An International Partnership to Address Institutional Environmental Education Needs in the Philippines

Transcription

1 Session 2360 An International Partnership to Address Institutional Environmental Education s in the Philippines Ma. Consuelo V. Flora a, Bonifacio T. Doma, Jr. a, Joseph R. V. Flora b, Adrienne T. Cooper b, M. Hanif Chaudhry b, and Edwin C. Obra a a Mapúa Institute of Technology, Manila, Philippines / b University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA Abstract The trend toward global environmental awareness necessitates the establishment of cooperative partnerships among institutions to ensure environmental preservation at a global scale. This paper describes the experiences in developing a partnership in environmental education and research between the University of South Carolina (USC) in the United States and the Mapúa Institute of Technology in the Philippines. A baseline study on the state of environmental engineering/science education and research in Mapúa was conducted. Survey instruments were designed to assess the needs of various institutions for environmental engineering education and research, particularly on sustainable development and pollution prevention. These survey instruments were sent to industry, academe, government, and non-governmental organizations in the Philippines. A workshop was held in Manila, Philippines last May 2000 for which participants were selected from the various sectors based on an analysis of the survey results. Documentation of the education and research requirements of the various sectors was finalized, and key partners were identified for the initiative. Representatives from Mapúa visited USC in July 2000 to view the state of environmental education and research at USC. Coupled with results from the Philippine survey and workshop, a curriculum was designed to provide a state of the art graduate environmental engineering program at Mapúa. Currently, the proposed program is awaiting approval by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Introduction Mapúa Institute of Technology is a technological school located in Manila, Philippines. It offers ten undergraduate engineering programs (civil, chemical, computer, electrical, electronics and communications, environmental and sanitary, industrial, mechanical, metallurgical, and mining), two undergraduate science programs (chemistry and geology), undergraduate programs in Page

2 architecture and industrial design, a master of engineering program, and master of science programs in chemistry, architecture education, and geotechnical engineering. The University of South Carolina (USC)-Mapúa partnership was established with the goal of improving engineering education and research at Mapúa. The partnership initially concentrated on environmental engineering, which is a field that is in its infancy in institutions of higher learning in the Philippines. The near-term objectives of the partnership are (1) to enhance the capability of Mapúa to provide environmental engineering education and (2) to initiate sustainable development and pollution prevention research and collaboration between Mapúa, USC, industry, government, and/or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The partnership began in October 1999 with the official signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between USC and Mapúa. The initial activities were designed to be undertaken in four phases over a period of three years. Phase 1 involved an assessment of the state of environmental education and research in Mapúa. In this phase input from academia, industry, government, and NGOs was gathered through a workshop on the local needs for sustainable development and pollution prevention education and research. During Phase 2, an education and research action plan was formulated based on the needs identified in Phase 1 and experiences gathered from a workshop at USC. Implementation of the plan of action is currently occurring during Phase 3, and dissemination of experiences to other Philippine institutions through a workshop will occur in Phase 4. Baseline Study The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) of the Philippine Government issued an administrative order mandating that the curricula of all disciplines of engineering must include/integrate/incorporate at least three units of environmental science/engineering/management by Academic Year CHED is the regulatory agency of the Philippine Government that manages colleges and universities operating in the Philippines. In the Philippine setting, three units would translate to three hours of lecture per week for a regular 18-week semester. An assessment of the undergraduate programs offered at Mapúa was performed to determine courses related to environmental engineering, management, or science. The coverage of each of these courses were analyzed to determine if Mapúa graduates have the basic training in promoting sustainable development and pollution control during the practice of their profession. Except for undergraduate environmental and sanitary engineering program, the study showed that all the undergraduate programs offer only a three unit introductory lecture on environmental engineering or management. These offerings are in accordance with the minimum requirement of the CHED and cover only the basic theoretical concepts of environmental engineering or management. The MS Geotechnical Engineering offers elective subjects on Environmental Geotechnics and Applied and Environmental Geophysics. The former covers environmental impact studies, site investigation and mapping of contaminated sites, fate and transport of contaminants, toxicology, Page

