by Maria Theresa B. Panzo
“The best motivation [for researchers] is problem solving. This is what MSU-IIT would like to stand for. This is where we would like your taxes to go,” so said Dr. Edgar W. Ignacio, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA) on the role of MSU-IIT in research that set the tone for the 6th School of Graduate Studies Research Colloquium on August 13 and 14.
The VCAA was the plenary speaker during the Opening Program held at the College of Education.
“We need to develop our graduate studies for our people. Mindanao needs a class A university. Maybe we are not yet there but we should move slowly towards that because I think this is what we owe to our people, our country,” he added.
He pointed out that academic requirements prepare researchers to solve the problems they are to face in the future. He stressed that from the start, they should know what they want, what to solve, and what to become.
“You are actually fortunate because you are in this environment where you are highly subsidized by the tax money of the Filipinos. We are subsidized as compared to other SUCs. And because of this, I hope you will not feel bad when you see standards revised, implemented and seriously being considered as guides when it comes to quality assurance,” he explained.
Ignacio was quite realistic in pointing out the changes that are soon to happen. He cited the ASEAN integration by December of 2015 as one which we all have to be ready.
“One of the critical issues that we are seriously considering is the possibility that our faculty force, in general, will be competing with the faculty force coming from other ASEAN countries,”
After a brief open forum, the first sessions of the research colloquium began. Presenters were given 20 minutes each to present their study and another 20 minutes to answer questions raised by the panelists and the audience.
Twenty-seven Graduate students from various degree programs in the Institute presented their papers during the two-day research colloquium. These were Leo N. Santillana, Alethea Barbra B. Balag, Katherine Grace J. Liwanag, Mary Leah N. Hisona, Pedro C. Gamba, Kelvin T. Grecia, Kenneth S. Limpahan, Ronald A. Garbin, Milbert James T. Calunsag, Aielyn G. Ali, Datumanong T. Ebil, Salvador M. Almine, Manaros Malik M. Mandolo, Oliver L. Arriesgado, Aida I. Aksah, John Ed Audustus A. Escorial, Marion A. Abingosa, Zenon A. Matos, Victor Constantine C. Cinches, Jamael B. Ilupa, Jordan Butz T. Apa-ap, Neil Arkhe P. Azcuna, Sittie Juhanna M. Pandapatan, Ayshia F. Kunting, Honeylet B. Nocon, Charity I. Mulig, and Gilbert B. Abejar.
Dr. Arnold C. Alguno, a professor of the Department of Physics, was the plenary speaker during the Closing Program held in the afternoon of August 14. He focused on how the Institute can move forward in research.
Alguno discussed ways to boost research output, issues in Graduate education, dissertation and thesis outline, Graduate mentoring and a simple guide for authorship. He challenged everyone to think about the current research trends and to face the challenges in interdisciplinary research and the inherent complexity of nature and society, among others.
He admitted that there are only a few interdisciplinary studies done in the Institute and felt that this area should probably be improved.
Alguno agreed with Ignacio on the importance of research in an academic environment like MSU-IIT.
“Without research and linkages, we are nothing,” he said.
He also presented to the audience a simple outline for dissertations and theses which was crafted by the Biological Science Department. He explained that there is a need to have more research outputs as much as we can. However, researchers are hampered because of the format of their papers which need reconstruction to suit the format that is required of journal articles. With the change in outline, the department now finds it easy to submit papers for publications.
“That’s why it’s easier for them to submit because [with the new outline, the research] is already a journal article,” Alguno explained.
He pointed out, however, that in the real world, impact factor is more significant than being published in an ISI journal. He illustrated that a researcher may have fewer studies published but if the impact factor of these are high, then they will have more value and contribution as compared to several researches published by another but which gained less impact factor.
Researches then should be carefully planned and carried to have merit in an ISI journal and to gain significant impact factor.
Topics : SGS Research Colloquium