The 5th annual FAB LAB Asia Network (FAN5) Conference held last May 6-11, 2019, in Seoul Innovation Center, South Korea showcased an international variety of innovation cultures and stories from innovation centers around the globe. The delegation from MSU-IIT was among the FAB LAB review presenters with Gideon Emmanuel D. Chiu, a BS Civil Engineering senior from the College of Engineering and Technology showcased the collaborative efforts of the MSU-IIT innovation ecosystem and the role of FAB LAB Mindanao in being a technology access center, training provider and collaboration hub. The MSU-IIT students and FAB LAB Mindanao staff shared their ideas and knowledge anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals and Social Impact. Emphasizing on FAN5’s desire to change the lives of people through innovation, Jay Arniel A. Gajudo from the Institute’s Department of Computer Applications of the College of Computer Studies conducted a workshop on a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle using image recognition for sustainable reforestation.
One of the highlights of FAN5 was the Global Hack-a-thon participated by teams from India, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. The Global Hack-a-thon’s task was to solve urban problems through traditional and digital fabrication methodologies. Gajudo along with FAB LAB Mindanao Internal Operations Manager, Dexter Ken P. Lopera was awarded by the Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Seoul the Bronze Award. With MSU-IIT in full march to attain research university status, participating in FAN5 has created opportunities of international research and innovation collaborations focused on developing solutions to local problems that create impact and empower the communities that together,WE CAN MAKE CHANGE.
Graduate School of Engineering’s faculty members and ERDT scholars attended the 7th Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Congress held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Pasay City last July 13, 2018.
Out of five (5) categories, MSU-IIT bagged three (3) Best Poster Awards. The winners were the following:
Information and Communications Technology – Daryl Pongcol and Cenie V. Malabanan “Cloud II – A Raspberry Pi Server for Multiple MiDi Sources”
Semiconductors, Materials and Electronics – Joshua B. Zoleta, Vannie Joy T. Resabal, Arnold A. Lubguban, Carlito B. Tabelin, Ryan Corpuz, Mayumi Ito, Naoki Hiroyoshi and Gevelyn B. Itao “CeO2 – Dolomite as Fire Retardant Fillers on the Conventional Intumescent Coating in Steel Substrate”
Manufacturing and Machinery – Liezl M. Jabile, Reynaldo M. Vequizo, Romnick B. Unabia, Jun Rey S. Lincuna, Majvell Kay G. Odarve-Vequizo and Shigenobu R. Miñoza “Structural, crystallographic and morphological properties of microwave-assisted growth of nano-apatite powders”
The ERDT Congress is a yearly event where researchers, ERDT scholars, visiting professors, industry, government, and other experts gather and get inspired by plenary lectures of highly distinguished professors and experts all over the world. It is also a venue for the ERDT scholars to publish their academic works through poster competition.
The ERDT is a highly funded development project by the Philippine government through the Department of Science and Technology. It aims to attain a critical mass of master’s and doctoral graduates in various fields of engineering. ERDT is implemented through a consortium of eight universities in the Philippines with mature engineering graduate programs. These universities are the UP-Diliman, UP-Los Banos, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Central Luzon State University, the University of San Carlos and the MSU- Iligan Institute of Technology.
The Philippine Center of International PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists), in partnership with Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), will hold a literature teachers’ training workshop focusing on 21st Century Literatures from the Philippines. This will be on 4-5 September 2017, Monday-Tuesday, at MSU-IIT, Iligan City.
In the 2010 Cebu Congress, PEN passed a resolution to “work more closely with the education sector, its leaders, planners and administrators, its teachers and students, and the education publishing industry, to improve literature education in the country. The Philippine PEN recognizes that literary taste is shaped in the schools, especially the public school system; it is where generations must be taught to appreciate the outstanding works of our very own writers, works that constitute the soul of our nation.”
