by Ivie Esteban & Irish Dalona
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS), which is now the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS), conducted its 13th Graduate Research Colloquium on March 27, 2018, at the Multipurpose Hall of the College of Nursing (CON). This gathering of graduate students, panelists, and faculty members aims to provide venue for the exchange of research findings, prepare students in the graduate school for the rigorous journey towards completing their thesis or dissertation, as well as to acknowledge the value of embracing a culture of scholarly research.The Colloquium was also intended not only for the thesis writers, but also for their advisers, so that by attending, they develop further their skills as they learn from the panelists’ valuable comments and suggestions.
Generally aimed at providing a forum of research ontologies, epistemologies, and methodologies from various academic disciplines and paradigms, two plenary speakers shared their dissertations on sustainable entrepreneurship micro-enterprises and traditional pen-and-paper test and the computer-based achievements tests in Mathematics, respectively. The paper of Dr. Sheevun Di O. Guliman, CPA, the opening plenary speaker and faculty member from the College of Business Administration and Accounting, discussed the social factors that influence sustainability in the context of microenterprises. The second plenary speaker, Dr. Amelia Buan, a faculty member from the College of Education, talked about utilizing linear, equipercentile, and other IRT procedures.
[Dr. Sheevun Di Guliman, opening plenary speaker, answers a questions posed by MBM Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Pamela Resurreccion.]
Dr. Alita T. Roxas, the Director of the Office for Graduate Studies gave the welcome address that revisited the journey of the graduate studies since its inception in 2005 and accentuated the need to strengthen the graduate programs through decentralization but also through collaboration and mentoring, as manifested in efforts toward enhancing the quality of graduate research. Dr. Evelyn C. Creencia, the Institute’s Director for Research, pointed out the limitations of research in an environment where leaders are inept on its value, scholarship, and function. She also highlighted the importance of research in the development of intellectual property — patents, copyrights, utility models — thus the need for creativity, innovativeness, and scholarship by both the adviser and advisee.
There were six different parallel sessions, namely, “Mindful Leadership in the Midst of Social and Environmental Issues, “Innovations in Teaching – Learning Materials and Methodologies”, “Leveraging on Emerging Technologies”, “Attaining Food Security through Applications in Technology and Economics”, “Inclusive Opportunities in Education”, and “Behavioral and Technological Perspectives of Solid Waste Management”.
[Dr. Amy Buan was closing plenary speaker of the Graduate Research Colloquium.]
The graduate programs represented in the colloquium included Master in Computer Applications, Master in Information Technology, MSciEd-Mathematics, PhD in Science Education (Major in Chemistry), Master in Business Management, Master in History, Master of Arts in English Language Studies, and Master in Sustainable Development Studies – Sustainable Community Development.
Dr. Ruben Abucayon, graduate coordinator of the College of Education closed the Research Colloquium with his own initialism of the word – RESEARCH