COVID-19
has changed the way we live, the way we work, and the way we teach and
learn. We need to be flexible and adapt, but most are finding it hard
because of the technological requirements these uncertain and rapidly
evolving times have imposed upon us.
Because
of this crisis, more than 5,600 UP students are in danger of not being
able to continue their education. They cannot afford the technology and
tools that have now become integral to learning. Around 1,600 of them
have no resources at all. For at least 4,000 more, sustained use of
technologies is no longer feasible because the pandemic has rendered
their households financially vulnerable.
The University requests your support in enabling these Iskolar ng Bayan to move forward and ultimately reach their goal of graduating.
We are asking you to be their kaagapay.
No other Filipino word best describes the role you will be playing in the lives of our students. Ka-, a prefix that means to be a part of something, and agapay, which means support or assistance. To be a kaagapayis to stand by them and with them, sharing their burden to ease their struggles.
Through
our fundraising and resource generation campaign, Kaagapay sa Pag-aaral
ng Iskolar ng Bayan or #KaagapayUP, your generosity will equip
financially-challenged students with the computers or laptops and
internet connectivity they need to pursue their degrees.
You
may donate pre-owned or brand new laptops and computers with the
minimum specifications via designated drop-off centers in UP campuses.
You
may give monetary gifts in cash, check, or electronic funds, through
over-the-counter or digital transactions using our secured payment
gateways via kaagapay.up.edu.ph.
With
your donations, our students will receive the computers or laptops and
internet connectivity they need toward earning their degrees.
For details, you may get in touch with the Kaagapay secretariat at 0916 723 1200 or [email protected].
Be
the helping hand that empowers our students to achieve their dreams and
go on to make meaningful contributions to society and humanity.
The University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) calls on this year’s Jubilarians — graduates of 1960 (Diamond), 1970 (Golden), 1980 (Ruby), and 1995 (Silver) — to participate in the ongoing preparations for the annual UP General Alumni Homecoming to be held at Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City, on Saturday, 29 August 2020, at 2:00 P.M.
You are invited to the monthly meetings of the UPAA Subcommittee on Jubilarians, chaired and co-chaired by Ms. Yolanda Bello-Pajaro and Ms. Milagros Alipit-de Guzman, respectively. The next meeting will be held at the UPAA Board Room, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, on Tuesday, 11 February 2020, at 2:00 P.M.
To confirm your attendance, please contact Ms. Shirley R. Bilbao at (8)920-6868/71/75; (0917)837-2098; or email at [email protected], or visit UPAA at Room 211, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, Magsaysay Avenue, UP Diliman Campus, Quezon City.
Levy Espiritu (center) receives the award from Dean Ferdie Manegdeg (left) and UPAE President Caccus Berba (right) | Photo courtesy of Rockfordproductions, Inc. / UPAE
We congratulate UPERDFI member Levy Espiritu, CE ’79, for being accorded the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award by the UP Alumni Engineers during the November 16 UPAE Homecoming.
Levy is the Chairman & CEO of DATEM, Inc., a leading company in the construction industry, which he and other partners founded in 1984. Emilio “Lilit” Tumbocon, formerly UPERDFI president and chairman, now an Adviser is the incumbent Managing Director for Finance of DATEM.
Levy has generously given back to our alma mater.
As UPAE President in 2016, he and Lilit (2015 UPAE President) spearheaded the design, fundraising and implementation of the UPAE Study Now Pay Later Program.
Levy was also instrumental in establishing the DATEM-ACES Professorial Chair, and the DATEM Study Grants. Their family company, LevyRo
From Left: Jay C. Amorato (UPS-OAR staff), Rica D. Abad (AVP for Public Affairs and Director for UPS – Office of Alumni Relations), Paul Marvin T. Quizon (President for UP Pharmacy Alumni Foundation, Inc.) and Nelson E. Carandang (UPS-OAR staff).
AVP for Public Affairs and Director for Alumni Relations Rica D. Abad turned over the original UP Pharmacy Alumni Association plaque to Mr. Paul Quizon, President of the UP Pharmacy Alumni Foundation, Inc. who visited the Office of Alumni Relations on November 05, 2019. Mr. Quizon has served as the President of the UP Pharmacy Alumni Association.
The UP Pharmacy
Alumni Foundation, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 to provide support in projects
and activities of the University and the UP College of Pharmacy.
In this photo: Headed by Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia and AVP for Public Affairs and Director for Alumni Relations Rica D. Abad, the UPS-OAR convened OAR Directors, University Registrars and UP High School Principals for the annual Alumni Relations Committee (ARC) Convention on November 07-08, 2019 at the F. Benitez Hall Alumni Center, UP Diliman. AVP for Public Affairs and Immediate former OAR Director Wendell Capili and UPS-DPO Atty Gabby Fernandez were also invited as guest speakers for the activity.
The UP System – Office of Alumni Relations (UPS-OAR) organized the Alumni Relations Committee (ARC) Convention on November 07-08, 2019 at the F. Benitez Hall Alumni Center, UP Diliman. The 2-day convention resolved database issues and concerns; and established a long-lasting partnership between OAR and Registrar Offices in seamlessly providing and exchanging information of UP alumni. Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia chaired the standing committee, with Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Director for Alumni Relations Rica D. Abad as Vice Chair.
The ARC Convention was attended by the Directors from OAR, University Registrars, Principals from UPIS, UPHS Cebu, UPHS Iloilo, UPHS Los Baños, UP Computer Center for CRS, and UP Information Technology Development Center (ITDC) for SAIS.
