A brand new research heart devoted to Engineering and Technological Sciences has been established following Board of Trustees approval, the Office of the Secretary-General introduced on March 26, 2026. The Research Center for Engineering and Technological Sciences (RCETS) is the most recent addition to the facilities underneath the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation and builds on the positive factors made in the realm whereas underneath the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences.
Its new Director, neuroengineer Asst. Prof. Seigfred V. Prado, PhD, shared that RCETS is envisioned to be inclusive, revolutionary, and transdisciplinary, with a concentrate on addressing real-world challenges by harnessing the contributions of stakeholders resembling educational workers, college students, alumni, and business companions. RCETS initially outlines six research thematic areas:
- Advanced electronics and supplies engineering
- Bioengineering and biosystems know-how
- Advanced knowledge, communications, and computational intelligence programs
- Dynamic programs, robotics, and automation
- Sustainable, climate-adaptive, and resilient engineering programs
- Integrated programs engineering and technological improvements
Prado mentioned that the institution of RCETS “marks a significant milestone…that reflects the University’s recognition that engineering and technology must play an even more central role in addressing today’s complex societal challenges—from health and sustainability to smart systems, resilience, digital transformation, and inclusive innovation.”
Envisioning itself as a hub for collaboration, the RCETS will faucet into the strengths of the University’s personal educational and research items, together with the TOMASInno Center, the in-house know-how enterprise incubator, and complementing these with the inputs of worldwide academic establishments such because the Imperial College London, National University of Singapore, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, amongst others. To bringing research endeavors to the general public, the RCETS will work with business, authorities, and communities, collaborating to handle societal issues. Prado defined: “Internally, it provides a platform where engineering and technology researchers from different units can find a home for work that may have previously been dispersed across traditional academic boundaries. Externally, it is positioned to strengthen collaboration with industry, government, alumni, communities, and international institutions. We envision the Center to be an inclusive and transdisciplinary research center, a globally connected research hub, and a structure supported by a Multi-Sectoral Advisory Board and a Multi-Pathway Engagement Model.”
The expected outputs of the varied thematic areas embody, however usually are not restricted to, innovation and technopreneurship (research commercialization), community-based research, fundamental and utilized research, and business collaboration and consultancy.
For the subsequent 4 months, RCETS can be getting ready itself for full operations in August, focusing establishing its insurance policies and pointers, getting ready the research areas and laboratories, aligning itself with University programs, and recruiting educational researchers by the decision for proposals to be issued quickly.
RCETS can be housed in the fifth ground of the Roque Ruaño Building and is expected to additionally assist populate the laboratory areas in the UST-Dr. William T. Belo Interdisciplinary Research Institute in the UST Manila Annex at Santa Rosa City, Laguna.
Prado shared his hopes that “RCETS will be a place where ideas are welcomed, collaborations are nurtured, and bold aspirations are transformed into meaningful work. I warmly invite our faculty members, students, researchers, alumni, and partners to help build this Center with us. Let us work together to shape a research culture that is collaborative, future-oriented, and truly responsive to the needs of society. RCETS is not only a new Center—it is a shared opportunity for us to engineer solutions, advance innovation, and create lasting impact for the University, the nation, and the world.”
