14 U.P. News
Nov-Dec 2012
Asian Center celebrates Diliman Month 2013 with multiple events The Asian Center of UP Diliman will celebrate UP Diliman Month, and the National Arts Month with a series of important events. The first event is the “Festival of India” to be held on February 2, presenting India to local residents first through the Ratha
Yatra Parade, in which elaborate chariots containing gods will be drawn along the Academic Oval from 8-10AM. The parade will be led by Janananda Maharaja and officials from UP and the Embassy of India. Afterwards, the formal inauguration
of the festival and other events will be at the GT-Toyota Auditorium of the Asian Center, starting with a lecture on “Karma and Reincarnation” by Giridhari Swami at 11AM; followed by free vegetarian lunch at 12:30; Indian classical dance at 1:30PM by Priya Khanna; Kirtan yoga music by
UPV holds IP and faculty expertise audit Lyncen M. Fernandez Photo courtesy of UPV-IPO
An international research university with an entrepreneurial mindset is what UP should be, according to Atty. Elizabeth Pulumbarit, UP Legal Counsel, during the “Intellectual Properties and Faculty Expertise Audit” held last November 5 at the Interactive Learning Center, UP Visayas (UPV) Miagao campus. She emphasized, h owe ve r, t h a t e ve n i f U P d e ve l o p s a n entrepreneurial spirit, it Faculty members and researchers discuss how to best describe their expertise. must never compromise with products and services, coming up with Pulumbarit was accompanied by Dr. its mandate as an academic institution. IP policies on commercialization, and doing Roy Tumlos, Project Development Officer Pulumbarit briefly reviewed various IP protection and enforcement. of the Office of the Vice-President laws governing intellectual property Part two of the IP audit was briefing for Development, Dr. Susan Festin, rights (IPR) and UP’s Revised Intellectual the faculty members and researchers on the Project Development Assistant (PDA) for Property Rights Policy. She also explained importance of a more detailed description Computer Science, Dr. Sonia Jacinto, PDA that the Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) under of their expertise. They were made to fill for Biology, and Dr. Junie Billones, PDA the Office of the Vice-President for up forms for this prior to the event. The for Chemistry. The UPV Office of the Vice-Chancellor Development manages the intellectual information will be pooled in a system-wide electronic database as part of UP’s directory for Planning Development coordinated the property of UP by conducting IP assets event for the TTBDO. inventory and valuation, matching of IP of experts.
UPD’s major infra projects in full swing
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UPD’s Science and Engineering complexes are the new campus landmarks, but many other infrastructure projects are quietly but vividly changing the landscape. Some P250 million in construction projects have been allocated to UPD by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and implemented with the assistance of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Projects range from the rehabilitation of classrooms to the construction of entire buildings. Just this year, renovation works were made in the Colleges of Education, National College of Public Administration (NCPAG), Human Kinetics and Engineering. Vinzon’s Hall, Kamia Residence Hall, the UP Women’s Center and the Carillon Plaza also underwent rehabilitation. Even with all the construction going on, UPD is also keen on making campus roads just as well cared for. Muchneeded improvements were done on key thoroughfares on campus. National roads C.P. Garcia and University Avenues were widened and reblocked, respectively, and campus roads like Magsaysay, are being repaved with concrete and are having sidewalks widened, while Osmeña and Roxas Avenues have been given a fresh asphalt overlay. Even the minor roads inside Pook Ricarte, Pook Palaris and Pook Dagohoy underwent needed maintenance. Several more projects are in store for 2013, the most high-profile of which
faculty members “can go on sabbatical leave by batch.” The last scenario was the best received by the audience. Other speakers at the two-day conference were Dr. Rosario Torres-Yu, director of Sentro ng Wikang Filipino who presented the paper “The UPD GE Program and the UPD Language Policy” and Dr. Ma. Cristina Padolina, president of Centro Escolar University who presented “The CHED GE Program.” Specific GE concerns were raised by Prof. Benjamin Vallejo Jr. (Science, Technology and Society: Challenges and Opportunities), Prof. Flaudette May Datuin (Aesthetic Literacy and Changing Education Paradigms); Professors Benito Pacheco and Mark Albert Zarco (Mainstreaming Disaster Mitigation, Adaptation and Preparedness Strategies through the General Education Program); Prof. Lalaine Yanilla-Aquino (What GE Teachers can Glean from UPCAT Results: Lessons Learned and Insights Gained from the Reading and Language Tests); and Prof. Fidel Nemenzo (Math and GE: Why is Mathematics Part of Liberal Education?). The conference was organized by a committee comprising officers under the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Home Economics, Science and Social Sciences and Philosophy. Prof. Portia Padilla, director of the Office of Instruction, emceed the proceedings. —Chi A. Ibay reprinted from upd.edu.phh with permission from UPDIO
