It's remarkable to see how quickly the world around us is changing. As the industry undergoes radical technological advancement, it is now the responsibility of the education sector to catch pace in producing future-proof graduates who will become professionals capable of meeting the industry's rising demands. This is especially true in engineering, a discipline encompassing broad societal and economic implications facing the demands revolving around the new technologies.

This generation's engineering students will become the inventors, innovators, and leaders of tomorrow; history showing that engineers who have been adequately educated and trained become invaluable members of society for their contributions in solving many of humanity's issues, driving the global economy, and enhancing key areas of human life. Thus, the goal is clear: engineering schools must focus on gearing their students up for the challenges of tomorrow. A greater responsibility now rests on the shoulders of academia to drive the undergraduate educational experience from a conventional pedantic curriculum to a wider fundamental experience that will prepare engineers for a lifetime of achievement.

As engineering moves forward, so must engineering education.Innovation is vital to our economic, social, and environmental future, and the present situation encourages urgent, collaborative investments on both the local and global levels necessary for the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Therefore, in its first year, this conference aims not only to spark intellectual discussions and refresh perspectives on the ways forward, but also to become a platform for sharing expertise, best practices, and experience that will benefit the academe, the industry, communities, the government, and other key sectors involved in nation - and world - building.

The core of this conference is active innovation, harnessing the power of virtual technology.Participants are from all over the world: guest speakers from various engineering education organizations, industry partners, and accrediting institutions, as well as researchers, practitioners, and educators. This virtual conference is organized and facilitated by Batangas State University’s Center for Innovation in Engineering Education(CIEE) in celebration of 50 years of quality education in engineering.

In addition to the keynote speeches, plenary sessions, and master classes, this conference features the Innovation Challenge Competition, a thematic competition that challenges students of higher education institutions to ideate, innovate and pitch solutions addressing the SDGs.The top ten teams shall undergo an innovation program to improve minimum viable products, conduct validation activities, and prepare for a final demo and pitching scheduled on December 6 and 7, 2021 during the 5th International Research Conference on the Innovations in Engineering, Science and Technology (IRCIEST V).