In recognition of outstanding feat of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholar-graduates for the academic year 2018-2019, the DOST-Science Education Institute (SEI) will honor one hundred and seventy (170) scholar-graduates in a special recognition program dubbed “In Touch with Excellence”.
DOST-SEI’s scholarship program does not only produce scholar graduates but scholars who graduate with top academic honors in their respective institutions.
The ceremony will be held on March 2, 2020, at 9 AM at the Casa Real De Iloilo with some 200 guests who are expected to attend.
The said total number of awardees is composed of one (1) Summa Cum Laude, 32 Magna Cum Laude, 133 Cum Laude and four (4) Distinction awardees.
In 2018, a total of 139 scholar-graduates were awarded in the same program.
In an interview, Kirk Joboy B. Himlay, 22, a DOST scholar who graduated with a degree on Bachelor of Science in Information Systems as Cum Laude, said that the event will acknowledge his achievements as a scholar-graduate and that it will remind him of the responsibility of giving back the privileges he enjoyed as a scholar.
“For me, the In Touch with Excellence is DOST’s way of showing how they value each and every individual they molded to be one of the nation’s best S&T professionals”, Himlay said.
“The (DOST) scholarship has been one big factor that lessens the burden of pursuing college most especially in the financial aspect as I became free from thinking of the expenses during the third and fourth year of study– the most crucial years in college life”, Himlay added when asked how did the DOST scholarship helped him in graduating as cum laude.
Meanwhile, Leo A. Lozada, 21, another DOST scholar who graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Mathematics as Cum Laude also expressed his appreciation for the said event.
“It is a great appanage when something or someone acknowledges your efforts for this will be an urge that will drive you more to work hard with excellency. In Touch with Excellence is an avenue in which scholars like me, have been waiting for. It is an activity wherein each scholar with Latin honor receives their award that will remind us of all the hard work and sacrifices we did during our college days”, Lozada said.
“The DOST Scholarship serves as a reminder that I shall uphold everything with excellence, and with that, it gives me the hankering to pursue what I wanted to be in the future.”, Lozada further added.
Both Lozada and Himlay are currently employed in DOST VI under the Scholarship Section.
To date, there are 1,280 ongoing DOST scholars in Western Visayas, the majority of which came from the University of the Philippines Visayas.
DOST is devoted to accelerating the development of science and technology for socio-economic development. The Science and Technology (S&T) Scholarship Program is available for both undergraduate and graduate-level scholarships, to those who meet the minimum grade requirement and those qualified by the S&T Scholarship Examination. DOST offers three undergraduate scholarship programs– RA 7687 Scholarship, DOST-SEI Merit Scholarship Program and the RA 10612, known as Fast-Tracked S&T Scholarship Act of 2013.
RA 7687 Scholarship (RA 7687) provides scholarship slots to poor but deserving students whose families’ annual gross incomes do not exceed the poverty threshold limit. The other scholarship referred to as DOST-SEI Merit Scholarship Program is awarded to students with high aptitude in science and mathematics and is willing to pursue careers in the fields of science and technology. On the other hand, RA 10612 or Fast-Tracked S&T Scholarship Act of 2013 under the Junior Level Science Scholarship Program is offered to third-year college students who are enrolled in S&T Priority courses at any State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), other private universities or colleges that are with CHED compliant programs, CHED identified Centers of Excellence (COE) or Centers of Development (COD) for the priority S&T courses and Institutions with FAAP Level III Accreditation.
Scholars shall enjoy financial benefits which include tuition and other school fees subsidy, monthly stipend, book allowance, and others.
The implementation of these scholarships supports its primary goal of increasing the number of scientists and engineers that will help boost knowledge creation and economic productivity in the country. The execution of the K to 12 law is supported by creating a pool of scholar-graduates that can competently teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the basic education level.
S&T scholars will be required to render service to the country upon graduation for a period equivalent to the number of years they availed of the said scholarship. Likewise, the RA 7687 and Merit scholars are expected to work along their fields of specialization while those under RA 10612 shall serve as STEM teachers in any public or private high school in the country. (J.R.A. Gabiota)