3 hazardous waste management, site remediation, and site selection for landfills and underground repositories. The latter, on the other hand, encompasses the investigation of physico-chemical phenomena that are likely to have significant implications in the management of the local environment. The Master of Engineering Program major in Environmental Engineering required the students to take a three-unit course entitled Environment, Energy, and Technology Management and nine units of environmental engineering subjects in addition to other engineering courses. This program could significantly be improved if core courses were directly related to environmental engineering and hands on laboratory courses were available. Environmental research activity at Mapúa existed but could be enhanced significantly through collaboration with industry and government agencies. s Assessment Survey instruments were developed to assess the needs of industry, academe, government, and non-governmental organizations for environmental engineering education and research in relation to the promotion of sustainable development and pollution prevention. For academe, all members of the Philippine Association of Technological Educators (PATE) were given survey forms. In the industry sector, sampling was done based on the following industrial categories: agricultural, construction, environmental, mining, transportation, utilities, manufacturing, and other industries. The government agencies and the non-government organizations were chosen based on the relevancy of their mandate in relation to environmental issues. There were 78 respondents to the survey. Table 1 gives the breakdown of the respondents according to their classification. Table 1. Respondents to the Survey. Classification Number of Respondents Academe 43 (55%) Industry 28(36%) Agricultural (2) Construction (3) Environmental (0) Mining (2) Transportation (0) Utilities (2) Manufacturing (17) Other industries (2) Government Agencies 5 (6%) Non-Government Organizations (NGO) 2(3%) Of the 43 academic institutions that responded, only 21 institutions or 49% include environmental engineering, science, or management in their engineering curriculum. Only 8 (19%) offer the environmental engineering undergraduate program. Eighty-six percent (86%) of Page

4 the schools that do not offer any environmental engineering course cited the lack of qualified faculty members to handle the course as the primary reason. The respondents were also asked for their needs in setting up or maintaining an environmental engineering/science/management program. Almost all cited that the following are either critical or very important in the success of such a program: teaching and research laboratory facilities and equipment, qualified teaching personnel, and financial support for research. These academic respondents also believe that the entities that will contribute crucially to the success of instituting a sustainable development and pollution control program in the Philippines are the government agencies and the academic institutions. Twenty-three (23) out of the 28 industry respondents claimed that they have instituted programs in their companies that minimize or prevent pollution. Sixty-five percent 65% of these respondents have research and development programs, 79% either have adopted or plan to adopt a sustainable development program. In assessing the needs of the industrial sector to set up or maintain an environmental program, the needs are classified in terms of facilities, human resources, programs, and other needs. Table 2 shows the results of the survey. Table 2. Industry s in Setting Up/Maintaining An Environmental Program s Identified No Percentage of Respondents Indicating Some Strong Very Strong No Response Facilities Experimental Research (Laboratory) Equipment Human Resources Environmental Engineers B.S Level M.S. Level Ph.D. Level Environmental Scientists B.S. Level M.S. Level Ph.D. Level Programs Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention Recycling and Waste Utilization Sustainable Development Green Chemistry End of Pipe In Process Energy Other s Financial Resources Incentives (tax breaks, etc.) Other needs identified by the industrial sector include adoption of parameters by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Environmental Management Bureau, consistent and strict implementation of environmental laws, the development of environmental technology Page

5 applicable to the Philippine setting, and treatment facilities where industries can send solid and hazardous wastes. The respondents also believe that the Philippine government plays a crucial role in the success of any sustainable development or pollution prevention program in the Philippines. Because of the small number of respondents from government agencies and NGO s, their needs were not amplified in the survey. The needs from these sectors were further assessed during the workshop. Seminar Workshop A seminar workshop was held on May 23-24, 2000 at the Manila Diamond Hotel, Manila, Philippines. The seminar included plenary talks from key resource speakers, a workshop in which the participants identified their sector s environmental engineering education and research needs (see Table 3), reporting of workshop results by the different sectors, reporting of survey results to the participants, and a round-table discussion on environmental engineering education and research. Table 3. Sectoral Environmental Engineering Education and Research s Sector s Academe Graduate programs in Environmental Engineering and multidisciplinary programs BS Environmental Engineering/Science Retooling and training of engineering faculty and staff on Environmental Engineering/Science Environmental Engineering/Science research in academic institutions Collaborative Environmental Engineering/Science research among institutions Publication and dissemination of research on Environmental Engineering/Science to the academic and industrial communities Industry, Government, and NGOs For executive management of companies to be responsible for the environment Other environmental programs such as recycling, waste utilization, sustainable development, etc. Grassroots education Inclusion of basic environmental education in the engineering discipline Inclusion of cleaner production technology in the engineering curricula Technical personnel with advanced degrees in Environmental Engineering/Science to establish research and development program Government agencies should be more prompt and responsive to resolving problems confronting industry and NGOs. MS Environmental Engineering Curriculum Mapúa representatives visited the USC campus in July 2000 for a tour of its facilities and a workshop. Several campus entities, including various departments in the College of Engineering and Information Technology, the School of the Environment, and the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research, were part of the tour that exemplified the state of environmental Page

