TUPV partners with AFS-IPP, welcomes Belgian Exchange Stude DEANNE J. DEJELLA & JUSTIN JOHN M. VILLARAN
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ith a focus on cutting-edge research, innovative teaching methods, and a promising determination to provide quality education, Technological University of the Philippines Visayas remains true to its vision of being recognized for excellence and, this time, establishing global connections. TUPV Campus Director, Dr. Eric Malo-oy, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with American Field Service - Intercultural Programs Philippines Foundation Incorporation (AFS-IPP), which Rahiema B.
Guerra, their president, represented, to establish a partnership in administering an educational program focused on global citizenship education, as well as intercultural competence and understanding, last July 28, at the TUPV Employee’s Lounge. The MOA specifies the university’s role in hosting foreign exchange students and volunteers, which includes providing necessary support for the program’s execution, such as sharing available resources and facilities or issuing travel authorizations, subject to existing laws, rules, and regulations.
Svea De Valkenaere, Belgian Exchange Student at TUPV. Photo by Jacinto Torres III
Rutchel Pabalinas, External Affairs Administrative Officer II, expressed that this partnership between the AFS-IPP and TUPV is an avenue that will open doors for qualified students, educators, and staff members to participate in these life-changing opportunities, both locally and globally, particularly the exchange program for an international exposure. “The school collaborates with organizations like this in the hopes of exposing students, teachers, and staff internationally in terms of seminars, research events, and conferences, and
may even give students opportunities for scholarship programs,” she added. Also present during the MOA signing were Froskhan Abdurahim, Partner Director of AFSIPP; Larry Franco, AFS-IPP Negros Occidental Support Volunteer and Main Coordinator; Grace Tarun, AFS-IPP Administrative Support Staff; Lorene Galon Cabilinga Abuyon, TUPV Head of Student Affairs; and Apraille Dee Josephine Anglo, Adviser of The Philippine Artisan Visayas. Svea De Valkenaere, from Ghent, Belgium, is the first international exchange student at TUPV, and with her interests in sciences, she was placed in the chemical engineering technology department. She was able to stay in the TUP Visayas community for four months and will continue her 10-month residency in the Philippines with other AFS-IPP partner institutions. AFS-IPP is a non-profit educational institution that aims to foster intercultural learning and build a more equitable and peaceful environment for young people and communities through transformative, experiential, and hands-on programs. Over the course of its more than 60 years of operation, AFS-IPP has successfully administered intercultural learning opportunities to target individuals that possess local and global knowledge, values, and competencies. One of its programs, which reinforces their education goals, is exchanges, where a student can study abroad, apply for an internship, and learn a foreign language.
TUPV signs MOA for research collaborations with BFT DANICA L. PAHILANGA & JERA MARIEL D. MENIAMEN
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he Technological University of the Philippines Visayas (TUPV) inked a partnership for research collaborations and other technical engagements with Berpa-Flex Technologies (BFT), which was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) held at the University Employee’s Lounge, June 9. TUPV representatives, namely: Dr. Eric A. Malo-oy, campus director, and Engr. Ace Zander C. Antonio, OIC Asst. Director for Research and Extension; and BFT representatives, namely: Inesitas L. Palermo, General Manager, and Cherry R. Isobal, Technical Staff, attended the signing ceremony and were all signatories of the MOA. “The agreement covers technology licensing, specifically turning over the design for commercialization of previously conducted research that aims to produce flour out of sweet potatoes,” Engr. Antonio stated. TUPV and BFT launched their partnership together with the Potato Systems Research and Training Center (PSRTC) with a technology validation of TUPV technologies for a project collaboration on sweet potato flour and a multicrop grinding machine. “The university already had a prototype of the said machine; however, it was student-made and the materials used were subpar for possible real-life and
MOA signing with TUPV Campus Director, Dr. Eric A. Malo-oy, OIC Asst. Director for Research and Extension, Engr. Ace Zander C. Antonio; and BFT representatives: Inesitas L. Palermo, General Manager, and Cherry R. Isobal, Technical Staff.
Photo from TUPV External Affairs.
[industrial] utilization,” Antonio remarked. “Flour is food, therefore we must adhere to food standards, and Berpa-Flex can help us in achieving that.” Engr. Antonio also revealed that when there was an opportunity to find an established fabricator of a prototype, they chose BFT due to its capability to fabricate the machine and the finances to back it. Berpa-Flex, which specializes in civil, marine, and mechanical work, was introduced to TUPV through a series of faculty development training and seminars that the Metalworking Industries Association of the Philippines (MIAP) spearheaded and conducted in the previous years.