EVANGELINE BAUTISTA, PhD now sits at the helm of the School of Science and Engineering (SOSE), with long-term plans afoot.

Her appointment as the new SOSE dean came with the responsibility of preparing her school for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Economic Community (AEC).

AEC aims to economically integrate all members of Asean by 2015. It will also heighten the flexibility of studying anywhere within the region for students of Asean member countries.

Bautista stressed, however, that the discussion on the necessary academic changes is still going on.

“[The] entire Loyola Schools is in a planning stage and we are giving ourselves an entire semester to concretize our plans,” she said. “SOSE is still in the process of formulating its final goals.”

She added that she wanted the vision and goals for SOSE to be set collectively by its members, in spite of having her own.

One of the immediate plans she has is to address communication problems within SOSE. Bautista has already met with several members of the SOSE School Board to resolve this internal matter.

AEC preparations

While the AEC has more apparent implications on trade and commerce, it will also affect the education sector.

“When Asean 2015 comes, there will be a much greater mobility of students and professionals. It would not be difficult for our students to go to another university in Southeast Asia,” Bautista said. “I want our programs to be able to compete in [an international level].”

Bautista is keen on attracting international and local students alike. “We want to be attractive to students from other Asean countries and at the same time we want to keep the best students in Ateneo.”

In order to become competitive, Bautista said that the Ateneo has to find its niches. As of press time, priority areas have not yet been determined.

She said that she would personally want to zero in on environment-related niches for SOSE, such as biodiversity and climate change. However, she emphasized that nothing has been finalized and that she would like to analyze the strengths of her school some more.

She is confident of the standards of SOSE, but admitted that it needs to benchmark.

SOSE School Board (SB) Chairperson Jonathan Babaran and SOSE SB Secretary Treasurer Kristine Andujare agree with Bautista’s initial thoughts on the possible niches of SOSE, but for different reasons.

Babaran said, “[Concentrating] on the environment and biodiversity is very advantageous for the Ateneo. We’re proud that we have dedicated [Environmental Science] and Biology departments.”

Whereas Babaran gave credit to specific departments in SOSE, Andujare pointed out the Philippines’s optimal place in the study of biodiversity.

“[The] Philippines is biologically diverse. This gives us a great edge to being a good venue to study the environment,” Andujare said.

Babaran suggested that IT courses also be focused on for their relevance in research in other areas, while Andujare would like SOSE to concentrate on general public health.

Fluid communication

Bautista has served befored as the Mathematics Department chairperson. She shared that one of her frustrations was learning of math majors’ problems late.

She already talked with Babaran and Andujare about communication concerns, telling them that they need to establish a stronger presence in SOSE and be the “bridge of communication” between students and SOSE department chairpersons.

“I just want the students to be comfortable enough to go to the chairs for their concerns and I want them to be able to do this as soon as the concern arises. The students are our most important stakeholders. They must be heard,” Bautista said.

Babaran said that the SOSE Sanggunian Executive Committee already assigned one point person for each of the eight departments in SOSE. These point persons will act as mediators between students and chairpersons—the former relaying concerns of the students to the latter.

Andujare said, “[Opening communication lines] is good for both parties, because really, without communication, no changes that will benefit the two parties involved can take place.”

Ateneo Mathematics Society President Marc Sua shared the same sentiments about the importance of communication between students and teachers.

“I find [Bautista’s] plan to be something that is shared by many SOSE students, especially since communication is needed in the research-based nature of SOSE courses,” he said.

He added, “As the elected representative of [AMS], many people come to me with thoughts and suggestions about how curricula can be improved. I believe that questions such as these must be directly forwarded to heads of the departments instead of having to pass through the organizations.”

SOSE students’ expectations

Sua, a math major, has other concerns which he hopes Bautista can take into consideration, aside from communication lapses.

“SOSE students need to be trained to see the value of research in science and technology. Apart from the internalization that Dr. Bautista is focusing on, I believe that she needs to turn SOSE into a force that will allow SOSE students to actually want to research for a living,” Sua said.

“I believe that it is Dr. Bautista’s mission to teach SOSE students that there is a future for research, and employment is not the be-all and end-all of their lives.”

Andujare and Babaran’s main concern still centers on sustained communication between Bautista and the students.

In her first meeting with Bautista, Andujare said that she already saw that the new SOSE dean is serious in entertaining all concerns of students in her school. “It is from this experience that I began to hope that she continues to listen to us [in all of SOSE’s future endeavors].”