The Iloilo Science and Technology University joined the Brigada Eskwela Regional Kick-off Program with the theme, “Bayanihan para sa Matatag na Paaralan” held on August 8, 2023 at Iloilo City National High School.

SSEDMO Director Engr. Christian Misola and ESD Director Dr. Adrienne Veloso represented the University to the said event.

The activity started with a caravan, and it was followed by the messages from the City Mayor, Hon. Jerry P. Treñas, Hon. Arthur R. Defensor, Jr., Hon. Julienne Baronda, and Hon. James Ang, Jr.

The gathering aims to encourage various stakeholders in the community to be aware of the importance of the crucial tasks such as cleaning and repainting of the classrooms, cleaning the school grounds, and repairing the facilities, among others.

Brigada Eskwela is a nationwide initiative that engages volunteers, educators, parents, and stakeholders to prepare the schools for the upcoming school year.

ISAT U firmly believes that collaborating with different agencies such as the academe enhances partnerships and future engagements relevant to Sustainable Development Goal 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.

August 7, 2023 – Dr. Gabriel M. Salisre, Jr., the newly elected and the second University President of ISAT U, attended his first flag ceremony to mark his official day as the new prexy.

During his message he thanked everyone, especially the governing board for the trust and confidence given to him. He also expressed that the task entrusted to him is challenging, but he firmly believes that he is not alone in this great journey as president.

“I am very thankful to all of you for the trust and confidence as I embark on this very challenging endeavor. I am very humbled, and I know that this is not a one-man journey. We need to work together as one ISAT U community. As what Dr. Muyong reminded, there’s no other way for ISAT U but up,” Dr. Salistre said.

The University is anticipating for major activities in the coming days, especially that the opening of classes will commence very soon. With this, Dr. Salistre encouraged everyone to take an active part in all the assigned tasks.

In the afternoon, Dr. Salistre facilitated his first Executive Meeting (ExeCom), together with the different Vice Presidents and campus administrators, deans and invited resource persons. Updates from the different campuses and units, scheduled activities, pre-opening conferences, opening of classes, among others were reported and discussed.

There were 19 attendees during the said conference.

The Doctor of Education students of the ISAT U College of Education Graduate School conducted a Study Visit in Luzon on June 13 to 15, 2023.  They were accompanied by ISAT U President Dr. Raul F. Muyong, their professor in the course Global Trends and Issues in Education, in the multidisciplinary discussions with the administrators of Philippine Normal University (PNU), National Teachers College (NTC), Bulacan State University (BulSU), Polytechnic University of the Philippines Open University System (PUP OUS) and the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), respectively.

The first day of the Study Visit was on June 13, 2023 at PNU and NTC. There were enriching exchanges during the discussion on education megatrends, issues in the Philippine basic education and higher education, curriculum innovation, and management of educational institutions among others. On one hand, PNU is the National Center for Teacher Education in the country, and the Doctor of Education students were given the opportunity to learn more about their educational and research frameworks, which are being used to prepare the university to be future-ready.  On the other hand, NTC is a private, non-sectarian educational institution located in Quiapo, Manila. The college has been preparing teachers for over 50 years and is one of the country’s pioneers in higher education training. In fact, ISAT U faculty members were recipients of the Flexible Learning Modalities training championed by NTC at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together with Dr. Muyong, the Doctor of Education students visited Bulacan State University (BulSU) on June 14, 2023 – the second day of their study visit. Bulacan State University (BulSU) prides itself with its state-of-the-art library, which houses various book collections, audio-visual rooms, an amphitheater, a cafeteria, student and faculty lounges, individual and group study rooms, and meeting rooms among others. Furthermore, the ISAT U doctorate students learned BulSU’s student policy programs, internal quality assurance, testing and evaluation, OBE framework, Small Private Online Courses (SPOC), and its Conceive, Design, Implementation, and Operation (CDIO) framework.

The three-day Study Visit was capped with discussions on best practices, library resources, technology integration in instruction, educational trends both national and international, issues on quality assurance, revisiting of the curricula and its continuous development, retention policies, and internationalization of education at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Open University System (PUP OUS) and Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), respectively. PUP OUS is an institutional cohort of ISAT U and is advocating lifelong learning for adults from all walks of life. Micro-credentials in a variety of fields are available to almost everyone seeking growth and development through higher education.  Moreover, TUP is a state university founded in 1901 as the Manila Trade School and has later evolved into a technical vocational school.  The university is known for its strong emphasis on practical and hands-on learning, with state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories for research and development.

The Study Visit led by Dr. Muyong ended, but the experiences and knowledge gained by his Doctor of Education students left an indelible mark as they continue teaching, touching, and transforming lives the Tradean way.

Photos and write-up by:

By Jieza J. Napone, LPT

The Iloilo Science and Technology University, together with the UNEVOC Visayas Center, office of the Vice President for External Affairs, Gender and Development Center, Natural Science Department, Environment and Climate Change Group, Safety, Security, Environment and Disaster Mitigation Management Office, ISAT U Environmental Club and ISAT U Greening Committee, joined hands in celebrating the Environmental Month Celebration the entire month of June.

The University is one with the whole nation in accomplishing the objective of the said celebration with the theme, “No to Waste: Advancing Circular Economy to Beat Plastic Pollution. Also, the University’s participation is in accordance with the following Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 4- Quality Education, SDG 5- Gender Equality, SDG 12- Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13- Climate Action, and SDG 17- Partnership for the Goals.

