THE Cebu Technological University (CTU) hosted the academic panel discussion on the role of research and publication in the higher education institutions on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at its main campus in Cebu City.
This event started the three-day National Conference for the Arts, Sciences and Education (N-Case).
The first ever N-Case carried the theme “Accelerating Human Sciences through Research.” It continued at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Barangay Lahug on Feb. 20-21.
CTU vice president for research and development Adrian Ybañez emphasized the efforts of the conference to serve as a platform to encourage research dissemination and to foster collaboration among faculty engaged in the arts, sciences and education.
CTU vice president for academic affairs Edwin Pilapil shared the colloquium’s aim for multidisciplinary research dialogue in the exchanges between researchers and lecturers through plenary and parallel session presentations.
Invited speakers who shared their insights during the panel discussion were scholar Hope Sabanpan-Yu, chairperson of the Division of the Humanities of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and director of the Universtiy of San Carlos-Cebuano Studies Center; Josefino Ronquillo, education supervisor of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) 7; and Jonathan Etcuban, research chairman of the CTU-College of Education.
Yu highlighted the interdisciplinary trend of research today as intersections between the humanities and the sciences. She said it is breaking out of the “silo” mentality to become more relevant not only to the academe but more so to the community where they can be generated and applied for sustainable development.
She cited the different funding agencies available for research and encouraged professional membership in organizations like the NRCP, which is the think tank of the National Government.
Ronquillo stressed the role of the Ched in assisting universities and their faculty researches by suggesting a support system of established researchers “cradling” young researchers until they become independent. The Ched has several programs to assist universities which Ronquillo outlined in his talk together with a discussion of the Ched’s circular memorandum order 15–2019’s new challenge for existing graduate programs to comply with the requirements.
Etcuban mentioned the challenges of training, adding that teachers should be trained to commit to quality research.
CTU has two achievement awardees in the NRCP’s 87th General Membership Assembly. They will be honored at the Philippine International Convention Center on March 9, 2020. They are Ybañez from the College of Veterinary Medicine (Barili Campus) and engineer Landon Ocampo from the College of Engineering. (S)