6 education and research at USC. Mapúa representatives, together with selected USC resource persons, participated in a workshop to formulate action plans addressing the needs of the Philippines in general and Mapúa in particular. The action plans focused on improving basic education and reforming higher education in the field of environmental engineering. The workshop resulted in (1) a curriculum (see Table 4) designed to provide a state of the art graduate environmental engineering program at Mapúa where students take core courses and had a selected area of concentration, (2) a recommendation to create or revise a specific subject in the undergraduate curriculum at Mapúa to enable the inclusion of the principles of sustainable development and pollution prevention, and (3) an approach to establish a research office at Mapúa that can coordinate external research activities utilizing the USC model as a basis or reference. Programs at other various U.S. Universities were examined in developing the graduate program at Mapúa 2-5. Table 4. Proposed Master of Science in Environmental Engineering Curriculum Courses Units Core Courses (15 units) Analytical and Numerical Principles for Environmental Processes 3 Physical Principles of Environmental Processes 3 Chemical Principles of Environmental Processes 3 Biological Principles of Environmental Processes 3 Environmental Engineering Laboratory 3 Electives (15 units) Physicochemical Process Design 3 Biological Process Design 3 Advanced Treatment and Remediation Process 3 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management 3 Surface Water and Groundwater Flow 3 Fate and Effects of Contaminants in Surface Water and Groundwater 3 Modeling Environmental Flows and Contaminant Transport 3 Air Pollution Physics and Chemistry 3 Air Pollution Control 3 Air Pollution Modeling 3 Environmental Management and Policies 3 Risk and Benefit Analysis in Environmental Engineering 3 Sustainable Development 3 Special Problems 1 9 Environmental Engineering Seminar (to be taken every semester) (1) Master of Science Thesis 6 Upon the return of the Mapúa representatives to the Philippines, the action plans were implemented. On September 30, 2000, the proposed curriculum together with other required documents was submitted to the CHED for approval. Under the Philippine setting and as a normal pre-requisite of CHED, a graduate program scheduled for implementation by Academic Year should be applied for approval on or before September 30, In November 2000, the Office of Research Coordination was created to administer externally funded research at Mapúa. Page

7 Discussion In the final analysis, academe and industry were very well represented. The small number of government agency and NGO representation, both via the survey instrument and the workshop, is reflective of their relatively fewer number of institutions compared to institutions in the industrial and academic sectors. Therefore, their input are generally reflected in the workshop discussions and most closely aligned with the industrial sector. The results of both the survey and the workshop indicate a clear distinction between the needs as viewed by industry and academe with regard to environmental engineering education. However, there is common ground on sustainability. All sectors agreed on the need for cleaner technologies, waste utilization, and programs on sustainability. The combination of this disconnect and the common ground indicates a need for increased communication and cooperation to meet the needs of the environment in the Philippines. The workshop was key in the identification of the common ground. In the written surveys, industry clearly identified financial resources (65%) and incentives (72%), such as tax breaks, as the primary need for developing and sustaining environmental programs (either strong need or very strong need). The written surveys also indicate, that while programs such as waste minimization and pollution prevention (72%), recycling and waste utilization (61%), and sustainable development (50%) are needed in industry, environmental engineers and scientists are not necessarily identified as a critical component of this need. Although industry identified a slight need for environmental engineers (28%) and environmental scientists (26%) at the Bachelor s level, 50% indicated no need for PhD level environmental engineers and scientists. However, after engaging in the roundtable discussions during the workshop, all sectors agreed that there is indeed a connection between the needs to establish sustainable development programs in both government and industry and the need for both undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering and science education. The primary needs identified were for the integration of environmental education and clean technology in the broader engineering curricula, and the establishment of research and development in these areas. With the existing resources, the establishment of the MS Environmental Engineering program was identified as a reasonable initial step towards addressing the needs of the various sectors. These graduate students will likely work with industry to complete their Masters thesis, developing both the desired programs for industry and the research base for Mapúa. Graduates of the program will have the experience to work with industry and/or become professors in other programs around the country with a knowledge of the needs of the industrial sector, thereby educating undergraduates to be responsive to the environmental needs of industry. While the Masters of Science curriculum appears traditional on its face, the design is based on current needs and available resources. Industry is currently operating with traditional technology that continues to need pollution control and remediation. The faculty must be refocused on the development of sustainable technologies, pollution prevention, and waste utilization. This takes time and experience, such as that obtained in both guiding masters students and completion of Page