is the first phase of UPD’s Olympicsize pool, enabled through the efforts of Representative Feliciano Belmonte Jr. The groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for January 2013. Representative Fatima Aliah Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte’s 2nd District is generously supporting the construction of a new auditorium for the College of Architecture, to be finished by the end of 2013. Construction of the Law Forum at the Law Complex, facilitated by Senator Miriam Santiago in 2012, is still ongoing. Various renovation works are also scheduled for the colleges of Law and NCPAG through Belmonte and Senators Pia Cayetano and Trillanes. The projects were coursed through the Project Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Members of the UPD administration and officials of the DPWH came together in a luncheon meeting hosted by UPD Chancellor Caesar Saloma at the Balay Tsanselor on November 14. Representing DPWH at the meeting were District Engineer Ramon Devanadera, and Engrs. Benedict Diamat and Art Gonzales from the DPWH Quezon City 2nd Engineering District. Belmonte was represented by his chief of staff, Margie Santos-Roa. The other UPD officials were Vice-Chancellor for Community Affairs Melania Flores, CMO OIC Alden Aynera, Engr. Omar Marzan from the Office of the Campus Architect and Diliman Information Office Director Maureen Anne Araneta.— AKR reprinted from upd.edu.phh with permission from UPDIO
UPD’s GE and...
Giridhari Swami and the Kirtan Ras Band at 2PM; vegetarian cooking demonstration by Mahendra das and Gokula Candra das at 3PM; and yoga classes by Gokula Candra das at 4PM. All events are open to the public, and participation in classes and demonstrations are on a first come-first served basis. “Festival of India” is co-organized by the South Asia Program of the Asian Center and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). For details on “Festival of India,” kindly contact Radhalila devi dasi at mobile No. 0917-8378176, or landline No. 896-3357; and Sridama dasa at mobile no. 0917-8210951, or landline no. 238-5258. On Febr uar y 12, the exhibition “Reimag[in]ing the Nation: Sulu Sojourns,” co-curated by Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete and Dr. MCM Santamaria will be opened at the ASEAN Hall of the GT-Toyota Hall of Wisdom, Asian Center. The exhibition is the result of an exhausting analysis of the slide collection of the Asian Center, which originated from the Martial Lawera Philippine Center for Advanced Study (PCAS). Back then, the institution was heavily supported by the Marcos regime in documenting Filipino traditional culture, as well as the understanding of Asian foreign affairs in order to assist the government in establishing pivotal relations with the Peoples Republic of China; as well as in the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Images dealing with the Sulu Archipelago and its peoples, particularly the Sama Badjao seafaring peoples, were chosen from this vast photo archive to feature the most “marginal” of the marginal peoples of Mindanao, the so-called sea gypsies and their unique culture as documented by photographers in the 1970s. The exhibition is the result of a collaborative effort under the Creative Works Grant of the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and shall run from February 13 to April 30. For details on this exhibition, kindly call the Asian Center at tel. 981-8500, local 3580. On February 26, the exhibition titled “Bulul: Guardians of the Highland Harvest,” co-curated by Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete and Dr. Joaquin Palencia will be opened at the Philippines Hall of the GT-Toyota Hall of Wisdom, Asian Center. This exhibition will feature 20 “named bululs,” or sculpted spirit guardians of the Ifugao that usually watch over rice fields and granaries that are currently in the collection of the ABEM Museum. This exhibition will feature the relationship between belief, art, and the rituals of rice-growing and storage that is central to the life and culture of the proud Ifugao peoples, who are famed for their rice terraces that cling to rugged mountainsides of the Gran Cordilera in Northern Luzon. The exhibition opening will be highlighted by a blessing ritual among mumbaki (religious elders) to welcome these sacred bulul to the venue. The exhibition will be on display from February 26 to April 30. On closing day, the book documenting the exhibit pieces and their relationship to Ifugao society and culture, written by cocurator Dr. Joaquin Palencia, will be launched at the exhibition venue. “Bulul: Guardians of the Highland Harvests” is presented by the Asian Center, the ABEM Museum, the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples, the Lone Congressional District of Ifugao, and the Provincial Government of Ifugao. For details, kindly contact the Asian Center at tel. no. 920-3535. ((Press Press release release))