Since 2011, PEN has organized a series of literature teaching workshops across the country. Called “For Love of the Word: Workshops on Teaching Philippine Literature in High School and College,” this project is geared toward retooling and upgrading the skills of literature teachers in both secondary and tertiary levels. Workshops were successfully held in Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Baguio, Naga, Bohol, Calbayog, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.
As part of the PEN Civil Society Programme, the workshop is supported by PEN International, Clifford Chance Foundation, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
The resource speakers and facilitators for the PEN workshop will be: Dr. Christine Godinez Ortega, who will talk about local resource materials and publications; Dr. Ulysses Aparece, who will conduct lecture-workshop on teaching creative nonfiction, and Dr. Jaime An Lim, who will cover poetry.
As part of the program, a writers’ forum will feature award-winning intellectuals and writers based in Mindanao who will read their work and talk about the topic “Writing to Sustain our Home, our Habitat.” They include Steven Patrick Fernandez, German Gervacio, among others.
There is no registration fee. Workshop materials and a certificate of participation will be given each participant. Participants will have to take care of their own travel arrangements, accommodation, and meals. Slots are limited. For pre-registration, please submit the names of your participant/s and institution to PEN. You may email [email protected] or text +639151285710 (contact person: Shirley Lua) or +639176123775 (Chem Pantorilla, Department of Filipino and Other Languages, College of Arts and Social Sciences). Deadline for pre-registration is on 20 August 2017.
The MSU-IIT graduated 1,964 during the 47th Commencement Exercises held yesterday, July 5, 2017 at the Gymnasium.
It is the biggest turn out in MSU-IIT’s history according to the Registrar Dr. Jerson N. Orejudos. Led by the Class Valedictorian Mubarak M. Paingco who graduated Summa Cum Laude, this year has a total of 60 magna cum laudes, 390 cum laudes, 10 With Honors for the Three Year Diploma Courses and four With Honors for the Two-Year Diploma Courses.
The graduation ceremony had for its speaker the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Fortunato T. de la Pena (see related story).
De la Pena lauded MSU-IIT’s quality education and he said, the Institute has become a byword in science and higher education in the country and in other countries. He also took note of its top rated College of Engineering (COE) and its promptness in updating its curriculum.
De la Pena, who retired in 2014, was Professor of Industrial Engineering at the UP from 1973-2011; a Professional Lecturer in Industrial Engineering at the University of the Philippines; and, also served as Undersecretary of the DOST in 2001-2014 among other positions he held in the past.
This year’s Class Valedictorian Paingco, a BS General Biology major had a grade point average of 1.10168, one of the highest obtained by a graduate in MSU-IIT.
This year’s 47th Commencement Exercises had its graduation speaker the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Secretary, Fortunato T. De La Peña. He addressed 1, 964 graduates from eight different colleges and schools on July 5, 2017 at the Institute Gymnasium.
De La Peña expressed his pleasure to be back in MSU-IIT as guest speaker as he last came to the Institute sometime in 2010-2011 when he was still DOST Undersecretary and visited the Materials Science Laboratory and other facilities supported by the DOST. He told the graduates that he knows the mixed feelings of a graduate. “First, there is that extreme happiness and feeling of relief after completing all those requirements, all those trials that you have undergone…more importantly, there is also that feeling of anxiety and uncertainty with the life ahead of you.”
He then shared his journey as a student who attended college at the early age of 14, going through until graduation, working as an engineer, pursuing graduate studies, and becoming a teacher for 43 years at the University of the Philippines while working at DOST.
In his commencement address, the tall, soft-spoken DOST Secretary emphasized to the graduates that it does not matter where they will start their career. He said that what is more important is they find a place where they enjoy the work they will do. He went on to share his own experience, “I said to myself you can never tell. In fact, I never planned my career. I just went on with whatever I enjoyed doing, doing my best where I am located and trying to weigh things when there are challenges and opportunities ahead of me. I did not look for places to go but when there were opportunities that came my way, I try to weigh and make a decision.”
