Training women to lead in tech, engineering
Step inside Mapúa University and you will notice the vibrance and diversity of its student body, with all genders well-represented across academic programs—particularly in highly technical ones such as engineering, information technology and architecture.
Why do women who want to excel in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers choose Mapúa? One factor that draws aspiring women engineers and tech experts to Mapúa is the university’s purposeful focus on women empowerment and capacity development.
Dr. Jennifer dela Cruz, a professor from the School of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, explained that the university intentionally empowers female students to flourish in male-denominated fields.
“We do this by example. A sizable number of our engineering faculty members are women, and we hope to inspire our students that if their women professors can, they can, too. We also do this through opportunities, such as sponsored scholarships that are exclusive for female students. We ensure that what men receive—resources, support and quality of engineering education—women also have access to,” Dela Cruz said.
Female Mapúa students are given exclusive training and lectures like “Gender and Society” to equip them against obstacles that prevent them from flourishing in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Mapúa’s legacy of excellence in engineering and technology also attracts tech and engineering hopefuls. Fourteen Mapúa programs are accredited by ABET, an independent, international, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that certifies the educational standards of engineering, computing and other STEM programs worldwide.
The university’s comprehensive interdisciplinary curricula and supportive environment lays the perfect groundwork for female achievers. Through its challenging programs, future engineers and tech experts can explore and refine the full range of their capabilities in an open and encouraging environment.
Last year, a team of Information Systems students composed of Arianna Coleen Ochua, Ma. Gracia Kim Brela and Prisilla Amiel Sarto won the Tech4Women Singapore 2023 Challenge hosted by The Women’s Forum Youth Lab with their mobile app SafeSteps. A comprehensive and secure platform for sexual health, SafeSteps democratized access to sexual health-care services for marginalized populations like women.
Another exceptional women-led project was the Wearable Obstacle Detection System and Braille Cell Phone for the Blind, developed by Computer Engineering students Janiena Roxanne Dirain, Kristine Emy Matabang and Girly Perando. In 2012, the project was included in the Top 10 of the 8th Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program Innovations and Excellence Awards and made a tremendous impact on the visually handicapped.
