The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through its Science Education Institute (SEI), is fulfilling it mandate to increase the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) human resources in the country with a total of 55,460 scholars, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, in its roster now.

This allows the country to have a pool of highly competent scientists and researchers which would work on providing innovative solutions to address the pressing concerns of various areas and sectors.

At the 2nd S&T Fellow Convention held on 21 July 2023, at Sofitel Plaza, Dr. Josette T. Biyo, director of DOST-SEI, shared her prediction that these scholarship programs will pave the way for the creation of public impact investors, wherein, these scholars will go back to the Philippines and lead several industries or become entrepreneurs and contribute to national development.

Dr. Biyo shared that out of the 55,460 scholars, there are 50,518 in the undergraduate level, 3,895 are from the masteral level, and 1,047 are at the doctoral level. In addition to this, the DOST-SEI has supported almost 300 scholars studying in 29 universities abroad, pursuing courses in priority areas that are not yet that strong in the Philippines such as agriculture, aquaculture, and natural resources, health, industry, energy, and emerging technologies.

Just last month, the DOST-SEI announced another 11, 000 undergraduate qualifiers who will pursue courses in STEM.

DOST-SEI reported that 95% of its budget goes to scholarship programs, while the rest is allocated to science promotion activities and research. Meanwhile, at the undergraduate level, Dr. Biyo mentioned that only 20% of the 47,000 scholars belong to families with higher annual income, while majority of the scholars (80%) come from financially challenged families.

"I am very proud to say that our scholars come from 99% of the municipalities. Unfortunately, there are 16 remaining municipalities (out of 169) that we were not able to reach because they are located on distant islands, making them very hard to access. Additionally, I am happy to share that 80% of our scholars come from financially challenged families," shared Dr. Biyo.

Meanwhile, Dr. Biyo bared their program called BEST for IP or Bring Education in Science and Mathematics to Indigenous People.

“May mga examinees tayo from various Indigenous Group na nahihirapan makapasa to our scholarship examination. So kahit hindi sila makapasa, we will give them opportunities na maka-avail ng scholarships. It is one of the things that we will prioritize during our upcoming planning workshops regarding the assessment process, interventions, and implementation on this,” said Dr. Biyo.

(We have examinees from various Indigenous Groups who are having difficulty passing our scholarship examination. So even if they do not pass, we will give them opportunities to avail themselves of scholarships. This is one of the things that we will prioritize during our upcoming planning workshops regarding the assessment process, interventions, and implementation for this matter. 

Dr. Biyo said that it is one of the main goals of the DOST-SEI is to help our brothers and sisters from the Indigenous group to obtain a degree and get plenty of employment opportunities someday and help in addressing the problem of poverty at their respective communities.

Dr. Biyo also shared that they have specialized programs, one of them is Bangon Marawi. The program was created after the Marawi Siege where many children couldn't return to their homes or schools because their parents lost their livelihood or passed away, or their houses and schools were burned down.

“We visited Marawi and identified these children; around 400 of them were sent back to school, and we provided them with financial grants just like regular scholars. I am delighted that out of the 400, only 8 did not graduate, and many of themhave secured jobs. From the Muslim Community, we have produced around 20 Cum laude and 3 Magna Cum laude,” said Dr. Biyo.

Dr. Biyo also shared some of the privileges and perks of being a DOST scholar, including the stipend that is provided to them monthly. For BS course, it is 7,000 pesos a month, for MS, it is 25,000, and for PhD, it is 33,000. She also shared that starting January next year, the stipend will be increased to 8,000 for BS course, 30,000 for MS, and 38,000 for PhD."

Thereafter, Dr. Biyo also discussed other programs of the DOST-SEI in enhancing and promoting science education in the country.

One is Project LODI, a league of developers’ initiative, that provides on-the-job training in coding and programming to undergraduate scholars to support various digital transformation efforts. Another initiative is Project SET, collaborating with Japan, Singapore, and Philippine industries, that offers a 10-month training for undergraduate scholars to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and develop concepts and prototypes.

Furthermore, they also have a Career Incentive Program (CIP) for DOST scholars, deploying nearly 300 CIP fellows to research institutes and universities in need of capacity building.  The CIP fellows receive an annual salary of 61,000 pesos for MS scholars and 84,000 pesos for PhD scholars. The program is renewable for a maximum of 3 years and involves matching scholars with requesting agencies, sometimes based on specific preferences, through a screening process.

“It is very crucial to do and to be addressed not only by the DOST-SEI and the DOST, but I believe that there should be a shared framework among government agencies, the full value chain of DOST scholars. It is my vision and the vision of DOST as well that all our scholars, after they graduate, would find decent jobs that are fitted to their skills and interests,” said Dr. Biyo.

The 2nd S&T Fellows Convention was organized by the DOST’s Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Development, that aims to showcase the substantial S&T contributions of our dedicated and passionate S&T Fellows, who are in effect can be considered as DOST scholars. (By Allan Mauro V. Marfal, DOST-STII)

Dr. Josette T. Biyo, director of the DOST-Science Education Institute, shares the plans of the institute moving forward to further enhance its scholarship programs for many young and truly deserving Filipinos.