The 2nd Forensic Science Symposium held on 7 April 2015 had its origin in a seminar course that served to show how science can assist the Philippine judicial system. It was in November 2012 when the UP Diliman Institute of Biology (UPD-IB) began to offer Forensic Biology (Biology 397 or BIOL397) in response to the increasing interest among young people to work in forensic analysis, and the need for more scientists to explore the forensic applications of their own fields. With Dr. Ian Kendrich Fontanilla as its coordinator and with active input from Dr. Maria Corazon De Ungria, BIOL397 featured lectures by forensic practitioners, […]
Experts stress the importance of DNA Science in understanding and preserving Philippine culture
How can forensic science and genetics help Filipinos better understand their rich history and multi-cultural heritage? This question was at the center of the symposium It’s All Relative: Discovering the Filipino Identity through DNA Science held at the Asian Institute of Management on April 15. Invited to speak at the event was Dr. Maria Corazon De Ungria, head of the DNA Analysis Laboratory of the Natural Sciences Research Institute (NSRI-DAL) of UP and director of the Program on Forensics and Ethnicity of the Philippine Genome Center. She was joined by two other forensic science scholars: Fullbright fellow and researcher-in-residence at NSRI-DAL Sheila Estacio Dennis who […]
UP Cebu institutional video lands gold award at international conference and exhibit
UP Cebu’s five-minute video used the traditional Cebuano rice preparation called puso (boiled rice packed in weaved coconut fronds) as a metaphor for education, highlighting how hard work and perseverance, strength and faith helped a young man come through the hardships of earning high-quality education. (WATCH: UP Cebu institutional video) His mother, portrayed by Prof. Ligaya Rabago, never failed to support him and thus represented the many Filipino parents who sacrifice a lot for the education of their children. Genuine and poignant, the video received an overwhelming positive feedback from the audience at the 5th QS-Maple Professional Leaders in Education Conference and Exhibit in […]
EIDR program on water governance engages stakeholders in multi-sectoral discussions in Luzon and the Visayas
A water resource management plan was successfully outlined at the Training Workshop on Water Management held last 10-22 March 2015 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños. The 12-day workshop involved twenty participants from the local government units of six municipalities in Laguna, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Laguna Lake Development Authority, and LIMAS Marina. But the initiative that resulted in the draft management plan is only among the major offshoots of the program Towards Good Water Governance for Development: A Multi-Case Analysis, which previously led to three similar multi-sector discussions. In […]
UP Diliman professor Alfredo Lagmay receives 2015 Plinius Medal
Professor Alfredo Lagmay, professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) National Institute of Geological Sciences and executive director of the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH), received the 2015 Plinius Medal from the European Geosciences Union for his “outstanding interdisciplinary natural-hazard research and natural-disaster engagement in the Philippines, particularly with respect to volcanic hazards, earthquakes, typhoons, landslides and floods.” Lagmay is a leading international scientific expert on natural disasters. He led the study on the geological hazards of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was used as scientific basis for the deliberations on the rehabilitation of the mothballed nuclear plant. […]
SiningSaysay: History, art and public discourse
Recently launched SiningSaysay blazed a trail in history painting by presenting the journey of the Filipino people from pre-history to present-day society in a series of “murals” on canvas. A joint undertaking of the University of the Philippines (UP), the UP Alumni Association (UPAA) and the Araneta Group Inc., the exhibit features 30 grand paintings, each measuring 12 feet wide by 6 feet high. They were created by 28 alumni of the UP College of Fine Arts, namely National Artists Ben Cabrera and the late Abdul Asia Mari Imao, Adonai Artificio, Armand Bacaltos, Adi Baen-Santos, Grandier Bella, Benji Cabangis, Angel Cacnio, Romeo Carlos, Cris Cruz, […]
UP, NUS partner for effective institutional and academic leadership
Studies show that it is the quality of leadership that separates the more effective academic institutions from the less effective ones, with successful schools enjoying collaborative management, purposeful leadership, and strong links between the leader’s vision and day-to-day practice. Taking this into account, the University of the Philippines and the National University of Singapore (NUS) through the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning implemented the Temasek Foundation-NUS Program on Developing University Leaders and Educators (DULE) to “enable leaders to think beyond their own disciplines and lead in ways that support larger institutional objectives.” Specifically, the program seeks to advance and sustain […]
Music, Humanities and a Globalized Society
Music, Humanities and a Globalized Society Gisela P. Concepcion (Speech delivered at SEADOM Congress 2015, University of the Philippines Diliman) Introduction “The future is first shaped by words, whose meanings shift as ourselves change.” This is a line from a poem composed by eminent poet and University of the Philippines professor emeritus Gémino Abad. In twelve simple words, Prof. Abad was able to capture the value of the humanities, and it is that they embody the things that move us, that drive us to choose one path over another, such impetuses being truth, beauty and goodness. Like words, music can […]
2015 Academic Leadership Conference
Concept Paper (Revised: March 5, 2015) Programme of Activities Welcome Remarks President Alfredo E. Pascual University of the Philippines System SESSION 1: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE Curriculum and Pedagogy for 21st Century Learning – Some NUS Initiatives Dr. Lakshminarayanan Samavedham Associate Professor of Engineering, National University of Singapore Promoting Teaching through Promoting Teachers Dr. Adrian Michael Lee Deputy Director, Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning Director of the Special Programme in Science, National University of Singapore Internationalizing Higher Education in Singapore: Government Policies and the NUS Experience Dr. Teofilo Daquila Coordinator, M.A. Coursework Program Associate Professor of Southeast Asian […]
UP Press is 50!
An anniversary lunch that brought together current and former employees and heads kicked off the 50th year celebration of the University of the Philippines (UP) Press. It was held last March 16, the date when the UP Press – the first university press in the country – was put up in 1965. Also in attendance at the lunch gathering were President Alfredo Pascual and Vice President for Academic Affairs Gisela Concepcion. Three days later, a roundtable on myth and writing was held in honor of the late Dr. Damiana Eugenio whose seven-volume Philippine Folk Literature collection continues to be the all-time best-selling book series of the […]
