UP Engineering Research & Development Foundation Inc.
VISION
Be a major supporter of UPD-COE in building the technological competencies of the country in Research and Development, technology generation and innovation, and well-educated manpower.
MISSION
Support the development of the technical competencies of UP Diliman College of Engineering (UPDCOE) and the National Engineering Center (NEC) through its faculty, R&D and laboratories, support staff and the undergraduate and graduate studies.
Donations to UPDCOE will be coursed through the UPERDFI a non-profit, non-stock private institution that is composed of alumni who serve as trustees to generate funds; manage investment; award support to faculty, students, and infrastructure; and advocate industry involvement in moving technology innovation to commercialization.
Alternative: Maintain the leading edge position of UPDCOE and NEC in engineering education, research, and development of innovative and adaptive technologies for society through its faculty, laboratories, and undergraduate and graduate students.
BACKGROUND AND SOUND BITES
The demands of a global society requires the interdependence of nations which necessitates Filipinos to take an active part in crafting the Philippines’ future by strengthening our educational system and technology advances that have important national and international consequences.
UPERDFI I the endowment arm of UPDCOE?
“Express your gratitude. Demonstrate your passion. Monetize your pride. Invest in the best.”
“We must succeed not because we have a reputation to keep, but a nation to serve.” A. Pascual
“Compassion begets compassion. Compassion dictates our attitude towards others” paraphrasing D. Concepcion
“Engagement and Involvement – Propelling UP Engineering Forward.”
Engage Stakeholders to Propel UP Engineering Forward.
UPERDFI - Who are we
The UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation Inc (UPERDFI) is a non-stock and non-profit private foundation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and with the Department of Science and Technology.
Since its establishment in 1972, it has committed to support the UP College of Engineering in Diliman (UPDCOE) by generating financial resources; managing endowment funds and specified donations; awarding financial support for the faculty and students; administering donations (financial and in kind) for buildings and classrooms and for research and instructional laboratories; and advocating for academe, government and industry linkages that focus on research and academics.
UPERDFI comprises about 125 members who are mostly alumni of UPDCOE, and is run by a 15-person Board of Trustees: eleven elected to serve 3-year overlapping terms, and four ex-officio. We work hand in hand with the UP Alumni Engineers Association, Inc. (UPAE) in mobilizing support from individuals and corporate organizations. We provide some administrative support to the UP National Engineering Center (UP NEC), particularly as regards research projects and technical activities undertaken by the center.
It is recognized by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as a Donee Institution, exempting donors from paying donor's tax and providing 100% expense deductibility of donations. It is also a listed recipient of donations made through the Friends of the University of Philippines Foundation in America, enabling donors to receive an Acknowledgement Letter recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service. SGV & Co. is the independent auditor.
Motivations for supporting UPDCOE: Express your gratitude. Demonstrate your passion. Monetize your pride. Memorialize your beloved. Invest in the best.
UPERDFI invites our alumni and friends to be more engaged and involved in propelling the UPDCOE into a role of greater influence in crafting the future of the Philippines by strengthening engineering education, with a renewed emphasis on technological advances, research and applications that have important and lasting national and international consequences. Our donors have established many support such as Professorial Chairs, Student Scholarships and Grants, Laboratories in Different Engineering Departments, and Student Now Pay Later Program.
ENGAGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT – PROPELLING U. P. ENGINEERING FORWARD
The demands of a global society, where the interdependence of nations is a key element, requires us in the Philippines to take an active part in crafting the future, particularly our own. We must start by strengthening our educational system, side by side with advances in all aspects of national consequence.
Being the major player in the field of engineering of the Philippine national university system, the College of Engineering at the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPDCOE) is the learning home of 5,000+ students in the bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate programs, with over 260 faculty members. The UP Charter enjoins us to lead in education, research, extension and public service, with innovation being a renewed focus.
Beyond the classroom, UPDCOE has embarked on a mission to help upgrade the instructional and research skills of faculty members of some State Universities. UPDCOE is also the lead institution in implementing DOST’s Engineering Research and Development for Technology Program (ERDT), with seven other universities involved.
