Engr. Nestor Rubio Ong, MSIE, PIE, ASEAN Eng, is a full-time faculty member and currently the Director of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Office of QS/THE Rankings. He previously served as Deputy Director of the UST Office of QS/THE Rankings, Assistant Director of the UST Quality Management Office, chair of the Industrial Engineering Department, dean of the College of Engineering at Lyceum of the Philippines-Laguna, and senior manager at INTEL Philippines.

Engr. Ong is a Professional Industrial Engineer and an ASEAN Engineer. He was the very first to join the ASEAN Engineer registry in 2012 from the UST Faculty of Engineering. The recognition is given to engineers in the Southeast Asian region who have achieved “operational excellence in the field of engineering.”

With his more than two decades of accomplishment-laden experience in several multinational manufacturing companies by assuming various senior and technical management positions, Engr. Ong successfully turned around every manufacturing arena into delivering the necessary factory systems to enable World Class Manufacturing. His excellent leadership efforts won for him several recognitions/awards. One of his notable achievements, when he was named as INTEL Key Employee in Year 2000 in recognition of his valuable services and contributions to INTEL’s operation. This is Intel’s highest recognition award given to a deserving and consistently rated outstanding employee. INTEL Philippines was the nation’s leading exporter for many years past.

With his strong background in various key areas of expertise, he is the prime mover in the successful ISO Certification of UST. He is being considered to be a high caliber consultant that can be tapped in both the industry and academia. Moreover, Engr. Ong crafted a framework of the UST’s EQMS (Educational Quality Management System) for excellence which became his research paper as accepted in two international conferences in the same year entitled, “An Integrated Framework: Unifying Diverse Perspectives in EQMS” and turned out in reality when UST earned the distinction of being the first and only university in the Philippines with the four-star rating in QS Stars Rating awarded in 2015 and 2017. In the third review cycle of its Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) Stars application, the University of Santo Tomas secured the coveted Five Stars rating, the first in the Philippines, the penultimate rank in the six-tier system adopted by QS. Moreover, four of his research papers have been accepted into International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, which is a Q3 Journal under SCIMAGO-SCOPUS Rankings.

No stranger to accreditation and rankings initiatives as well as his expertise and specialization in the discipline of Industrial Engineering, Engr. Ong is frequently sought and invited as resource speaker, expert speaker and keynote speaker. He has shared his expertise in various universities and institutions such as the Commission on Higher Education, Network of CALABARZON Educational Institutions, Inc. (NOCEI), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), ASIAN Institute of Management (AIM)-CHED-GALP (Global Academic Leadership Program), Philippine Normal University (PNU), University of the Philippines – Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders Philippines (UP-CIFAL Philippines), Bukidnon State University (BukSU), Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba, Northwest Samar State University, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta,  Saint Louis University Baguio, Tarlac Agricultural University and Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) – Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Davao, Manila and Makati, the latter of which is rated as a QS-Star institution.

Engr. Ong is currently the only Filipino sitting as a member of the International Academic Advisory Committee of Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) since 2015. Simultaneously, he has been chosen as the chair of the parallel sessions committee under the different tracks in every QS International Conference and Exhibit annual events. Presently, he is appointed as the sole Filipino by the AppliedHE Rankings Advisory Board (RAB).

Engr. Ong's recent professional achievements such as:

He was invited by CHED iAS (Commission on Higher Education Internationalization Affairs Service) to be part of CHED iAS - iNRC (Internationalization National Review Committee). The appointment was officially approved by the Commission En Banc (CEB), where he was recognized as co-lead for Key Responsibility Area (KRA) 1: Sector.

He was recognized by senior professors of the National University of Singapore (NUS) for his active participation in the lifelong learning workshop during THE Digital Universities ASIA 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. He is valued as a "like-minded practitioner" by NUS.

He successfully presented the topic "University's International Partnership and Collaboration" at THE ASIA Universities Summit 2023 in Hong Kong. His 10-minute presentation and personal interviews after the session were officially published by THE titled, "Social Impact and the Case for a Proactive Global Research Strategy."

He is invited to join a distinguished panel of judges for the 10th Edition of the QS Reimagine Education Awards 2023. His expertise in students’ employability and careers and lifelong learning makes him an invaluable judge for evaluating the QS Reimagine entries Education's Future of Work award categories with discernment and insight.

Engr. Ong was a finalist in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Award (Junior Category) by the Philippine Association of Engineering Schools (PAES) in recognition of his dedication, innovative teaching, and commitment to inspiring students. He also received the Silver Gear Award for Best Industrial Engineering Professor in AY 2023-2024 and AY 2024-2025, as the Students' Choice Award granted by the UST Engineering Student Council.

He has been included in the Alper-Doger (AD) Scientific Index 2026 – World Scientists Ranking, attaining a University Rank of 146. This global distinction is a testament to the caliber of research and academic merit upheld by a faculty member, underscoring the high standards of scholarship and intellectual rigor within the academic community. This recognition reflects his substantial research contributions, scholarly excellence, and continued commitment to advancing the field of Industrial Engineering at both the national and international levels. Notably, he is among the five Industrial Engineering faculty members ranked in the AD Scientific Index 2026 and currently holds Rank No. 2 within the faculty.

He is likewise recognized among the University of Santo Tomas’ top 10 researchers for the decade spanning 2014 to 2023, based on Elsevier’s Scopus database. To date, he has accumulated 58 citations across 38 publications and holds an h-index of 4.

Engr. Ong was appointed by CHED as one of the private higher education institutions’ (PHEI) delegates to the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the International Quality Assurance Programme (IQAP). Through a CHED-funded internationalization scholarship, he undertook advanced studies on Quality Assurance in Putrajaya, Malaysia, and London, UK. His expertise continues to be sought in various quality assurance, ranking, and internationalization initiatives across Southeast Asia.