TSU holds 2nd International Research Conference
PALAWAN, Philippines – The Tarlac State University organized its second International Research Conference with the theme, “Addressing the challenges of globalization with ASEAN perspectives” on May 18-20, 2017 at the Princesa Garden Island Resort and Spa. The three-day conference covers Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences, Humanities and Education (SSHE) and Management, Business and Economics (MBE) as its research tracks.
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Ronald L. Adamat, Dr. Witawat Jangiam and Mr. Supphasin Thaweesak from Burapha University in Thailand, Dr. David H.T. Lan and Prof. Dr. Maurice Teo Geok Tien from the International Institute of Management in Hong Kong and Prof. Dr. John C. Groth from The Mays School, Texas A & M University were present during the said conference as the plenary speakers.
There were 95 delegates composed of academicians, faculty and student researchers from all over the country, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Hawaii. A total number of 31 higher education institutions participated. In addition, 74 presentations were made throughout this three-day conference.
On the opening day, May 18, Dr. Witawat Jangiam gave his keynote address which talked about future perspectives of Research Ethics, particularly on the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) which is a genome editing technique that targets a specific section and which can either make a gene nonfunctional or replace one version of a gene with another. His keynote address tackled the potential applications of CRISPR to human health. Questions on the alteration of genome of this generation, on who gets to decide which diseases or disabilities should be edited and on the effects of editing certain diseases and disabilities were explored. The other speakers for the first day were Dr. David H.T. Lan and Mr. Supphasin Thaweesak.
Puerto Princesa City Mayor Luis M. Marcaida III also welcomed the Filipino and foreign guests to the city. In his welcome address, he thanked everyone for coming in spite of the advisory which came out about Puerto Princesa and parts of Palawan being “not fit for visiting.”
At the Welcome Dinner and Socialization Night on the same day, the delegates were also greeted with a cultural dance presentation by the Palawan State University Dance Troupe, headed by their Director John Christian Jardin.
On May 19, before the paper presentations or parallel sessions, a short program took place in which CHED Commissioner Ronald L. Adamat and Prof. Dr. Maurice Geok Tien of the International Institute of Management were the plenary speakers. In his plenary speech, Commissioner Adamat emphasized the importance of research and how it can be made globally relevant today. He enumerated the ways on how this could be done – through intensifying the internationalization of research education programs and policies, increasing collaboration and building linkages among international higher education institutions with the aid of establishing sustainable partnerships, enhancing distance learning and extension programs and more. He also expressed in his speech that some state universities and colleges (SUCs) are only doing research just to satisfy academic requirements. “I think that is not the essence of research,” he mentioned. He further said that there is a need to collaborate with industries in doing research.
“So, research is really really important. To my mind and to my belief, [the reason] why some countries are fast growing, it is because they are so good in research,” Adamat remarked. He also mentioned that third world countries like the Philippines are a little bit slow in economic development because their research is not tied up with industries. “That is the challenge amongst us. We really have to work together, collaborate with the industry sectors,” Adamat added.
Adamat closed his speech by saying that the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is committed to support any effort that would strengthen the Philippine Higher Education System in all of its areas including research. “With the support of our private higher education institutions and our state universities and colleges, in partnership with our ASEAN member countries, I should say all challenges posed by globalization could be effectively addressed today,” he stated.
On the last day of the conference, May 20, Prof. Dr. John C. Groth delivered his plenary message about defining moments and developments in human capital. The awarding of early bird registrants and raffle draws for the delegates ensued.
The winners of the Best Paper Awards were also announced. The recipients are as follows:
- Management, Business and Economics (MBE) track - Mr. Renante A. Egcas for his paper, “Internet Use and Employees’ Productivity: Putting Balance to Technology Management”
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) track – Cesario A. Bacosa, Jr. PhD for his paper, “Soil Resistometer Apparatus for Geophysical Analysis of Soil Slope Stability and Landslide Occurrence Detection”
- Social Science, Humanities and Education (SSHE) track - Federico V. Magdalena, PhD for his paper, “Can We Build Peace in the Classroom? An Attempt to Engineer Change in Attitudes Among Students”
In his closing remarks, Dr. Leo P. Piao, the overall coordinator of the International Research Conference, concluded that all the objectives of the research conference to provide a forum for the productive exchange of ideas, and sharing of experiences among academicians, practitioners and students, to provide opportunities for faculty and student researchers to disseminate cutting-edge research outputs in a wide range of disciplines and to enable participants to establish networks and build mutually beneficial partnerships with professionals from other countries and institutions, were met. Dr. Piao remarked that the 2nd international research conference was a success.
The first international research conference organized by the Tarlac State University was held on May 7 to 9, 2014 at the La Maja Rica Hotel in Tarlac City. (Patricia Anne M. Martinez - VP ILEA)