To equip public school teachers and students with advanced STEM skills and research capacity, Cebu Technological University and the Department of Education (DepEd) Lapu‑Lapu City inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on July 15, 2026, at CTU Main Campus, institutionalizing two research‑based extension projects.
The projects—Tech‑Tok Innovator sa Eskwela Ko (STEM Innovation Boot Camp on Robotics, IoT, and AI for Educators) and Research Ko, Ambag Ko Para sa Kauswagan (Research and Development Training and Mentorship Boot Camp for STEM Educators)—elevate grassroots STEM collaboration into a sustained institutional practice.
The agreement addresses a pressing national concern, as the Philippines has only 270 research scientists and engineers per million people, below the UNESCO benchmark of 380. Both institutions identify Senior High School classrooms as the earliest point to begin closing this gap.
In signing the MOA, CTU and DepEd commit to equipping public school teachers and students to help drive the country’s science and technology future, extending capacity‑building beyond university researchers.
Following the MOA signing, a full‑day faculty‑led training was held on July 25, continuing the momentum built during the 2025 pilot. The timing is critical, as national R&D spending remains below target and the country’s innovation output in publications and patents continues to decline, underscoring the urgency of sustained investment in STEM talent.
The agreement formally linked CTU with three DepEd partner schools: Mactan National High School, Babag National High School, and the Science and Technology Education Center (STEC), extending the university’s research culture directly into the communities they serve.
The initiative was spearheaded by Dr. Maria Gemel B. Palconit, Project Leader of TECH-TOK and Center Director of CTU’s Sustainable Center for Engineering and Next-Generation Technology, and Dr. Wilen Melsedec O. Narvios, Project Leader of Research Ko, Ambag Ko Para sa Kauswagan, with Engr. Jayson C. Jueco serving as project co-lead and extension project coordinator.
DepEd’s own leadership, led by Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Marilyn S. Andales, Education Program Supervisor for Science Jennifer S. Mirasol, and the principals of the three partner schools, namely Dr. Vonn Clyde Nunez of Mactan NHS, Audrey Masbang of STEC, and Nickjon Babatuon of Babag NHS.
CTU and DepEd Lapu‑Lapu City anchored the collaboration on an evidence‑based training needs assessment of 20 SHS STEM teachers, which revealed critical gaps in microcontroller programming, IoT, robotics, and research methodology.
Both programs were first tested in a 2025 pilot run, giving CTU faculty a full cycle to refine the curriculum before formalizing it through this MOA: TECH-TOK built teachers’ hands-on skills in electronics, robotics, and AI applications, while Research Ko, Ambag Ko Para sa Kauswagan strengthened their research design, data analysis, and dissemination capacity.
Rather than a generic seminar, the curriculum is drawn directly from CTU faculty members’ own research outputs and technical specializations, spanning the Departments of Electrical, Electronics, Computer, Civil, Industrial, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, with each session led by the researcher whose published work the topic is built on: Arduino-based IoT and robotics systems, AI and data-driven modeling, Design of Experiments, geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, and survey instrument validation.
That breadth ensures teachers learn not from a single specialist’s playbook but from the full spectrum of engineering disciplines CTU offers. That 2025 run produced results before any agreement was signed: student teams from partner schools advanced as regional finalists in ClusterRICE, a DOST-TAPI invention contest, providing the evidence that convinced both institutions to formalize what had already been piloted.
This MOA signing exemplifies how HEI–DepEd extension work, embedded in public school classrooms, addresses national development gaps while advancing inclusive, research‑driven STEM education. Its impact goes beyond a single agreement: tested in a 2025 pilot, the curriculum now brings a new cohort of SHS STEM teachers from Mactan, Babag, and STEC into Tech‑Tok and Research Ko, Ambag Ko Para sa Kauswagan, continuing the pipeline opened last year.
The partnership addresses a critical need through evidence‑based teacher training, establishes sustainable institutional support, and advances higher education’s mandate by equipping Filipino teachers and students for future roles as scientists and engineers.
Via Engr. Jayson Jueco, RD Chair of College of Engineering – CTU Main Campus
