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| (Image Source: Batangas State University) |
Batangas State University (BatStateU) has been officially declared as 'The National Engineering University' by virtue of Republic Act No. 11694 enacted on April 11, 2022. As the National Engineering University, BatStateU is poised to provide a leadership role in shaping a new vision for engineering education in the country. Fortifying its service motto, 'Leading Innovations, Transforming Lives,' it will further strengthen and expand its already robust 46-degree programs to include an even wider range of fields in engineering at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
It will intensify efforts on producing the corps of advanced trained engineers and other professionals who can create leading edge solutions to the country's challenges through pioneering engineering programs such as aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, transportation engineering, geological engineering, geodetic engineering, naval architecture and marine engineering, ceramics engineering, metallurgical engineering, materials engineering, earthquake engineering, energy engineering, engineering management, engineering education, and highly specialized fields in artificial intelligence, advance manufacturing, construction management, and data science and analytics. It will lead in creating the environment that engender the Filipino engineering experts and professionals oftomorrow with both local and global impacts.
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| Batangas State University's Alangilan campus is the main home of the university's College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts which has been producing and nurturing the country's future engineers and architects through the years. (Image Source: Batangas State University) |
Since its founding 119 years ago, BatStateU has preeminently led in producing the country's engineers both in quality and in providing access to engineering education to over 55,000 students from more than 40 provinces all over the country. The University consistently ranks as the top performing school in the mechanical engineering licensure examination and has, thus far, produced over 165 topnotchers across the engineering disciplines. It has the highest number of Asean engineers in the faculty roster among higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country. For quality and faculty diversity, it has engaged foreign academics and researchers in its roster of faculty. All of these have propelled its rise to national service, prominence and recognition.
Covering 11 campuses in Batangas province, BatStateU is a level 4 state university, ISO 9001:2015-certified and recognized for its excellence in instruction, research competence, meaningful community engagement and efficient management of resources. It has gained national recognition as a Center of Excellence in Electronics Engineering, and as Centers of Development in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. In the international arena, it is the only state university in the country accredited by the United States Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) for its Engineering and Information Technology programs. Rated 3-Stars overall by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), BatStateU is listed among the QS top universities. It has engaged foreign academics and researchers in its roster of faculty.
Recognizing engineering as the University's niche area, the Batangas State University Board of Regents chaired by Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Commissioner Dr. Lilian De Las Llagas unanimously passed a resolution on December 2, 2020 requesting the Philippine Congress to enact a law that declares Batangas State University as the national engineering university. R.A. No. 11694 walked the same path as every other piece of legislation in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th District Representative Hon. Vilma Santos-Recto sponsored the House Bill 8596 together with all district representatives of Batangas – Rep. Elenita Milagros Ermita-Buhain, Rep. Raneo Abu, Rep. Ma. Theresa Collantes, Rep. Lianda Bolilia and Rep. Mario Vittorio Mariño. The Committee on Higher and Technical Education (CHTE) under the strong leadership of Chairman Mark Go, Representative of the Lone District of Baguio City, after due hearing and deliberation endorsed favorably the bill, which faced no opposition until its approval in the third and final reading. CHEd Chairman Dr. J. Prospero De Vera III explicitly supported the declaration of BatStateU as the National Engineering University during a public hearing and articulated the imperatives for universities to focus on their respective niche areas as what has been practiced in advanced universities in the world.
In the Senate, a parallel measure Senate Bill No. 2111 was introduced by Sen. Ralph Recto, Senate President Pro Tempore, and was sponsored by Sen. Emmanuel Villanueva, Chair of the Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education (CHTVE). The substitute H.B. No. 9518 as amended by Senate Bill No. 2111 was passed in the third and final reading in the Senate as presented by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Majority Floor Leader. Copies of the bill signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Lord Allan Velasco and Senate President Vicente Sotto III and certified by both the Secretary of the Senate, Atty. Myra Marie Villarica, and Secretary General of the House, Mark Llandro Mendoza were transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature. Under the new University charter, the incumbent president Dr. Tirso Ronquillo will serve as the first president of the National Engineering University who shall pursue the vision and provide the strategic direction and leadership as the BatStateU embarks on its pioneering status and distinctive mandate.
