The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development (STRIDE) has awarded a research grant to the Microelectronics Lab (MicroLab) of the Electrical/Electronics and Computer Engineering Department. This is MSU-IIT’s first time to receive such grant.
Professor Jefferson A. Hora, the principal investigator of the project and EECE Department Chair attended the awarding ceremony at Makati Diamond Hotel, Makati City.
The ceremony was attended by respective industry partners of the grantees, the academe, government representatives, USAID-STRIDE officials and from the media. Philip S. Goldberg, US Ambassador to the Philippines gave the keynote speech during the awarding ceremony.
Prof. Hora, chosen to speak on behalf of the grantees said in part: the passion, will, and determination of every Filipino Engineer and Scientist to contribute to nation building will have no worth if there is no action taken. Thank you, USAID-STRIDE for the opportunity to strengthen the R&D of this country and to realize our dream for the future that Philippines which will also be known as IC Design Hub of Asia, hence, will eventually spur economic growth for our nation.
The project entitled “Optimized chip implementation of indoor energy harvesting for sensor network and battery recharging” is spearheaded by Prof. Hora as the principal investigator with Prof. Chinet Mocorro, the Electrical Engineering Technology (ELET) Department Chair as the project assistant. The said project will run from May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016.
This research grant allows for the extension of the licenses of the integrated circuits (IC) design tools currently being used by the MicroLab. With this, the MicroLab continues to operate as the Virtual Center of Microelectronics in Mindanao recognized by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
MSU-IIT’s College of Nursing once again proved its place as one of the top nursing schools in the Philippines, having garnered a 100% passing rate in the recent Philippine Nurse Licensure Exam (PNLE) given on May 30-31, 2015.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) released the results on June 23, 2015.
Out of the 17,891 takers, 9,707 passed the examination given by the Board of Nursing (BON).
Five of the new nurses of 2015 from MSU-IIT are Louie Jo Cabilla, Charellie Duhaylungsod Estrellanes, Vanessa Marie Magahin Habajab, Nurlaylah Odal Hadji Usman, and Brandon De Pano Rama.
The CON remains consistent with its competence and excellence. Speaking in behalf of the faculty, Mr. Alexander B. Calago and Mr. Bernie A. Casera expressed their fulfillment in the said results. The two, together with Mr. Jan Igor T. Galinato, led the bridging program of the College which gave free review classes or refreshers to their graduates for two weeks. This is in preparation of their aspiring nurses for the actual review.
The faculty of CON go the extra mile to equip their graduates because “it is the fruit of [our] labor that counts,” Calago said.
The bridging program is open to any nursing graduate within the MSU System for free.
In the heart of the MSU-IIT, the hub of Culture and the Arts in the South.
It was impressive theatre. The audiences responded with wild applause through a long curtain call after the MSU-IIT Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG) performed “Sita: The Ramayana Revisited” representing the country for the 4th time in the Asia Pacific Bureau (APB) of Theatre Schools since its election in 2013.
IPAG – the Philippines’ most-travelled repertory company – joined the 8th APB at the SIA Theatre in the Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore with 23 other universities in the Asia Pacific from June 6-11. In Singapore, the resident company of the MSU-IIT has performed to consistent acclaim first at the Victoria Theatre for the International Arts Festival and just recently at the Esplanade dans Festival.
The blurbs were generous. Wrote Filipino musician-choral master par excellence Joel Navarro, now based in Singapore: “….brilliantly appropriated in Filipino musical dress, drama, and dance by no less than Steven himself and his amazing pool of student and staff collaborator-artists.… the theater piece comes to life through seamless staging, chiaroscuro lighting effect, and resonant singing from its eight players.… a proud and nostalgic moment….We have many artistic treasures in the Philippines. Steven’s jewel looms large… Steve will win his National Artist Award yet.”
Australian theatre fringe icon Sarah Miller now with the University of Wollongong writes: “… a visually and theatrically rich reworking of the ancient Hindu epic. This is an exciting production by a wonderful ensemble of young performers, whose vocal and physical dexterity and vivid characterisations brought this work to life… in every way delightful. You name it – great, spectacular, powerful…. just great!”
More: “It’s just too incredible to comprehend that you guys [IPAG] were able to create something like that….” from Adam Marple, faculty, Lasalle.
“…moving… wonderful job!” Rinske Ginsberg, former Chair, Melbourne Fringe, and Faculty, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia.
Established under UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute, the APB promotes exchange among Asia-Pacific theatre schools. (Members are invited, endorsed, and voted in to the network after a meticulous process of application.) Member schools gather annually for a festival, conference, and workshops on practices and pedagogy they conduct and share. The network also is a hub where exchanges, resource sharing, and creative collaborations take place.
IPAG, accepted a member after initiation as a Guest School in 2012 in Taipei, also performed at the Shanghai Theatre Academy last year.
Lasalle played host gathering 19 performances, 200 participants, 29 workshops in an event that shared practice and craft, a directors’ meeting, and three forums, among other events, all in 6 days.
