13 new institutions in DOST’s STRAND consortium

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has added 13 more state universities and colleges (SUCs) and a number of private higher education institutions (HEIs) to its consortium of schools allowed to offer government post-graduate scholarships in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

DOST Science Education Institute (SEI) executive director Josette Biyo said that the addition of 13 SUCs and HEIs to the agency’s S&T Regional Alliance of Universities for Inclusive Development (STRAND) consortium aimed to make the generous scholarships available to budding young scientists and researchers in the countryside.

“We are expanding the roster of our partner universities to include those in the regions,” Biyo told The STAR in an interview early this week. “They are also very good universities.”

The new DOST-SEI STRAND consortium members are Cagayan State University, Palawan State University, Eastern Visayas State University, University of Southern Mindanao, Batangas State University, Central Mindanao University, Mariano Marcos State University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Nueva Vizcaya State University, Saint Louis University, St. Mary’s University, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines - Cagayan de Oro, and the University of Southeastern Philippines.

Biyo said that the DOST was aggressively encouraging more young Filipinos to pursue master’s and doctorate degrees to build a critical mass of scientists and engineers that would be the brain trust needed by the Philippines as it seeks to attain sustainable inclusive economic growth.