8 research at the masters level. It is expected that the curriculum will evolve as the research areas expand to encompass the needs identified by all participating parties. Future Direction It is expected that the MS Environmental Engineering curriculum will be approved by CHED. Mapúa is currently in the process of augmenting library book holdings in several key areas of environmental engineering, subscribing to technical journals in the field, preparing advertisement/information materials for the program, preparing course syllabi and training faculty members. Furthermore, the newly created Office of Research Coordination will prepare a list of research funding institutions in the Philippines, develop lines of communication with these institutions, and orient faculty members on the application procedures of these funding institutions. Towards the end of the three-year period, it is expected that the enhanced graduate curriculum for Mapúa will be in place, and funding for several collaborative research projects between Mapúa and various industries, government agencies, NGOs and/or USC should have been secured. A final workshop will be held in the Philippines to disseminate information gathered during all phases to other Philippine institutions. The obstacles encountered and the degree of success achieved will be shared with the participants. Acknowledgment This study was funded by the generous support of the USAID program for Institutional Partnerships in Higher Education for International Development through the American Council on Higher Education and the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation and Development (Grant Number HNE-A ). The University of South Carolina, South Carolina, USA, and the Mapúa Institute of Technology, Philippines provided additional support. References 1. Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order No. 49, Series of 1997, Philippine Government. 2. Stanford University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental and Water Studies, Degree Requirements. (1999) Science; Modified May, University of Cincinnati, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Graduate Programs. (1998) University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign, Environmental Engineering and Science, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate Programs in Environmental Engineering and Science. (1999) Modified August University of South Carolina, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Degree Programs. (1999) Modified, September Page

9 Biographical Information DR. MA. CONSUELO V. FLORA has been with Mapúa Institute of Technology, Manila, Philippines for the last 37 years as a teacher, administrator, and researcher. She is presently the Vice-President for Academic Affairs of Mapúa. She is also a Professor of the School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry and of the School of Graduate Studies. She is a member of the International Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (University of the Philippines Chapter), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers. Her research interest lies on the improvement of the quality of engineering education in the Philippines. She is the institutional partner project director for this USAID-funded research. DR. BONIFACIO T. DOMA, JR. is the Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. He obtained his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the Mapúa Institute of Technology in Manila, Philippines. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Philippines-Diliman for his study on a novel bioreactor design for xanthan gum fermentation. He is currently doing research on the molecular modeling of proteins and bioinformatics. DR. JOSEPH R.V. FLORA is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Carolina Columbia. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of the Philippines, a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He joined USC Columbia in His research interests are in the areas of environmental process modeling, electrochemically-mediated biological degradation, and water, wastewater, and hazardous waste treatment. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of South Carolina. DR. ADRIENNE T. COOPER is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Carolina Columbia. She received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida. She joined USC Columbia in Her research interests are in the areas of sustainable development, solar photochemical processes, and water and wastewater treatment. DR. M. HANIF CHAUDHRY is Mr. & Mrs. Irwin B. Kahn Professor and Chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Carolina Columbia. He received a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan, an M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. in Hydraulic Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He joined USC Columbia in His research interests are the mathematical modeling of open-channel and closed-conduit flows, and hydraulic transients. ENGR. EDWIN C. OBRA is the Director for Research Coordination and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. He got his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. He received his MS in Chemical Engineering at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Chemical Engineering at the University of the Philippines-Diliman doing research on genetic algorithms and bioinformatics. Page