“The University will bring to bear some of its newest academic research programs in bioinformatics, data science, artificial intelligence, and others in order to anticipate and adapt to change”
He has the right numbers.
He has the right qualifications.
And he has the right vision for the future of the premier State University.
Dr. Fidel Nemenzo, Professor of Mathematics and Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), is hands down, in my humble opinion, the best bet among those nominated for the top UP post.
He studied in UP Diliman and Sophia University in Tokyo, where he obtained his Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees. His areas of research are number theory, elliptic curves and coding theory.
Among the awards he has received are the Achievement Award in Mathematics from the National Research Council of the Philippines and the UP Diliman Gawad Chancellor Para sa Pinakamahusay na Guro.
He was President of both the Southeast Asian Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Society of the Philippines, and has held research and teaching posts in Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Munich and Phnom Penh.
If elected UP President by the 11-member Board of Regents on Friday, December 9, Nemenzo has vowed to lead the university in constructive engagement with government, as UP’s partner in nation- building.
Nemenzo has chalked up an impressive list of achievements.
First, he initiated/pushed for the creation of programs on areas crucial for S&T and innovation, which are necessary for industrialization and nation-building, such as PhD in Data Science; PhD in Artificial Intelligence; Master of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence; UP Data Commons (high performance computational facility for R&D); and UP Center for Intelligent Systems (research and policy center in data science and AI), which will help find solutions to the nation’s most urgent problems.
Second, he played a key role in academe-government-industry partnerships, which have produced projects such as the development of our own space micro-satellites which generate data useful for weather prediction, disaster risk reduction, planning for the sustainable use of our national resources and other applications.
UPD’s DOST-funded 1 micro-satellite program led to the development of a space engineering track within the MS engineering program, and the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency.
Third, as UPD Chancellor, he created the UPD Task Force Blueprint for Building the Nation, which led a multidisciplinary, research-based agenda-building and policy formulation process on national issues (public transportation, higher education, industrial policy, economic recovery and transformation, social protection, electoral and political reforms, local governance and foreign relations).
And fourth, as UP Diliman’s ‘pandemic chancellor,’ he led the university’s pivot to crisis mode since the sheer size, scale and complexity of UP Diliman (27 colleges, more than 3,500 faculty and staff, 27,000 students, and 55,000 residents) created great challenges during the public health crisis.
Dr. Nemenzo has extensive teaching experience.
He has taught over different 25 courses (in the B.S., M.S. and PhD levels), which include graduate level courses in UP Baguio, the Department of Computer Science of the UPD College of Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Sophia University and the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
As UP President, he has pledged to strategically position UP as a premier public service institution, working in partnership with government, industry, civil society, social movements, and other institutions of higher learning.
He has offered a vision of an agile, smart and high-impact UP for a resilient, sustainable, and equitable Philippines.
An agile UP will allow it to pivot and respond quickly to disruptions.
The University will bring to bear some of its newest academic research programs in bioinformatics, data science, artificial intelligence, and others in order to anticipate and adapt to change.
At the same time, an agile mind is also fostered in an environment of critical thinking and democratic culture.
A smart UP means pushing through with its digital transformation while addressing existing inequalities in access to technologies.
In pursuit of connectivity across the System, the use of blended or hybrid modes of learning and digitization of learning resources will facilitate collaboration in research, sharing of resources, mobility of faculty and students across the different constituent universities.
Digitization of its administrative processes and services will mean greater efficiency and enhanced operationalization of our three-fold mandate of teaching, research and public service while upgrading personnel capabilities.
And a high-impact UP entails advancing the University’s role as a premier R&D, policy and innovation hub.
The university will develop academic programs and promote research that will contribute to the country’s pursuit of resilient, sustainable and equitable development.
This can only be done in a nurturing and enabling environment and an atmosphere of academic freedom for students, staff and faculty.
To achieve impact, there must also be regular dialogue with government, industry, communities, civil society and other stakeholders of development to inform curriculum development, policy formulation, or product innovation.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