Note also that the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Microsatellite Program is a joint effort of UP Diliman, led by the UPDCOE Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, working with Japan’s Hokkaido University. The DIWATA – 1 satellite was launched in April 2016.
And the DOST DREAM Project, which focused initially on flood forecasting, has been expanded with the PHIL-LIDAR Program to include earth-surface analysis. This is enabled by remote sensing technologies coupled with computer algorithms developed by a team that is led by the UPDCOE Department of Geodetic Engineering. PHIL-LIDAR has developed a rich database with modeling capabilities now used for watershed, agricultural, forestry, topography and renewable energy mapping. It has attracted accolades from international science bodies, as we proudly say that it is the product of 100% Filipino brainpower, with no foreign funding.
UP President Danilo L. Concepcion calls for PAGMAMALASAKIT, citing “compassion” as the closest English word, yet not quite adequate to capture the spirit. Compassion for colleagues and peers, for the University, for the Filipino nation and its citizens – these underpin UP’s time-honored traditions of honor, excellence and public service.
Past UP President Alfredo E. Pascual had espoused the idea eloquently: We must succeed, not because we have a reputation to keep, but a nation to serve!
TO STRENGTHEN UPDCOE, WE MUST EXPAND OUR STAKEHOLDER BASE BY ENLISTING MORE INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO BE ENGAGED AND BE INVOLVED. UPDCOE NEEDS SUPPORT TO MAINTAIN ITS LEADING-EDGE POSITION IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE AND ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR SOCIETY!
WAYS TO GET ENGAGED AND BE INVOLVED
For Alumni, we call it REINVESTING. Our first investment was when we spent five years or a little more of our young adulthood in the hallowed halls of our College; or a few additional years for master’s and doctorate degrees. Those years helped significantly in building our careers, leading us to become what we are now.
For non-alumni, let this be your RENEWED INVESTMENT. Being a taxpayer, you continuously contribute to support the UPDCOE through the National Budget. You may want to do more, for future generations of your families and others who will someday have the chance to study in the University of the Philippines.
FACILITIES
1. Laboratories and Software Licenses. Research and instructional laboratories are critical, as we push our faculty and students to carry out projects that require more intensive and extensive scopes. State-of-the-technology software and equipment multiply the productivity of brainpower resident in our College! Recent donors include Fluor Daniel Philippines and OceanaGold Philippines, joining Analog Devices, Alexan, Samsung, Emerson, Nokia, INTEL, Globe, Artesyn, Meralco, IXYS-Zilog, PLDT, Accenture, and other companies.
2. Buildings and Classrooms. We have several new buildings at the Engineering Complex in the southern part of UP Diliman that need to furnish classrooms. Fitting out a classroom or conference room with a set of multimedia equipment, ergonomic chairs and desks, air-conditioning, lighting and sunlight breakers, requires about P300,000 - 500,000 per room.
Donors are recognized with markers in their donated facilities. For buildings donated to the University of the Philippines, donors are entitled to naming rights subject to satisfying requirements.
STUDENT SUPPORT
3. Scholarships, Study Grants, and Thesis Support Grants. These options are open:
• Full scholarships that range from P140,000 to P160,000 a year (for tuition, books and P5,000 monthly stipend) • Study grants (stipend only) for P60,000/year, providing P5,000/month plus P5,000/semester for books and miscellaneous expenses • Thesis support grants of P10,000/project for graduating students. The outcomes-based learning policy of the College requires students to build prototypes of their designed devices and products, or to conduct extensive fieldwork, which requires extra costs. (It used to be designs on paper!)
Currently, we have less than 100 slots available that are supported by individuals and corporations, by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and by the UP Oblation Scholarships. Our target is to help the 300+ UPDCOE students belonging to the tuition-discounted brackets of the UP socialized tuition scheme (Bracket B and lower). A donor can choose specific qualifications for the beneficiaries, or leave the vetting to the College Scholarships Committee.
