In common with civil engineers of his class, Cebu Technological University President Rosein A. Ancheta Jr. brushed elbows with international members of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to represent the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) Inc. at the US convention in New Orleans, Louisiana last month.
An ASEAN professional engineer himself, he considered the trip, in a statement, an opportunity to find the latest information, innovations, technologies and linkages.
He viewed the short courses as compelling and amazing as the technical tours that followed, characterized by thought-provoking sessions and career-enhancing opportunities.
Where competition was central to some of the discussions, new ways to cut costs, fine-tune skills, streamline processes, and drive change in the civil engineering field played a huge deal.
Dr. Ancheta made much of his time especially when he succeeded in linking ASCE and PICE Inc., a monumental strategy of him being the latter’s national director whose focus is on research and development.
More side trips to the University of New Orleans (UNO) and California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) allowed him to meet key persons by which he could further lobby his plans.
He was honored to meet UNO President John Nicklow, also a civil engineer, who has been widely recognized by ASCE and industries for his achievements in research. The university is ranked among the top 1,000 universities in the world and top 229 in the United States according to a new list by the Center for World University Rankings.
Its College of Engineering Associate Dean Edit Kaminsky Buorgeo and the Civil Engineering Department chair Enrique J. La Motta were able to initially agree with Dr. Ancheta on doing research in electrical and water engineering.
Made more fruitful, his trip to CALTECH was worth it. Fourth among the best colleges and universities in the world based on the latest QS Ranking, it is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world’s brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions and pressing societal challenges.
The institute’s extraordinary faculty and students are expanding the understanding of the universe and inventing the technologies of the future, with research interests from quantum science and engineering to bioinformatics and the nature of life itself, from human behavior and economics to energy and sustainability.
The president’s trip to North America in October left traces of his grand vision of transforming CTU into one which sends a message of capability to reinvent the future. (Office of the University President)