As part of the National Women’s Month celebration, the EEE Institute recognizes outstanding women and their contributions electrical, electronics and computer engineering and to the institute through this series — Empowered Women of UP EEEI.
Next on the list is Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara, the current Undersecretary for Research and Development at DOST. She also served as the first woman dean of the UP College of Engineering.
Read her story as she proves to be one of #EmpoweredWomenofUPEEEI:
How do women make an impact in your chosen career and industry?
Women are the other half in my chosen career. Women make an impact in all fields especially in those fields that are historically dominated by men, because we expand the knowledge and enrich the range of innovations and breakthroughs that are typically men-oriented. Involving women, and those who identify as one, can improve the identification, planning, implementation and assessment of programs, projects and initiatives because we tend to be more inclusive and socially relevant. A majority of the scientific solutions against Covid-19 in the past year were brought about by women scientists. The RxBox, FASSSTER, and REWear Face Mask are just some of these.
Message to all the women of EEEI
Most people remember me as the first woman Dean of the UP College of Engineering, but I was also the youngest. When I was a freshman, there were 6 women out of 70 BSEE students. When we graduated, there were only 27 of us, 6 of whom are women. Women make amazing engineers and leaders when given the opportunity, and when they pursue the opportunity.
Accomplishments and advocacies that you may want to share to our EEEI Community
Human resource development for Science and Technology is the most important infrastructure needed by our country. It starts with education and ends with nurturing and retaining the talent in the country. As the pioneer of the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Program and by continuing to work for research and development in the country, I encourage the EEEI community to continue contributing to the progress of our country through inclusive innovation. Of course, step one would be to stay in our country.
#EmpoweredWomenofUPEEEI
#WomenMakeChange
#WomenInSTEM