Seven years is a long time to be one signature away from something you already earned. Zaira Verunque knew that better than anyone when a pandemic shut every door she tried to open — not the classrooms, which she had long since left, but her university’s, where she kept asking for something that seemed reasonable: let her sit for her comprehensive exam and defend her thesis online, from Dubai, where she had been working and building a career since 2018. The answer, repeatedly, was no.
Most people would have filed it under “circumstances beyond my control” and moved on. Zaira did not.
The long road through industry and back to the classroom
She did not arrive at Higher Colleges of Technology through a straight line. Born and trained in the Philippines, Zaira built her engineering foundation in what she describes as “highly competitive, mission-driven environments” — corporate giants like Jollibee and Hyundai, government-linked projects under the DSWD, and a parallel stint teaching at Eastern Visayas State University in Tacloban. That combination — private-sector pressure, public-sector service, and university-level instruction — gave her what she calls a well-rounded foundation: “technical, people-oriented, and systems-driven.”
The move to the UAE in 2018 brought a different kind of education. She joined Cotecna, a Swiss multinational in testing and certification, where her role expanded well beyond engineering execution. She found herself doing client-facing work, navigating cross-cultural professional settings, and contributing to AI-related internal projects. “That experience sharpened my communication skills,” she says, “and deepened my understanding of how technology, data, and innovation support organizational excellence globally.”
By 2023, when she was invited to join HCT — a federal government college under the rule of His Highness Sheikh Al Nahyan — those parallel tracks finally converged. And she arrived carrying something most new faculty don’t: years of actual industry practice, a sharp sense of how engineering decisions affect real organizations, and a stubborn refusal to separate theory from the world outside the classroom.
She is now the first and only Filipina engineering instructor across all 16 HCT campuses.
Strict, fair, and not apologetic about either
Her students’ first reaction to her, she admits, is often surprise. For many Emirati students, she is the first Filipina they have ever had as an engineering instructor. “What began as curiosity quickly turned into respect,” she says. “Students saw someone who was firm, fair, and deeply prepared.”
That reputation — strict but fair — is one she has thought carefully about. “I believe that structure is essential in engineering education,” she explains. “The profession itself demands precision, responsibility, and accountability, so high standards are non-negotiable. However, discipline should never come at the expense of understanding.” In practice, that means students know exactly what is expected of them, and they also know she is invested in their getting there. “That balance fosters mutual respect and encourages students to reach their potential rather than fear failure.”
For colleagues, she has become a different kind of presence — someone whose perfectionism is matched by openness and approachability. Her high standards, rather than isolating her, seem to raise the ceiling for everyone around her.
AI as a tool, not a trend
One of Zaira’s most consequential contributions at HCT has nothing to do with a lesson plan. It is a set of AI-powered tools — chatbots that help students review engineering problems outside class hours, AI tutors aligned to specific courses, and a grading and feedback system she designed and implemented for diploma-level programs. That system is now used across the entire HCT network.
She is precise about her intentions. “I felt strongly that engineering education must evolve alongside these changes rather than resist them,” she says of the AI integration she has championed. But she is equally firm about how it is done. Integrating AI, in her view, is not about shortcuts. It is about shifting focus: “Students began to focus more on reasoning, validation, and the ethical use of technology.”
Her work has also extended to professional development, where she has run workshops helping faculty across disciplines use AI in grading, feedback, and student support — while keeping academic integrity intact. Through those sessions, she has drawn in Filipino and international educators, building connections across the HCT system and beyond.
She also holds the Associate Fellow status under the Higher Education Academy and an Internal Assessor role from the National Quality Certification — credentials that reflect the formal depth behind what might otherwise seem like innovation for its own sake.
What persistence actually looks like
The master’s degree story is worth telling in full, because it is not really a story about a degree.
Zaira left the Philippines in 2018 with her coursework completed and only two requirements standing between her and her master’s: a comprehensive exam and a thesis defense. She expected to finish within months. What followed was a seven-year ordeal she did not choose.
When COVID hit and travel became impossible, she began requesting what seemed obvious — allow the exam and the defense to happen online. The university said no, consistently, citing the absence of any policy or system to support it. She kept asking. She escalated. She proposed solutions. She advocated for alternative assessment methods that would protect academic integrity while acknowledging the reality that thousands of Filipinos abroad were in similar situations.
Eventually, the institution moved. A new policy was developed. A system was built. And Zaira became the first student in the university’s history to complete both requirements online under that newly established framework — after seven years of academic leaves, repeated attempts, and sustained, respectful pressure.
“That journey taught me that persistence can lead to institutional change — not just personal success,” she says. “It reinforced the importance of respectful dialogue, patience, and courage in navigating systems that were not originally designed for flexibility.”
Building something back home, from 8,000 kilometers away
The teaching career and the master’s are only part of the picture.
In 2021, three years after arriving in Dubai, Zaira built iBoard Living — a web and mobile platform designed to fix something she noticed from abroad: the student housing rental process in the Philippines was far more difficult than it needed to be. Inspired by Dubai’s streamlined rental systems, she created a Student Housing-as-a-Service platform that allows small property owners and landlords — including OFWs managing properties remotely — to run their rental operations without building infrastructure from scratch. The platform covers tenant acquisition, leasing, collections, maintenance, and reporting in one integrated system.
iBoard Living currently manages around 900 beds across 11 operators and is on track to scale to 3,000 this year. It has also received government funding through DICT.
She manages all of this while teaching full-time at HCT.
What she wants Filipinas to hear
Zaira’s message to young Filipino professionals is direct and does not traffic in motivational clichés. “Do not underestimate the value of your background or experiences,” she says. “Excellence, integrity, and competence speak louder than titles or origins. You do not need to wait for validation to take responsibility, lead, or innovate.”
She is aware of what her presence at HCT represents — a Filipina in a federal academic institution, teaching in a field still dominated by men, in a country not her own. But she frames it less as a symbolic milestone and more as an ongoing responsibility. “I see it not just as a personal milestone, but as an opportunity to contribute to a more inclusive global academic environment and to open pathways for others who may follow.”
The classrooms she once found closed — literally and institutionally — are all open now. Some of them, she opened herself.