4. Student Research Projects and Competitions. The depth and breadth of research and design projects that our UPDCOE students undertake are impressive. Aside from industry-ready projects for local applications, student teams have won awards in international competitions like the Shell EcoMarathon Asia that MERALCO has been supporting for several years. Students get their research papers accepted for presentation in international congresses as well. You can donate to the Dean’s College Fighting Fund pool to help our teams in footing the registration fees, airfares and hotel costs.
5. Student Internships and Faculty Exposure Programs. UPDCOE is moving towards making internships a required coursework. The Internship Program is conducted during the June-July mid-year break. Also, faculty members being exposed to industry operations build their confidence and enhance their instructional skills. A good example is the 40-hour Faculty Training on Instrumentation conducted by Emerson Asia Pacific, and the 8-week Faculty Training on Plant Design, by Fluor Engineering. The Associate Dean for Institutional Linkages administers this Industry and Government Linkage with Academe Program (IGLAP). You can join the 100+ active companies as an IGLAP host company.
6. Student Awards. Recognition for academic excellence and outstanding all-around performance provide much needed encouragement and motivation to our students. The few that we have now provide P10,000 to P20,000 cash awards to the best and the brightest graduates. You can sponsor an award in the Department or Institute that you choose.
7. Student Loans. The UP System has a Student Loan Program. To further increase the options for financially-strapped students, the UP Alumni Engineers has set up the Study Now Pay Later Plan (SNPL). UPAE has enlisted UPERDFI in administering loans amounting to P60,000/year. Repayment is due to start three years after graduation, or earlier, when the loanee can afford to repay on a scheduled installment plan. You can help by donating to the UPAE SNPL Loan Fund.
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
8. Professorial Chairs. Our program of awarding chairs has excited our faculty to redouble efforts in doing research on top of their teaching roles. This helps in UP’s renewed efforts to make it a research university. The chair awardees are chosen after a rigorous evaluation process, based on research papers that they produced in the previous academic year.
A professorial chair is supported either by an endowment fund (where only the interest earned is used for the annual awards), or by a 5-year commitment to provide annual donations. Effective AY 2016-17, the University of the Philippines Board of Regents requires that a professorial chair must award at least P120,000. A donor has the following options:
- A P 120,000 Chair, which requires a P3 million endowment, or an annual donation for the award amount - A P 240,000 Chair, which requires a P6 million endowment, or an annual donation
2016-17 marks the Centennial Academic Year of three College Departments that were established in 1916: Electrical, Mechanical, and Mining. Chairs set up in 2016 and 2017 will carry the tag “Electrical, or Mechanical, or Mining, Engineering Centennial Professorial Chair”.
9. Faculty Grants. These are provided to faculty members handling courses that require new teaching innovations, or to junior faculty taking their master’s studies, or faculty who are pursuing specific thesis or research projects. You can support a full-scale faculty grant with a donation of P100,000 to P120,000 a year, or a Teaching and Research Grant for P30,000 per semester or P60,000/year.
FOCUSED RESEARCH
10. Sponsored Research Projects. With the UP National Engineering Center, companies can engage faculty-led teams in carrying out in-depth research projects to address specific subjects. In many cases, technical staff of the involved company carry out defined parts of the study in their own laboratories, thus enabling skills exchange/transfer from academe to industry and vice versa. Research projects made with the UP System are also executed by specific College Institutes and Departments.
COURSEWORK
11. Sponsored Courses. The University recognizes the importance of industry experts handling a course of their specialization, subject to satisfying academic requirements. For example, Nokia Manila Technology Center co-conducts a Networks Engineering Course with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute and with the Department of Computer Science. Lafarge Holcim offers an optional course for senor students at the Institute of Civil Engineering. You can identify your specific subject matter, and co-develop a course with the appropriate Department or Institute.
12. In-house Degree Courses. The Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute have established inroads in industry with Master of Engineering degree courses. Professors conduct the coursework at UP or at the host company’s site, with the basic course curriculum required by the College, and the lab/practical courses tailor-fitted to the company’s requirements. The other Departments and Institutes are developing similar courses also. All you need is a critical mass of at least 15 masteral students.
PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT
13. Willed Donations. We are currently crafting a donation plan that is similar to what is common in the USA and Europe. This involves a person including the UPDCOE or UPERDFI in his estate plan. When the time comes that the will is administered, UPDCOE or UPERDFI will receive the amount indicated in the person’s will.
14. Volunteer Work. The College needs alumni and industry inputs in its various programs, such as Career Mentoring, Project Management, and various Committee work. Alumni with ideas to share from career experiences are most welcome to take part in the Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series (DALS), which started way back in 2006. The DALS is meant to inspire students to excel in their chosen fields. Aside from engineering careers and technopreneurships, alumni speakers included an airline pilot, a town mayor and a bank president. For opportunities, please contact the Dean’s Office at telephone 920-8860 or your respective Department/Institute offices.
15. Sharing the Great News. This is an effortless mode which could lead to profound benefits. Start by sharing this article with your network of friends and associates, and encouraging them to invest in UP Engineering, by way of any of the abovecited opportunities. We have found this to be fruitful in expanding our stakeholder base and in generating interest in the College! Many are just waiting to be informed, and be enlisted to our band of boosters.
+++++++++
Call it “Express your gratitude, Demonstrate your passion, Monetize your pride, Memorialize your beloved, Invest in the best” – whatever drives you – will redound to helping strengthen our College to build better engineers for a better Philippines and a better world!
UPERDFI IS YOUR PARTNER
UPERDFI is a non-stock, not-for-profit institution with 125+ members, mostly UPDCOE alumni, and led by a 15-person Board of Trustees. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and is accredited by the Department of Science and Technology. It is certified by the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), and is authorized by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as a DONEE institution. For your donation of at least P50,000, we provide you with a Certificate of Donation that attracts a 100% tax deduction and an exemption from paying donor’s tax. SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co.) is our Independent Auditor.
UPERDFI works hand in hand with the UP Alumni Engineers Association, Inc. (UPAE). You may visit its website at http://upae.org/. UPERDFI also works with the UP Foundation, Inc., which administers several professorial chairs for College of Engineering.
We have a cooperative effort with the Friends of the University of the Philippines Foundation in America (FUPFA), which handles dollar donations from US-based donors for remittance to UPERDFI. The Acknowledgement Letter issued by FUPFA is recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service. Some alumni have also enrolled UPERDFI in their companies’ Matching Gifts Programs; active ones are British Petroleum and Chevron.
MAKE A MOVE NOW!
For further details, contact: Alfonso A. Aliga, Jr. at UPERDFI (Tel 981-8500 local 3015, or 926-5487); Mobile 0927-798-0451; or Email: [aliga.uperdfi@yahoo.com] or [titonitaaliga@yahoo.com]. Anyone of the Trustees (see Organization page) can also share with you any information you need.
UP DILIMAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dean:
Dr. Rizalinda L. de Leon
Associate Deans:
Dr. Menandro Berana (for Research and Instruction);
Dr. Rhandley Cajote (for Student Affairs);
Dr. Nathaniel Diola (for Administration and Facilities);
Dr. Eric Augustus Tingatinga (for Institutional Linkages and Alumni Affairs)
College Secretary:
Dr. Jhoanna Pedrasa
Academic Unit Heads:
Dr. Ricardo Sigua (Institute of Civil Engineering);
Dr. Richard Hizon (Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute;
Dr. Terence Tumolva (Dept. of Chemical Engineering);
Dr. Jan Michael Yap (Dept. of Computer Science);
Dr. Ariel Blanco (Dept. of Geodetic Engineering);
Prof. Lowell Lorenzo (Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research);
Prof. Ralph Jose (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering);
Dr. Magdaleno Vazquez, Jr. (Dept. of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering)
Program Coordinators:
Dr. Michael Pedrasa (Energy Engineering);
Dr. Augustus Resurreccion (Environmental Engineering)
UP NATIONAL ENGINEERING CENTER
Executive Director – Dr. Rizalinda L. de Leon
Deputy Executive Director – Dr. Mili-Ann Tamayao