Dean Brennon Morioka, of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Engineering, center, and Dr. Marvin Young, Professor in UH Mānoa’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, fourth from left, meet with Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, President of the University of Guam, and others in September 2022 to kick off their partnership that also includes the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. (Photo courtesy of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa )
A year and a half since the start of a collaboration that allows University of Guam engineering students to attend their junior and senior years at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the first graduates are expected to receive diplomas by the end of this year. And more UOG first-year students and sophomores plan to take this career pathway.
Under a program called “2+2,” students who completed the first two years of their engineering education at UOG can apply to UH Mānoa, carrying over their credits with them. At UH Mānoa, they can major in Mechanical Engineering and upon graduation they get a shot at jobs with the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii and subsequently with the Shipyard’s future detachment in Guam.
The Shipyard joins the partnership as it aims to grow a pool of local engineers and expand its ship repair capabilities into Guam.
University of Guam President Anita Borja Enriquez, center, is joined by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, left, and UOG Senior Vice President and Provost Sharleen Santos-Bamba at the groundbreaking ceremony for the School of Engineering building at UOG on December 15, 2023. (Photo courtesy of University of Guam )
“We are grateful to our partners for providing this excellent pathway for engineering students at the University of Guam to pursue a career in mechanical engineering on the island,” said Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, UOG President. “We agree that our collective partnership provides incredible value to support workforce development opportunities on Guam for our UOG graduates.”
There are now seven engineering students from Guam at UH Mānoa, and four of them are in the Mechanical Engineering pathway, said Dr. Marvin Young, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UH Mānoa.
During his return visit to UOG in early February 2024, following a visit when the partnership was launched in 2022, Dr. Young said he received feedback from 15 UOG freshmen and sophomore students that they also plan to take the 2+2 career path.
Clifford Imamura, a Guam representative for Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, joined Dr. Marvin Young, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UH Mānoa in the recent meeting with UOG’s engineering students.
UOG’s Pre-engineering Program evolved into a four-year Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Program in 2019. The first 12 graduates from the Civil Engineering program graduated in December 2021.
The UOG School of Engineering welcomed 170 declared Civil Engineering majors in Academic Year 2022-2023.
UOG held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the $7.9 million, 16,500-square-foot School of Engineering Building on December 15, 2023.
