Vol. 13 No. 2Si (2025)
This special issue of the Recoletos Multidisciplinary Research Journal (RMRJ) features selected peer-reviewed papers from the International Conference on Sustainable Environmental Technologies (ICSET 2025), jointly organized by Mapúa University (Philippines) and National Chung Hsing University (Taiwan). The 2025 conference marks a milestone, coinciding with Mapúa University’s 100th anniversary, underscoring a century-long commitment to engineering excellence, sustainability, and international academic collaboration.
ICSET traces its origins to the Asian Pacific Regional Conference (APRC), first convened in 2003 at Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science in Taiwan, bringing together scholars from Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea. Over the following years, the conference rotated among leading institutions across Asia, including the University of the Philippines Diliman, Khon Kaen University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and Ubon Ratchathani University. In 2011, the conference formally evolved into ICSET, with subsequent editions hosted by Seoul National University in Korea and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi in Thailand. After a temporary suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic, ICSET 2025 renews this long-standing tradition by once again convening the international scientific community to advance environmental technologies for sustainability, green living, and socio-economic development.
The papers published in this special issue reflect ICSET’s multidisciplinary scope, encompassing digital innovation, renewable energy systems, urban water management, sustainable food technologies, intelligent robotics, and emerging virological research. Educational transformation in the post-pandemic era is examined in “Tri-X Modality Continuance: A Digital Learning Innovation in the Context of the New Normal,” while decentralized clean energy solutions are advanced in “A Sustainable and Eco-Efficient Pico Hydroelectric Technology for Decentralized Power Generation in Remote Hydrological Environments.” Urban resilience and water security are addressed through “Photogrammetric Assessment of Urban Rainwater Catchment Systems in Cebu City, Philippines: Implications for Water Resource Optimization and Flood Mitigation.”
Food sustainability and agri-biotechnology are explored in “Herd Forecasting and Acceptance Analysis of Sustainable Meat Production through 3D-Bioprinted Meat from Fish Stem Cell,” alongside biodiversity-oriented automation in “Avian Pro: Intelligent Robot for Philippine Sparrow Detection and Deterrence using Laser Pointer.” Molecular and ecological dimensions of emerging pathogens are investigated in “Conserved Internal PB2–PB1–PA–NP–M Genes and Divergent HA/NA in Bat Influenza A Viruses H9N2, H17N10, and H18N11,” highlighting the intersection of environmental systems, wildlife, and public health.
Together, these contributions demonstrate that ICSET 2025 serves as a platform for cross-sectoral research, technological innovation, and international collaboration to address sustainability challenges in energy, water, ecosystems, food security, and education. Through this special issue, RMRJ reinforces its mission to disseminate high-impact multidisciplinary scholarship that supports sustainable development goals, strengthens regional research networks, and contributes to global conversations on environmental technologies and green growth.
Prof. NILO T. BUGTAI, Ph.D.
Guest Editor
Full Professor of Manufacturing Engineering and Management (MEM)
Director, Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Health Technologies (IBEHT)
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
