Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC)

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  • University Consortium conducts first workshop for the ERASMUS+ funded project on food security and climate change

    Delegates of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) gathered on 18–20 March 2024 for its first workshop for the ERASMUS+ Capacity Building Project on Postgraduate Micro-Credentials for Food Security and Climate Change (PMC FSCC). The workshop venue was the Graduate School of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). The PMC FSCC Project aims to deliver learner-centered short-term courses through micro-credentials to address food security and climate change concerns. It also intends to utilize advances in digital technologies to develop and offer online modules that will address the twin issues of
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  • SEARCA successfully concludes landmark Institutional Development Assistance (IDA) project

    SEARCA has marked the completion of one of its Institutional Development Assistance (IDA) projects, the Leveling-up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR), funded by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The project, under CHED's International Continuing Professional Education (ICPE) program, spanned from 2021 to 2023 and included short-term training programs, mobility exchanges, summer schools, faculty-graduate forums, cross-visits, and active participation in the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC). The project's overarching aim was to enhance the relevance and competitiveness of the country's higher education institutions (HEIs)
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  • SEARCA collaborates with leading universities for the ERASMUS+ Capacity Building Project on Postgraduate Micro-Credentials for Food Security and Climate Change

    SEARCA attended the kick-off meeting led by Kasetsart University (KU) for the Postgraduate Micro-Credentials on Food Security and Climate Change (PMC FSCC) project, held from 31 January to 1 February 2024. The initiative, funded by the European Commission ERASMUS+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE), spans from 2023 to 2026, aiming to deliver learner-centered short-term courses through micro-credentials to address food security and climate change concerns. The project also intends to utilize advances in digital technologies to develop and offer online modules that will address the twin issues of food security and climate change. Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA center
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  • SEARCA and UPLB Graduate School unite to host workshop on coping strategies for mental health improvement

    SEARCA, in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Graduate School, organized a workshop titled "New Year, New You: Coping Strategies to Improve Mental Health" on 9 January 2024 at SEARCA, College, Los Baños, Laguna. Prof. Dr. Firdaus Mukhtar, professor of Clinical Psychology and deputy dean for Admission, Institutional Relations & Financial Aid Unit at the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), and president of the Asian Cognitive Behavior Therapies Association, spearheaded the workshop. Drawing on her expertise, Prof. Dr. Firdaus guided the attendees on effective ways to manage their mental health. During the session,
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  • SUC-ACAP delegates share success stories at the Culminating Forum for SEARCA's mobility grants under the LevelUPHEI AFAR Project

    Thirty participants from 20 members of the State Universities and Colleges - Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines (SUC-ACAP) convened during the Culminating Forum of the Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources or LevelUPHEI-AFAR on 15–16 November 2023. This project of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is funded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The attendees, comprising project alumni who undertook mobilities at the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) host member universities, gathered to discuss the trajectory
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UC Features

  • Pushing the boundaries with UPM’s Dr. Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri

    SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair GrantAY 2022-2023 Revolutionizing Agriculture Pushing the boundaries with UPM's Dr. Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri Dr. Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri is an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of the Remote Sensing and GIS Programme at the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). He previously served as the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering and the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies at UPM. His excellent achievements in the field of agricultural innovation, specifically in remote sensing and geomatics engineering, afforded him the SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair Grant. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Helmi's passion
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  • The Science and Art of Mushroom Farming with CLSU'S Dr. Renato G. Reyes

    SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair GrantAY 2022-2023 Revolutionizing Agriculture The Science and Art of Mushroom Farming with CLSU'S Dr. Renato G. Reyes Dr. Renato G. Reyes, Professor VI and the Vice President for Academic Affairs of Central Luzon State University, Philippines, received the SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair Grant in AY 2022-2023 for his immense contributions to the field of Mycology. Dr. Reyes specializes in mushroom science and biotechnology, mushroom nutraceuticals, fungal ecology and taxonomy, and fungal plant pathogens. Most notably, he has authored the manual on the Philippine National Standard for Natural Ingredients titled "Standard for Edible Fungi and Code of
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  • The Future of Farming with UPM's Dr. Siti Khairunniza Bejo

    SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair GrantAY 2022-2023 Revolutionizing Agriculture The Future of Farming with UPM's Dr. Siti Khairunniza Bejo Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Siti Khairunniza Bejo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). She is also the Head of the Smart Farming Technology Research Center (SFTRC) and a research associate at the Institute of Plantation Studies of UPM. Dr. Bejo's outstanding accomplishments related to the applications of Imaging Technology and Remote Sensing to agriculture afforded her the SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair Grant. Her research specialization includes imaging technology, precision
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"It is no longer a question of professionals versus amateurs; it is a world of collaboration. We have moved from the age of authority to the age of authenticity.” This statement from Maria Ressa, CEO and executive director of the social news network, Rappler, created ripples of excitement among more than 400 students and teachers who packed the SEARCA Umali Auditorium in the UP Los Baños campus on 19 September 2012. 

Ressa, former chief of CNN's bureau in Manila and Jakarta and head of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, was referring to the power of social media for reportage and social change during her keynote speech in the seminar, entitled, Move Chat Series @ UPLB with the theme “Social Media for Social Change: Pushing Development Forward.” 

Rappler, as their online site describes, is “a group of journalists committed to inform Filipinos and inspire them to interact and participate in nation-building by providing a credible, creative, and interactive platform through social media.” 

She further explained that the new approach to journalism, which Rappler is advocating, is to be in the center of three overlapping circles, namely: professional journalism, the wisdom of crowds, and rich media.

“You now have to cut across all disciplines of professional journalism. You write, you shoot [pictures], you do the voice, you edit, then you upload,” Ressa said. “Then you have to get the wisdom of the crowds. Seek the opinions and feedback of people; ask them how they feel about issues. That way, we cross out our biases and collectively make better decisions,” she explains. 

Rich media, meanwhile, means using technology such as iPhones that enable you to transmit all [information] immediately. “It’s faster than anything!” she enthused. Capturing the best features of these circles are social media.

Building on the keynote message of Maria Ressa are other Rappler team members. Chay Hofileña, citizen journalism director, shared some principles on pushing stories into the mainstream media. “You must tell a story or let it have a human face before going into the statistics; have a narrative such as a triumph, struggle or determination; have a clear voice and direction; and offer a new, different, or fresh perspective to every story,” she advised.

Michael Josh Villanueva, Rappler special projects director, gave useful tips on how to mobilize, build, engage, and act on a development issue using Facebook. 

Patricia Evangelista, Rappler multimedia reporter, who describes herself "as more of a story-teller," shared how to tell compelling stories about people who would otherwise not be heard of or known. “People don’t have that imagination to put themselves in others’ shoes…That’s why I write,” she said.

The representative speaker from UPLB was Dr.Serlie Barroga-Jamias, director of the Office of Public Relations (OPR). She related how social media transformed her DevCom 123 students into citizen journalists especially during the crisis of student murders around UPLB last semester.

The seminar was co-organized by the Office of the Chancellor- OPR, the Development Communication Graduate Students Association (DEVCOM-GRADSA), the College of Development Communication (CDC), and the UPLB Foundation Incorporated (UPLB-FI).

 

 

Source:  Dr. Serlie Jamias from UPLB News|21 September 2012

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  • UC Secretariat
  • Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
  • College, Los Baños, Laguna 4031 Philippines
  • Email: mcnc@searca.org, gsid@searca.org
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    • Manila Line: +63 2 8657 1300 to 02
    • Laguna Line: +63 49 554 9330 to 39
      +63 49 536 2290 local 2200 to 2203
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