prepared by the quiz bowl committee, headed by Dr. Terence Tumolva from the University of the Philippines, proved to be challenging for all the participants with topics coming from Core ChE courses and Allied ChE courses. Identification and problem solving types of questions were divided into three rounds, with 12 questions for each round. The judges for this year’s quiz bowl were Engr. Reynold M. Agustin from Quice Review Center, Dr. Vergel C. Bungay from the De La Salle University, and Dr. Alvin R. Caparagan from Mapua Institute of Technology.
In the end, the University of the Philippines-Diliman came out as victors with 235 points, followed by Colegio de San Agustin-Bacolod with 170 points and Chulalongkorn University with 90 points.
Campus Tour
After the Quiz Bowl, delegates and professors were gathered into groups for the tour inside the UST campus. Selected Thomasian Chemical Engineering students introduced and acquainted the visitors of the history and tradition/s of the six main landmarks inside the campus.
The seven professors from outside the country were particularly amazed with the culture encompassed in the UST museum, and the tradition that was carried on every academic year in the Arch of the Centuries. The professors passed through the arch and even invited the student tour guides to join them but refused to ignore the superstition since there are still a few months left before they graduate.
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| International guest professors after exiting the Arch of the Centuries |
The other places the professors toured before they returned for the afternoon plenary talk and demonstration were the Main building and Plaza Mayor packed with university students showcasing their organizations, Quadricentennial Park and Quattromondial Sculpture, and Benavides Park.
Apart from the professors, international and local delegates coming from different parts of the Philippines were also toured around the UST. One delegate from Batangas State University (BSU), Dittos Sarmiento, shared his experience from the campus tour, “Touring us in the Royal, Pontifical and Catholic University of Santo Tomas was a very great experience. Sharing us the story behind of each building and even what is happening in that building. Given it is a 22 hectare-university, it is a great job for our guide to tour us in the whole University. My favorite part of the tour was the tour in the arch. Our guide and in the same time us share some stories about that building. It was really enjoyable because of how accommodating the UST peeps are”.
Plenary Talk
Happening alongside the Campus tour was the Public Consultation on Proposed Policies, Standards, and Guidelines (PSG) for the BS Chemical Engineering Program, which will be effective starting academic year 2018-2019.
Facilitated by Dr. Pagasa Gaspillo from De La Salle University, the Technical Committee for Chemical Engineering (TC-ChE) discussed their plans of transforming the current BS ChE Program into a 4-year course with an outcomes-based education curriculum design.
Prof. Alberto Laurito , Chair of the TC-ChE opened the discussion by giving his opening remarks as well as an introduction to what was going to be discussed that afternoon. He presented the proposed curriculum for the new 4-year course design. He also noted that Chemical Engineering is ahead of other disciplines in terms of improving the program to be at par with universities in other countries.
Engr. Cesar dela Cruz briefly discussed the old and new competency standards for Chemical Engineering graduates. Among the things he presented were the attributes, both discipline-related and work ethic-related, that the graduates should possess.
The required resources, including the requirements for department heads, program chairs, and faculty members who will be teaching the ChE courses, were presented and discussed by Dr. Bonifacio Doma. In the new curriculum, required researches and graduate degrees of those mentioned above are made to ensure relevance of their disciplines in what they will be teaching.
Dr. Rizalinda De Leon also presented changes in the Chemical Engineering courses as well as number of units by showing and discussing the sample course specifications. Prof. Alberto Laurito ended the discussion by discussing how the changes in the BS ChE program will be implemented and monitored.
Faculty and professional reactors were called upon to raise their questions or give their comments during the open forum session. Reactors were the Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Fine Arts of Batangas State University, Dean of the STI-West Negros University, and a Philippine Regulatory Board Member for Chemical Engineering.
They opened the discussion for the seemingly lack of formal training of faculty members that need to be addressed. Sharing of laboratory equipment and computing tools during the early stages of the implementation was also raised, especially for those universities suffering from financial issues brought about by the implementation of the K-12 education system.
It was suggested that some of the prerequisite subjects be integrated in the admission tests of colleges. Suggested textbooks and instructional materials must also be made available. The question on how to ensure that the outcomes are achieved was also raised.
After such discussions, Dr. Ricardo Pama, Chair of the CHED Technical Panel for Engineering and Technology, delivered the closing remarks where he made it known that he is happy with the proceedings because the students were the focus of such changes in the program. He also emphasized that ChE students are very lucky for the TC-ChE are really concerned with students’ welfare and that they are the most active technical committee among the 14 committees in CHED today. According to him, what the TC-ChE is doing is the labor of love, that will train students to become the best professional engineers they can be.
After the public consultation on the PSG for the Chemical Engineering program, five professors from De Lasalle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, University of the Philippines-Diliman, and University of Sto. Tomas featured different teaching styles designed to share best practices among different schools through demonstration in a classroom-setup with the help of student volunteers from UST and La Salle.
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| Classsroom-setup demonstration of Dr. Lawrence Belo discussing Differential Calculus |
Dr. Alvin Caparanga (Mapua) discussed how they have multiple examination attempts and clinic hours or consultation in critical ChE courses such as Thermodynamics. The use of such method showed them a significant decrease in the number of failing students.
Engr. Luis Cabatingan discussed Phase and Chemical Equilibria through “snowball,” where students are required to listen to the ones who recited before them and mention what the previous ones have stated before giving their own answer. He also leaves his students for a few minutes to discuss questions before asking volunteers to share what they have discussed.
Engr. Bemboy Nino Subosa (UPD) discussed Fluid Dynamics by asking a lot of questions that would really make the students think. He also used video clips to make the matter more understandable.
Margarita Gonzalez, one of the students from the classroom-setup, shared her favorite type of teaching strategy from the five who presented, "My favorite part during the teaching demonstration was being able to experience the unique teaching techniques of various professors from other universities. Engr. Duavis demonstrated a combination of both academic learning and interactive fun within the class. It was a lecture that you would want to listen more about because of the way she delivered the topic that can be absorbed by the students very well."
Fellowship Night
To end the second day of the summit, all delegates gathered at the UST Seminary Gym for the fellowship dinner and party hosted by Kaye Suing from University of Sto. Tomas and Marvie Christian Balberan from Adamson University.
UST-ChES President, Ervin Luis Jayag, officially opened the night with his opening remarks, thanking everyone’s efforts in making the second day of the summit successful and inviting everyone to enjoy their night in UST. Awarding of the winn
Music and talent abound the seminary gym with different presentations from different schools, each showcasing their flair in music, dancing, acting, and spoken poetry; the night ended with a dancing party where everyone gets acquainted in preparation for the third day of AUCHEEDS the next day.
Photos from Membership and Documentations Committee
Photos from Membership and Documentations Committee
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