Dr. Mary Sylvette Gunigundo currently serves as the Director of the Office of Planning, Research, and Knowledge Management at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). With over 20 years of experience in academic administration and policy implementation, she has held various strategic roles at CHED since 2004, including as Education Supervisor for the National Capital Region. As the former head of CHED’s Office of Student Development and Services (OSDS), she managed student financial assistance programs, internships, and international student affairs.

Dr. Gunigundo holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Research from Louisiana State University, USA. Her leadership has been instrumental in developing strategic frameworks to enhance the quality of Philippine higher education. She is a champion of policy reforms, capacity building, and research innovation. Her dedication to public service has significantly contributed to the agency’s mission of promoting inclusive and globally competitive education in the Philippines. Recently appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., she continues to lead initiatives that drive internationalization and quality assurance in higher education.

Dr. Elmer P. Dadios is a highly accomplished academic and researcher recognized for his significant contributions in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, and intelligent systems. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at Mindanao State University in Marawi and his Master of Science in Computer Science at De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila. He obtained his PhD in Manufacturing Engineering with a focus on Robotics and Intelligent Systems from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, completing it in just two years.

Dr. Dadios is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honors, including the 2023 National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Academician award and the 2022 ScholarGPS Highly Ranked Scholar in the specialties of Environment (Systems) and Nanotechnologies. His outstanding research has earned him recognitions such as the 2019 Leaders in Innovation Fellowship from the United Kingdom Royal Academy of Engineering and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP). He was also listed as one of the top 100 scientists by the Asian Scientist Magazine in 2019.

In addition to his accolades, Dr. Dadios has served as an editor for several international journals, including the Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics and the Journal of AI, Computer Science, and Robotics Technology. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Computational Intelligence in Engineering Applications (JCIEA). With over 570 Scopus-indexed technical papers, he has contributed extensively to the scientific community.

Dr. Dadios joined DLSU in 1992 and holds the highest academic rank of Distinguished Professor. He was conferred the title of University Fellow in 2008, a recognition for exemplary academic achievements and contributions. He is also the founder and Chairman of the Board of the Intelligent Systems Innovation Corporation and has held several leadership positions within the IEEE, including the Chair of the IEEE Philippines Section and the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Philippines Chapter. His research interests span robotics, smart cities, transportation management, biomedical engineering, and computational intelligence systems.