Research, development, and innovation take the spotlight at Mapúa
RDI (research, development, and innovation) is rightfully at the center of the Yuchengco-led Mapúa University’s academic brilliance and efforts right now and for good reasons.
As it marches on to further excellence and global recognition, Mapúa is setting sights on strengthening and enriching its RDI culture, cultivating the curiosity and pursuit of knowledge not only among its students but also among its faculty members.
The proof is in the pudding. Earlier on, Mapúa University has been beefing up its RDI capabilities with the establishment of the office of ILRAD (International Linkages for Research and Development) in 2012. ILRAD’s primary objective is to encourage more researchers and funders to come together and innovate and create new knowledge that would be utilized for the development of new service, process, device, instrument, and product with economic value that could be used for the improvement of society. Mapúa also established the Yuchengco Innovation Center, a state-of-the-art research facility in 2014.
Making its talents known globally, Mapúa has produced three James Dyson Award (JDA) winners: Carvey Maigue for his invention AuREUS or Aurora Renewable Energy and UV Sequestration made of crop waste that absorbs stray ultraviolet rays from the sun and turns them into renewable energy; Mark Kennedy Bantugon for Pili Seal, a two-component sealant made from waste material from pili tree resin that can be used to seal aircraft parts; and Jeremy de Leon for Make-roscope, an easier-to-use microscope the size of a keychain.
Realizing its vision, Mapúa University made it to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2023 as the fourth-ranked Philippine institution. The universities are judged based on teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook. Mapúa is second in the Philippines with the highest research roll out.
RDI impact and benefits
Mapúa faculty members and exemplary researchers Dr. Delia B. Senoro, Mapúa Professor and Director of ILRAD, and Dr. Ma. Janice J. Gumasing, Associate Professor of Mapúa’s School of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, talk about the RDI culture at the university and how it’s impacting not only the students and the academe but also the society.
“Research in academic institutions is very important, and conducting it is a norm in academe. The academe is expected to generate new knowledge from research, development, doing innovations, and shall share this new knowledge with students,” Dr. Senoro stated.
Dr. Senoro has an extensive body of work but considers her work on the development of health vulnerability reduction system in select LGUs (local government units) as one of the most impactful ones. Likewise, Dr. Gumasing possesses an impressive list of research but takes pride in her research work for the ergonomic design of beds for post-stroke patients and healthcare staff.
“The main purpose of investing in RDI is to remain competitive on a global scale. Conducting research, especially the high impact ones, and innovations will really give Mapúa a competitive advantage,” said Dr. Gumasing.
Both esteemed professors have high regard for the impact that RDI culture inspires especially among the students. And yes, just like with research, the impact on students can be measured too.
“It has a big impact. If we are going to start on perceived impact, we can say that students develop inquisitive minds and start to ask more questions. They tend to do more work and investigation of a topic or look for solutions to problems,” Dr. Senoro said.
“If we are going to gauge the quality of our graduates with respect to RDI, we can look at the result of the James Dyson Award. For three consecutive years, we have had three winners coming from Mapúa. This is an excellent indicator and measurement of embedded research ecosystem in the university. Winning at the JDA is truly an outcome of embedded research culture to students. You cannot have the JDA if you do not have the RDI culture embedded in yourself,” stressed Dr. Senoro.
Dr. Gumasing, who is among the faculty members with a substantial number of Scopus-indexed research, added that one can also quantify the impact of RDI with the number of research outputs made by students, faculty, and staff. These include papers published in reputable and high impact journals and papers presented in international conferences, as well as on innovations in creative works recognized by private and government institutions. These are also evident in the number of awards and recognitions received by students on research and innovation, as well as on students who received grants or funding from private or government institutions.
Shaping Mapúa’s RDI culture
Mapúa nurtures its RDI culture from within the system starting with faculty members and students. It incentivizes teachers’ scientific outputs in various research projects and undertakings. This in return motivates and inspires them to conduct research and publish scientific papers to journals and present their research results to international conferences with proceedings indexed in Scopus.
Students get perks with their research projects too. Part of the graduation requirement of students is to have global experience. They need to join an international exchange program, international sandwich program, international summer camp, or international conferences to acquire global experience. If they want to present their paper at an international conference, Mapúa will pay the registration fee, provided that the proceedings will be indexed in Scopus.
“Before allowing students to present a paper at a conference, the school ensures that the paper is accepted for presentation, which requires submissions to undergo a peer review process. In this process, the submitted paper is reviewed by experts who evaluate its quality, significance, and relevance. They provide feedback and recommend whether the paper should be accepted for presentation,” shared Dr. Gumasing.
Moreover, Mapúa’s Yuchengco Innovation Center, where most externally funded research projects are housed, is equipped with the latest technologies which can be maximized by in-house researchers and students. Schools and departments also have their own state-of-the-art laboratories. Having such facilities that would cater to the needs of students and faculty is one of the reasons why RDI can and is flourishing from within the community.
At ILRAD, among the strategies being developed to strengthen RDI is sending students in countries with high-tech, massive, and mature national research system like Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, Korea, and Canada. ILRAD is currently processing the requirements of Mapúa students who will have a research engagement in India.
“Mapúa students’ inquisitive trait is an advantage as a future human resource of the country and the world. The quality of graduates Mapúa produced would translate into the quality of human resource who would later contribute to national and global developments,” expressed Dr. Senoro.
Dr. Gumasing, on the other hand, hopes students’ appreciation for RDI translates even while they are outside the walls of the campus.
“Through research endeavors, students get to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in real-world scenarios and would help them comprehend the significance and importance of academic topics. This is beneficial when they work in the industries and be able to apply their knowledge and skills,” she remarks.
Admissions for A.Y. (academic year) 2024-2025 are now open. Students who want to learn more or experience Mapúa University’s RDI culture, can visit www.mapua.edu.ph or go to https://bit.ly/AskMapua to directly inquire