The University of San Jose-Recoletos signed an agreement with one of Cebu’s largest electronic manufacturers for a collaborative effort to hold robotics engineering classes for Josenian students.
USJ-R President Rev. Fr. Cristopher Maspara, OAR signed the agreement with Cebu Mitsumi Inc. Managing Director Yoshihiro Sakanushi for seven salient points that include curriculum development, on-the-job trainings, collaborative research, plant visits, recruitment and hiring, and faculty immersion program.
Also signing as witnesses to the agreement were College of Engineering dean Dr. Virgilio Abellana and Mitsumi HR Manager Engr. Caesar Augusto.
“As an electronics manufacturing destination, gone are the days when we market the Philippines as a source of cheap labor,” said Engr. Augusto, adding that in the next ten years, Vietnam will beat the country in that regard. He claimed that Vietnam is set to pay rank-and-file workers 2 dollars a day by that time.
He added that the country needs to rebrand itself as the go-to destination for highly skilled workers and engineers.
“Manufacturing is not really a sexy job for engineers. You want to be wearing long sleeves and ties but believe me, this is where you should be,” he added.
According the agreement, Mitsumi would lend the school its robotics equipment used in its Danao City facility to “provide students hands-on experience of the company’s technology.”
The equipment’s are housed in a classroom aptly called Mitsumi Robotics Laboratory at the ground floor of the College of Engineering building. It was blessed by Fr. Maspara last June 25.
Mitsumi is a Japanese electronic manufacturing firm that specializes in making connectors, wire harness, molded and stamped components, optical pick-up units, camera modules, chips on board, magnetic tape head, floppy disk drives, CD-ROM drives, digital audio tapes, and micro actuators, among others.
It employs at least 20 thousand workers in its Danao facility.
Mitsumi engineers who are subject matter experts will hold classes for 3 hours every Saturday at the laboratory for selected electrical, electronics, computer and mechanical engineering students. There are 24 students selected for the first batch.
“There is a gap between the academe and industry,” said Engr. Augusto. “The industries complain to the universities that their graduates are no good. But I don’t think we can just stop by just complaining. The industry has to do something. And this is for me a step in the right direction.”
USJ-R and Mitsumi will also collaborate on developing elective subjects that would be responsive to the needs of the industry in the field of robotics engineering.
Mitsumi would also accept Josenian students for their on-the-job trainings while the university would allow the company to conduct recruitment and hiring activities in the campus.
A faculty immersion program is also in the works to enhance and upgrade their competencies in the field of robotics engineering.
“We are very excited about this,” Engr. Augusto said. “It takes a forward-looking organization to come up with this kind of agreement. It is a recognition that something needs to be done and USJ-R and Mitsumi pave the way for things to be done.”
Dr. Abellana thanked Mitsumi for their trust and confidence in USJ-R. He promised to produce graduates who are work ready for Mitsumi and other electronics manufacturing companies.
Fr. Maspara urged the selected students to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them and take their studies seriously.
“We want you to be industry ready, especially with the onset of the Asean integration where competition is expected to be fierce,” he said.
