Eight professors of Kastamonu University (KU), Turkey visited the Institute on March 8, 2017 for a lunch meeting at the Institute Boardroom. The gathering was attended by Dr. Omer Kucuk, Dr. Ali Rafet Ozkan, Dr. Saim Ates, Dr. Mirac Aydin, Dr. Adem Yaviz Sonmez, Dr. Soner Bilen, Dr. Ahmet Sivacioglu, and Dr. Mahmut Elp of KU; Atty. Renato S. Pacaldo as the representative of the MSU System; and the Institute’s Vice Chancellors, selected Directors of the semi-academic units and College Deans.
The lunch meeting marks another step for MSU-IIT in the realization of its vision of becoming a Research University as it entails potential research collaboration and academic exchange projects with the Kastamonu University. Although the fields of specialization of the visiting KU professors are on fisheries, forestry, theology and tourism, Erasmus Coordinator Sivacioglu, expressed KU’s interest for future collaborative projects and sandwich programs, and even a future signing of Memorandum of Understanding between MSU-IIT and KU.
KU has an existing memorandum of agreement with MSU signed on April 30, 2015. As a partner in the Erasmus program, the MSU System is given one slot for student mobility. The privileges include €1,100 transportation costs and €835/month individual support. At present, MSU-IIT has one applicant for the slot offered.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A two-day off-campus meeting and planning workshop of the Institute Communications Group (ICG) and the Office of the Chancellor (OC) Cluster Financial Group concluded this afternoon at the Mallberry Suites Business Hotel here.
The activity is a first for the two groups to hold a joint year-end meeting and planning.
The ICG is the group in charge of communications and the drafting of official issuances of MSU-IIT, while the OC Cluster Finance Group processes and checks all financial transactions involving such cluster.
Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol who spoke at yesterday’s opening program expressed his appreciation for the conduct of the activity.
“I am happy that this is being done, as it is an opportunity for the two groups to smooth out and improve the processes that they share,” Tanggol said.
Prof. Elmer P. Nacua, head of the Human Resource Management Division, who also attended the joint meeting/planning emphasized two things in particular to the members of both groups.
Nacua stressed the importance of having a good working attitude to the ICG and the OC Cluster Financial Group for them to deliver professional and efficient service.
He also pointed out that having a sense of “urgency” when handling tasks would dramatically improve the timeliness of the delivery of services to Institute constituents.
The ICG and the OC Cluster Finance Group sat down in a plenary session this morning where they identified and proposed solutions to the inter-process problems they usually encountered.
The morning session featured three inputs from Ms Armilyn K. Abragan, head of the OC Cluster Finance Group; Mr. Rex Godinez Ortega, head of the ICG, and Prof. Nacua.
This was followed by two presentations by the resource persons for the activity composed of Dr. Cenie Vilela-Malabanan and Ms Nenen Borinaga of MSU-IIT Center for e-Learning (MICeL) and Prof. Dante Dinawanao, head of the Information Communications Technology Center (ICTC).
Dr. Malabanan and Ms Borinaga gave updates and outlined the action plans for the ICG’s automation requests, particularly the ones involving the trickling down of the e-logbook to the level of the Deans and the cost centers.
The e-logbook would also be integrated into the My.IIT portal soon to give all Institute constituents with a g.msuiit account the ability to check on the status of their requests. They do not need to go the OC anymore to find out.
Prof. Malabanan also presented the progress of MICeL’s work in designing the input interface for the paperless letter requests that the ICG had asked them to design.
Prof. Dinawanao tackled the ICG’s request to create the Institute Calendar that would contain all the important events and activities of MSU-IIT.
The Institute Calendar is viewed as the solution to the annoying problem of conflicts of schedules when important activities are set without knowing that there are other activities already scheduled on those dates.
In the afternoon, the two groups had break-out sessions to tackle their own individual agenda.
The ICG worked with the MICeL in a year-end assessment of the use of the e-logbook, and proceeded to plan how this could be improved and brought down to the College level and the individual cost centers following the present organizational structure of the Institute.
The OC Cluster Finance Group discussed several important matters that included the giving of observations and comments on their year-end and mid-year assessments by Ms Abragan and reminders on budget documentary requirements, fund re-alignment, and cancellation by Ms Almera Nizran M. Marsangca.
The group then proceeded to assess the 2017 Work and Financial Plans (WFPs) of each of their cost centers.
Dr. Ma. Cristina L. Duyaguit, Acting Director of the OVCPD-IPDS, then oriented the members of the OC Cluster Financial Group on the preparation of their WFPs for 2018.
Dr. Mark Anthony J. Torres and Prof. Juvanni A. Caballero won the Best Scientific Poster award under the Social Sciences category during the 37th Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) held at the Manila Hotel on July 8-9, 2015. Their paper is entitled “Education and Internally displaced Persons: Do Schools have Support Mechanisms for Rido-affected Students.”
The theme of this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting is “The Challenges of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs): Responding through Multi-Sectoral Action.”
The NAST is the body that advises the President of the Philippines on matters concerning Science and Technology. A total of 181 entries were presented this year.
Dr. Anne O. Orejana and Prof. Martha Joy J. Abing of the Department of Economics in the College of Business Administration and Accountancy attended the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Philippine Economic Society (PES) with the theme “Foregoing Ahead: The Philippines as Developed Economy by 2050”, which was held in Hotel Intercontinal Manila, Philippines on November 14, 2014.
A series of parallel sessions were conducted, which would support the forecast that the Philippines is set to become the 16th largest economy in the world by year 2050. The sessions included the discussion of topics such as Labor Market, Jobless growth and Human Capital, Investing in Bangsamoro for the Development of Mindanao, Disaster Management and Electricity, Agriculture and Industry, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and Inclusive Growth, Poverty and Social Protection, Economic Integration, Innovation and Development.
Best research studies of the graduate and undergraduate Economics students from the different universities in the Philippines were presented in the poster contest. Mr. Rutcher Lacaza, an alumnus of the Department of Economics and currently taking his Masters degree in UP Manila was awarded first place as one of the co-authors of the team of UP- School of Economics with their research study entitled “Patterns of Transfer Received by Filipino Household”.