He further encouraged the graduates by saying, “wherever you are, just do your best and while you are still young, it is okay for you to transfer from one job to another. But make sure when you are already settled down with your family, try to get settled in a career where you are happy.”
He proceeded by congratulating the faculty members, parents, and benefactors who he thinks deserve as much congratulations as the graduates do. He also congratulated MSU-IIT for making quality education accessible to many people especially those who are financially challenged.
He commended MSU-IIT as one of the country’s top-rating universities recognizing the designated seven Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Centers of Excellence and eleven Centers of Development in the Institute, and the only Higher Education Institution in Mindanao identified to be a delivering institution of two DOST scholarship programs: the Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program (ASTHRD) and the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT).
Moreover, he said excellent research studies are done as he had seen during his first visit in the Institute in 2009, faculty members obtaining scholarships for doctorate studies abroad, international collaborations, the existence of research laboratories and equipment housed in the Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics (PRISM), the Technology Business Incubator (TBI), and the Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab).
According to the science chief, when it comes to delivery of education, MSU-IIT is prompt to act on improvements in its curriculum to respond to changing needs. This is evidenced in the offering of the Microelectronics track of the Electronics and Communication Engineering program following the DOST- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD)-funded project “Developing Microelectronics Education in the Philippines.”
Seeing how the Institute has developed and how it has made initiatives to help, De La Peña invites and challenges MSU-IIT to be one of the DOST’s lead partners in implementing their programs and hastening the development of other regions.
In closing, De La Peña conveyed to the graduates the wishes articulated by President Rodrigo Duterte with the hope that these will be kept in the minds and hearts of the graduates wherever they go and whatever career they will have: reduction of inequality, creation of new opportunities, and expansion of potentials for growth. He believes that this year’s theme “Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship” is very appropriate as these are ways of expanding potentials for growth.
The 47th Graduation Ceremonies class was led by Mubarak M. Paingco, a BS Biology major and the only Summa Cum Laude this year, with a GPA of 1.102. Ten students were recipients of Institute Co-curricular Awards, namely: Jahaziel Mark S. Bahan (CBAA), Institute Leadership Award; Lou Ellen L. Antonio (CASS), Journalism Award; Michelle B. Garing (CASS), Music Award; Veniza D. Yamomo (CBAA), Performing Arts Award; Janodin M. Marohombsar, Debate Award; Primo T. Bagasol (CEd), Dance Award (Male); Laurice Jean A. Sator, Dance Award (Female); Paul Mateo Huelma (CBAA), Athletics Award (Male); May Kristine Deang (Ced), Athletics Award (Female); and Lyster Rey Cabardo (CSM), Sikap Award. Seventeen grantees from the Expanded Student Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) were also recognized for their exemplary performance and were awarded medals by CHED-X Regional Director Gersana.
MSU System President Habib W. Macaayong conferred the various titles and degrees on the graduating class in the presence of the members of the Board of Regents, MSU System officials, MSU-Naawan Chancellor Proserpina G. Roxas, MSU-Buug Chancellor Sultan Taha G. Sarip, MSU-IIT officials, and other guests: CHED-X Regional Director Zenaida Gersana, DOST-X Regional Director Alfonso Alamban, Division Chief of PCIEERD-DOST Ermie Bacarra and Executive Director of the Board of Investments in Sri Lanka Upali Senarath.
The 47th Pre-Commencement Exercises and Recognition Ceremonies were held on July 3-4, 2017 with guest speakers Dr. Rey Y. Capangpangan, Research, Development and Extension Center Head of Mineral Resources Research and Training Center, Butuan City (for Cluster 1: CSM, CON); Carlos B. Llamas III, Principal of Lumbatin Elementary School, Iligan City (for Cluster 2: SCS, CEd); ASEAN Engineer Rainaline R. Tan, Assistant Vice President for Refinery, Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation, Leyte (for Cluster 3: COE&T); and Dr. Raymund M. Pasion, Associate Professor of Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (for Cluster 4: CASS, CBAA, SGS, and SDS).
