Building on years of collaboration in engineering education and institutional capacity-building, Batangas State University, The National Engineering University (BatStateU The NEU), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on October 12.
The agreement was signed by BatStateU President Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo, Asean Eng., and UTM Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaini bin Ahmad.
The new pact aims to expand cooperation on research and innovation projects, academic exchanges, capacity-building programs, and knowledge exchange activities.
Witnessing the signing were BatStateU Vice President for Development and External Affairs Dr. Vaberlie P. Mandane-Garcia; Center for Innovation in Engineering Education Director Prof. Divina Gracia D. Ronquillo; and UTM representatives Dr. Nurzal Effiyana binti Ghazali and Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid bin Husain.
The MOU provides for joint research and innovation projects; postgraduate and research study programs; exchanges involving professors, researchers, students, and administrative staff; joint academic activities; exchange of scholarly resources; capacity-building programs; and joint training, consultancy, advisory, and knowledge exchange activities.
The new agreement builds on concrete outcomes from the universities' previous engagements. From December 2024 to September 2025, the NEED Program's OBEE National Training Series reached 95 engineering higher education institutions and capacitated 206 engineering academic and quality assurance leaders across all 18 regions of the Philippines, in collaboration with the Philippine Technological Council and UTM CEE.
In his message of commitment, Ronquillo said, “The significance of today's signing lies in the work our two universities have already undertaken together, and in what we now commit to pursue in the years ahead.”
Ahmad, in turn, said the MOU opens opportunities for collaboration beyond the universities' current initiatives, citing joint research, joint publication, and joint supervision among the areas that could benefit both institutions and the communities they serve.
BatStateU and UTM's earliest documented institutional engagement dates to 2017, when the two universities explored cooperation in disaster risk management, research, professional training, and academic exchange.
The partnership continues through the ongoing OBEExCDIO National Train-the-Trainers Workshop, where UTM CEE representatives Dr. Nurzal Effiyana binti Ghazali and Prof. Dr. Shahrin Mohammad serve as resource persons together with BatStateU CIEE facilitators.
Beyond engineering education, their inter-institutional engagements have included student mobility and research-oriented academic activities. UTM served as an international co-host of the 7th International Research Conference on Innovations in Engineering, Science and Technology in October 2025.
The agreement strengthens BatStateU's internationalization initiatives by deepening its links with Asean academic networks and opening more avenues for cross-border research, academic mobility, and engineering education cooperation. It supports the university's mandate to pursue international academic and scientific cooperation as the Philippines' National Engineering University.
