Universal Robina Corporation (URC) and the National Graduate School of Engineering of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP NGSE) recently agreed to collaborate on a program that supports their shared vision of sustainable national development through advanced research in engineering.

Under this program, URC will provide mentors and up to PhP250,000 in financial grants for select UP NGSE graduate students who pursue research projects on sustainability and environmental engineering. Some members of URC’s Technical Leadership team will also deliver lectures at the UP NGSE, where they will share insights and experiences on URC’s engineering and sustainability-focused efforts.

“The UP College of Engineering and its graduate school, the National Graduate School of Engineering, warmly welcome the opportunity to provide students pursuing advanced engineering degrees with valuable industry perspectives and service learning activities,” said Dr. Maria Antonia Tanchuling, Dean of the UP College of Engineering.

Tanchuling added that they strongly believe the vision of sustainable national development will be advanced through industry-academe partnerships that synergistically combine advanced academic and research training in engineering with industry readiness and relevance.

“Through this partnership, we hope that both URC and the NGSE will demonstrate to industry at large the value of having ‘industry-ready’ graduates with advanced degrees,” she said.

In 2016, URC pledged to become a sustainable global enterprise. It has since championed environmental efforts such as transitioning to low carbon power and renewable energy sources.

These initiatives are in line with URC’s long-term goals, which include achieving plastic neutrality and having net zero carbon emission.