TRENDING: Engineering graduates cry foul over thesis idea allegedly stolen by lower batch
A group of industrial engineering graduates from the University of Perpetual Help – Calamba raised concerns over academic integrity as they alleged that their thesis idea was stolen by the lower batch, which ended up winning Best Thesis in the recent commencement exercises.
Kristina Esguerra, tagging her then thesis groupmates Eloisa Prado and Miguel Dela Rama, took to Facebook to detail their unpleasant experience from their alma mater in line with their undergraduate thesis that earned the top recognition but was later taken back by the university.
In the post, Kristina shared that Eloisa was the one who pitched the idea of making a palay desiccator for farmers.
“Tulong-tulong kaming tatlo para mabuo 'yan simula sa title, shape ng dryer, design, paper, and all,” she recalled.
Kristina then expressed her frustration over how she and her groupmates were stripped of the Best Thesis honor ahead of their graduation.
“Sobrang saya namin nung chinat pa 'ko. Nakakapagtaka lang eh binawi before the graduation yung BEST THESIS namin? Bakit? Kasi may nauna daw sa [a]min na group makapagpasa ng thesis na nakabookbind na kaya mas mataas grade nila,” Kristina recalled.
According to the UPHC alum, they chose to keep mum at the time to make sure that they would graduate college as planned. “Sure kaming gagawa sila ng dahilan para 'di kami makamarcha if ever nilaban namin,” she claimed.
Kristina emphasized that the Best Thesis award was a big deal for them, especially since they were all irregular students—with her being a returnee, Eloisa as a shiftee, and Miguel as a transferee.
Allegedly stolen thesis concept
A post from mechanical engineering students from the same school went viral on social media in August, where they shared their journey to creating a rice dryer that's meant to ease the lives of farmers for their thesis.
Early this month, the dual powered rice dryer invention was featured on media outlet One PH. The product can help farmers dry palay easier, especially during the rainy season. It can function either through manual pedaling or electricity.
"Parang ang unang tanong po namin is ano po 'yung mga nagiging problema tuwing December na anihan. Doon sa tanong na 'yun, halos dun na lang din umikot 'yun, kasi sila (farmers) agad na po 'yung nagsabi na ang problema din po kinakaharap tuwing -ber months is maulan po, lahat mabaha," Romheart Aninao, one of the students behind the thesis, shared with the outlet.
Reacting to the One PH feature, Kristina lamented how the group allegedly used their thesis concept and how they could not claim that it was plagiarized as they weren’t able to secure a patent for it.
“Wala man lang heads up na ipapagamit thesis namin sa next batch, at dahil hindi namin sya pinapatent, wala daw plagiarism sabi ng UPHSD-Las Piñas. Kung hindi pa binalita ng OnePH, wala man lang kaming kaalam-alam na 'yung concept ng thesis namin, pinakuha nyo sa iba para sabihin na sila nakaisip nyan,” she wrote.
“Where's the academic integrity here? Paano tayo magiging proud sa quality of education if 'yung students, hindi marunong magisip ng sarili nilang innovation? Tinanggalan nyo kami ng Best Thesis award tapos 'yung nag-add ang binigyan nyo ng award,” she continued.
Kristina stressed that she and her groupmates "deserve the right recognition for [their] innovation."
"But we feel like we're overshadowed by these students na hindi man lang nagshow ng respect by stating the fact na hindi sila nakaisip nyan, at hindi man lang nagsabi samin," she added.
Kristina and Eloisa were also interviewed by One PH later this month. The former shared they started working on their thesis in August 2022, and successfully defended it in May 2023.
According to Kristina, the students concerned initially talked about acknowledging them in their work.
“Nung una po, sinabi na kakausapin ‘yung head ng ME (mechanical engineering) research para raw po ma-properly acknowledge ‘yung gawa namin since kami naman po ‘yung original talaga na gumawa ng idea at whole concept, kaso po after a week, sinabihan kami na parang wala na sila magagawa kasi hindi naman naka-patent ‘yung gawa namin,” she told One PH.
Kristina alleged that the UPHC department told them that their thesis is different from Aninao's group, since the latter's was meant to be developed as a mechanical device, while theirs is manual—using clay pots and charcoal.
University of Perpetual Help – Calamba to ensure 'fair and just resolution' for both parties
The UPHC, in a statement released on Monday, Sept. 23, acknowledged the issue regarding the Palay Desiccator innovation.
“We take these matters seriously and are committed to ensuring that all parties receive a fair and just resolution,” they said.
The university said a "comprehensive investigation" will be conducted "to examine information and details, including but not limited to issues of citation, permission, and innovation."
It added that they will take appropriate action based on the results of their investigation.
“We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to address the situation professionally and respectfully, ensuring that our values of academic integrity and collaboration are upheld,” the UPHC continued.
Citing Black's Law Dictionary, the Supreme Court defines plagiarism as the "deliberate and knowing presentation of another person's original ideas or creative expressions as one's own."
Among the most common types of plagiarism, according to research platform Research Square, are direct plagiarism with and without citation, self-plagiarism, single and multiple source plagiarism, blended plagiarism, wholesale or partial plagiarism of ideas, unoriginal work as plagiarism, incidental plagiarism, and accidental plagiarism.
PhilSTAR L!fe reached out to Aninao for a comment on the allegation but has yet to receive a reply.