Different activities and initiatives were implemented inside the University as part of its concrete contribution such as awareness webinars, beat the plastic pollution challenge, Lugar Ko, Tinluan Ko, Konsiyerto para sa Kalikasan at Pagkakapantay- pantay, among others.

Vice President for External Affairs Dr. Nemia H. Mabaquiao, challenged everyone to contribute in attaining the objectives of the month-long celebration.

“I am encouraging everyone to engage in this worthwhile project and let us work hand in hand so that we may attain the objectives we have for the success of this activity,” Dr. Mabaquiao said.

“This is a call for action not only to our students but for everybody especially for us, public servants. SDG 13 also known as Climate Action is everybody’s business and we need to start now,” she added.

A memorandum stating the temporary suspension of selling and bringing of plastic beverage containers in the campus for the entire month of June was distributed to the different offices as part of the initial project’s implementation.

To hone the capabilities of every student-researcher through research skills development, ISAT U Miagao Campus through the Office of Research Services Department hosted a Research Colloquium 2023, the 1st Intercampus Research Paper and Poster Presentation Competition, with the theme “Empowering Student Research Excellence and Innovation Amidst Challenges” as part of ISAT U 8th Charter Anniversary on May 16, 2023.

The Research Colloquium was participated in by ISAT U research teams from different campuses, namely: ISAT U College of Education (COE), ISAT U College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA), ISAT U College of Industrial Technology (CIT), ISAT U College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), ISAT U Leon Campus, ISAT U Barotac Nuevo Campus, ISAT U Dumangas Campus, and ISAT U Miagao Campus.

Providing a platform for researchers to present their innovative studies, the colloquium featured two categories, Education and Technology. ISAT U College of Arts and Sciences emerged victorious, winning the Best Research Paper Award in both the Education and Technology categories with the titles, “Enhanced Information Retrieval Using Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) and Cosine Technology,” in Education and “Type-II Diabetes Risk Detection Using Gradient Boosting Algorithm” in Technology category.

Kent Rod Demasu-ay, from the said department was recognized as the Best Presenter in the Education category. Francis Jules Espartero from the College of Industrial Technology was declared as the Best Presenter in the Technology category.

ISAT U MC, meanwhile, demonstrated their research capabilities by earning the 2nd Place for Best Research Paper Award in Education category with the title “Exploring the Lived Experiences of Becoming and Being a Student Leader During COVID-19 Pandemic” and 3rd Place in Technology category with the title “Development of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Leaf Sheet Eco Bag.” They were also recognized for their poster presentation, winning the Best Poster Presentation in the Education Category with Laliene Trasga as the Best Presenter.

This activity gave the student researchers a unique chance to share their work and engage in conversation and discussion with peers and panelists. This is essential for knowledge expansion, intellectual exchange, and promotion of scholarly connections with other researchers.

Written by: Niňo Legaspi, PICO Coordinator Miagao Campus

Iloilo Science and Technology University Dumangas Campus hosted the Mangrove Planting and Coastal Clean-up Activities as part of the 8th Charter Anniversary on May 17, 2023.

These social and environmental activities were spearheaded by the Campus, along with the series of activities conducted by other campuses of ISAT U during the weeklong Charter Anniversary celebration.

The event was held at the Coastal Road of Barangay Dacutan, Dumangas, Iloilo and was participated in by the five campuses. It was made possible through the cooperation of Dumangas Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

In her message, Environmental Officer Dr. Liane D. Defiño emphasized that mangroves can store for up to 10 times more carbon than land ecosystems. She mentioned that it can protect the coastlines and restore biodiversity in marine ecosystems.

“With your support and cooperation, we can prevent soil erosions and restore our mangrove forests to protect the vulnerable communities from the rising sea levels and storm surges,” Dr. Defiño added.

Mr. Richardson Medina of the ZSL also oriented the more than 200 participants on the proper ways of handling and planting the seedlings.

More than 300 seedlings of Pagatpat Tree were planted. These trees will protect the Municipality from possible storm surges, especially in its coastal areas in the future.

Along with the Mangrove Planting activity, a Clean-Up Drive was also done along the coastal areas of the barangay.

Written by: Dr. Lowell De La Torre – PICO Coordinator, Dumangas Campus

The Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT U) broke through the Western Visayas University Rankings grabbing the 4^th spot overall in the 2023 edition of UniRank’s assessment.

UniRank is a global ranking system of universities and colleges based on web presence, popularity in terms of estimated traffic, domain trust, authority, and quality link to popularity.

According to its website, the selection of recognized private and public higher education institutions (HEI) is based on the following criteria: chartered, licensed, or accredited by the appropriate Philippine higher education-related organization, offering at least four-year undergraduate degrees or postgraduate degrees, and delivering courses predominantly in a traditional, face-to-face, non-distance education format.

Compared to other ranking systems, UniRank does not require universities and colleges to submit their data to influence their rankings. Instead, the system relies on valid, unbiased, and non-influenceable web metrics from independent web intelligence sources.

The University is 77^th in the national ranking and 4^th in the region. This is a big departure from its performance from the previous years where it was not able to enter the winning circle in Western Visayas.

Other Universities from Western Visayas which are also in the national rankings include UP Visayas (34^th), CPU (35^th), WVSU (74^th), University of St. La Salle (85^th), John B. Lacson (89^th), Aklan State University (97^th), University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos (112^th), University of San Agustin (126^th), University of Iloilo (139^th), and Capiz State University (167^th) among others.

The strong showing of the University can be attributed to the clear direction of the administration and the collaborative efforts of the different units and other stakeholders in providing good content, improved branding, and consistency in maintaining the website and other official social media accounts of the University.