MANILA — Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Tuesday expressed her hope to create a science and technology-focused higher education institution to place the city on the map of technology hotspots, such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
“One day, it is my dream to establish a Quezon City Science and Technology University in our city,” Belmonte said after delivering the keynote address at the opening of this year’s Science, Technology, Research in Innovative Venture (STRIVE) at Don Alejandro Roces High School in Quezon City.
The university would be a pioneering institution run by the Quezon City local government that intends not only to build up expertise in science and technology but also to promote entrepreneurship and innovation within the city.
“My dream is to hone and develop the interest and skills of our children in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) so that they can be inventors, innovators, creators, tech-preneurs, engineers, scientists in the future,” Belmonte said, believing that the “future is in technology”.
In an earlier statement, Belmonte said she hoped young people would dream of “becoming not just ordinary employees or businessmen, but innovators”.
Along with advocating for STEM education in the city, the Vice Mayor has been active in institutionalizing support from the local government for the city’s small businesses.
A believer in the capacity of small businesses to innovate, Belmonte said, “Pinapangarap ng isang innovator gumawa ng mga bagay na makabuluhan (An innovator is dreaming to make things that are meaningful).
“We don’t need to invent something new. We can improve on something already existing. We can be improvers,” she added. (Perfecto Raymundo, Jr./PNA)