APB members include the Western Australia Academy of the Performing Arts (most notable alumnus – Hugh Jackman), University of Melbourne, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Hoseo U of Korea, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Lasalle, Chulalongkorn (Thailand), Korea National University of the Arts, Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture, My Phat Center for Professional Training (Vietnam), National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts, New Zealand Drama School, Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music (Japan), Universiti Sains Malaysia, University of Brunei Darussalam, University of Teheran, and the University of Wollongong.
Ateneo de Manila, also representing the Philippines, offered an impressive one-actor performance entitled “Songs of an Electric Soul.”
IPAG conducted a workshop on its signature idiom, the pangalay, and a discussion by its Artistic Director and “Sita” playwright Steven P.C. Fernandez in the forum “Body and Voice in Contemporary Performance Pedagogy”.
The Philippine presence through the MSU-IIT IPAG was made possible by a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and support for the MSU-IIT Cultural Development Office, the Office of the Chancellor, Cultural Center of the Philippines, and Pioneer Insurance and Surety Corporation.
IPAG looks forward to participating in the 9th event in New Delhi next year.
The Institute’s Natural Science Museum In-Charge, Mr. Emerito B. Batara, represented MSU-IIT at the 15th University Museums and Collections (UMAC) International Conference held at the University of Sto. Tomas, Manila on May 11-14, 2015. With the theme “Rethinking University Museums: Bridging Theory and Practice,” the conference provided an avenue for those in such field in preserving and providing access to national and international heritage. Japan, Hongkong, Sri Lanka, Singapore, France, and Italy are only some of the 15 countries that were represented in the said gathering.
In collaboration with Dr. Luisito Evangelista of the National Museum of the Philippines and Dr. Ayumi Terada of the University of Tokyo, Mr. Batara and his team presented their poster entitled “A Glimpse of Dr. Rabor’s Collection at MSU-IIT – A Biological Treasure.” The poster features the Father of Philippine Conservation Dr. Discoro S. Rabor and his contribution of 110 specimens in the Institute’s museum.
The late Dr. Rabor was a professor in MSU Marawi for 6 years during the 1970s. However, his career as conservationist and field researcher of zoology has been for more than half of the 20th century, as briefly narrated in the poster. Additionally, Dr. Rabor’s collection areas span from Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Lanao, Camiguin, Agusan, Surigao, and even Negros. A variety of 102 bird specimens and 8 mammals were all been deposited by Dr. Rabor to IIT’s Natural Science Museum—a gem in its growing collection.
According to Mr. Batara, through their poster presentation, he seeks to put IIT in the map acrossMindanao. He is one of the few delegates from Mindanao.
More so, Mr. Emerito B. Batara has been working at the Institute’s museum for almost 30 yearsnow, from the time he earned his degree in BS Zoology from the Institute. Serving as technician, curator and in-charge of the maintenance and preserving, he finds his job both challenging and interesting. Plans on expanding the galleries are already in mind. He takes pride in working in an environment where he could provide access to knowledge and learning, and in showing the zoological wonders of Mindanao.
Dr. Ruben L. Abucayon, former Acting Dean of the College of Education is a recipient of a month-long fellowship on “Fostering Digital Literacy: Developing Multimedia Modules on Educational Leadership and Teaching”. He, along with 14 other fellows, will travel to different parts of Australia, such as Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide to develop their modules and work on their action plans from June 1 to 27, 2015.
“Fostering Digital Literacy Fellowship” aims to improve and extend the integration of ICT in the Philippine Educational System. The fellowship will serve as an avenue for the sharing of insights among educators who are leaders, innovators, thinkers, and strategists in the development of sustainable and inclusive digital pedagogies. It will give perspectives from both Australian and global landscapes, which will transform thinking and inspire innovation, that can be applied in the Philippine education system. The program will form sustainable connections between education leaders in Australia and the Philippines. As a consequence of this collaboration and capacity building, user-friendly and assessable modules will be developed for educational leaders and teachers.
The fellowship, which is hosted by Queensland University of Technology (QUT), was granted through the proposal of the University of the East to the Australia Awards 2015 Fellowship Programme on Digital Literacy.
Among the six Philippine Resource Distribution and Training Center (RDTC)-TEIs recommended, five were accepted to the said program and are now at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia to attend the fellowship for about a month. The other fellows from the RDTC network are Johnson Blanco (Mariano Marcos State University), Elenita Que (University of the Philippines), Anne Cherylle Ramos (University of Santo Tomas) and Cynthia Grace Diaz (University of the East). They are joined by a DepEd Supervisor, Supervising Education Program Specialist of CHED and 8 ICT practitioners from the various universities in the country.
The fellows are expected to develop a portfolio of innovative and interactive examples of multimedia resources that demonstrate leadership in digital literacy, critically discuss and analyze examples of institutional ICT frameworks and policies, and implementation plans for learning and teaching in the digital age, as well as build strategic collaborations and partnerships between QUT staff and other participating members of the Australian education system.
The College of Education became one of the UNESCO Resource Distribution and Training Centers (RDTC) in the Philippines in 2012, immediately after Abucayon was trained at UNESCO-Bangkok in Thailand being the Audiovisual Media Center Coordinator of the college.