UPAA San Francisco represented the US-based Filipino Diaspora in advocating for Community Resilience and Safer Shelters in the Philippines during the recent Stakeholders
Workshop on Safe Shelters and Diaspora Engagement that was organized in
partnership with the UN Migration Agency, International Organization on
Migration (IOM) on November 14-15, 2019 at the I’M Hotel in Makati. In
photo, from left: Gabrielito Moraleda (UPAA San
Francisco), AVP Rica D. Abad (Director, UP System Office of Alumni
Relations), Michelle Rose Villariez (National Training Officer-
Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, IOM), Gil Ongchangco (UPAA San
Francisco), Dr. Elena E. Pernia (Vice President for Public Affairs,
University of the Philippines).
FOR LOCAL DONORS: Union Bank of the Philippines Commonwealth Branch SA 102270018964
FOR INTERNATIONAL DONORS: Philippine National Bank UP Campus SA 108660029835 Swift: PNBmPHmm
Account Name: U.P. FOUNDATION, INC.
Bank Name: Philippine National Bank
Branch: New York Branch
Account Number: US DOLLAR – 570060001155
Address: 561 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 1004
ABA Routing Number: 026-003007
Tel. No. (212) 790-9600
Account Name: University of the Philippines Foundation, Inc.
Bank Name: Philippine National Bank
Branch: U.P. Campus
Branch Address: #3 Apacible Street, U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City 1101
Account Number: US Dollar – 108660029835
Swift Code: PNBMPHMM
Routing Number: 010080298
Hack4Rice Champions: Team Pilapil: Allison Gacad, Maria Beatriz Marasigan, Kristel Diane Artificio, with the event organizers: Marko Kärkkäinen, Jack Lagare (from left to right)
Manila, Philippines – The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), hosted a hackathon last August 30 to September 1 called Hack4Rice. The main focus of this is to research on rice within the country. Located at the IRRI Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, the theme for this year’s Hack4Rice is “Advancing Rice Research Through Tech and Innovation,” aiming to bring people with diverse backgrounds together and nurture a community of collaboration and innovation.
Participants had the opportunity to interact with IRRI staff involved in rice research and operations, external partners, and so much more who can provide valuable insights and have a thorough knowledge about the pain points that the hackathon hopes to help alleviate. With the exception of those from outside the Philippines joining remotely, participants got to experience the idyllic scenery of Los Baños, wonderful food, and the peace and quiet an escape from the urban jungles brings.
Through Hack4Rice 2019, the opportunity to expand their reach became available as the participants got to interact with people coming from different fields. As the hackathon aimed to provide the participants with as near a glimpse of the world of rice research, there are a lot of opportunities to ensure impact through what you build.
Team Pilapil, who are Allison Gacad, Maria Beatriz Marasigan, Kristel Diane Artificio (from left to right), are students and graduates from the University of British Columbia, UP Manila, and UP Los Baños, respectively. The team landed in second place with a mobile app which serves as a career guide to high school students who’s about to enter college. It includes potential careers, universities, scholarships, and majors related to agriculture. It also has a personality quiz which will analyze the results to give a recommendation of a career that you will possibly fit in.
The other teams that participated were Team Blu, who won 1st-Place, and Team Croppynet that bagged 3rd-Place. A special award was also given to Team Humaygosh, with an artificial intelligence platform where crop breeders can upload their data, use developed tools to easily visualize their data, run machine learning algorithms, and collaborate with different domain experts to solve challenging problems in the field.
“Agriculture is a commonly overlooked field, but it no longer has to be with Pilapil. Students who wish to take up agriculture for college will now be more informed on what steps to take next in order to pursue a career in the industry,” said Sofia Galve, a co-founder of Ambidextr.
Hack4Rice a great opportunity to develop collaboration not only between teammates but with other participants and stakeholders thereby nurturing an environment for empowerment.
ABOUT IRRI
The International Rice Research Institute is dedicated to abolishing poverty and hunger among people and populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems. Through our work and partnerships, we aim to improve the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; promote environmental sustainability in a world challenged by climate change; and support the empowerment of women and the youth in the rice industry.
The Professional Regulation Commission has released the August 2019 Pharmacist board exam results as PRC announced that 3,097 out of 4,455 passed the Pharmacist Licensure Examination given by the Board of Pharmacy in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga this August 2019.
1st place – Janelle Samantha Que See, University of The Philippines- Manila 92.58% 3rd place – Jemimah Gyra Celedonio Escote, University of The Philippines- Manila 90.90% 10th place – Zadkiel Flores Velasquez, University of The Philippines- Manila 90.10%
Break the Fake 1st-Place Winners, Carlos Nazareno, Dominic Ligot, Nikko Torcita (front center, left to right) with the judges, event organizers and sponsors
Manila, Philippines – Five or so years ago, “fake news” was a term that no one used. Today, it’s no longer just a term, but a phenomenon, recognized as an urgent global problem and a threat to human life by world leaders and institutions.
The rise of social media as the main source of news and information by most has made it easier for malicious figures and groups to spread false content, especially in tech-savvy Southeast Asia.
This led a group of independent youth leaders and professionals in Manila, Philippines to start the “Break the Fake Movement”, an organization that aims to engage the public, especially the youth, through technology-driven media literacy events to combat fake news.
“Fake news is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. It will take the ingenuity of our youth, combined with the power of technology, to put an end to this trend. We wanted to give them a forum to realize their solutions and mobilize them into action,” said Gabriel Billones Jr, the Lead Organizer of Break the Fake Movement.
For this year, the organization launched the “Break the Fake Hackathon”, a three-city event that challenges programmers and developers to create systems that will help institutions battle disinformation.
Filipino students and professionals had the chance to join the competition and showcase their talents last August 17 at American Corner Manila in De La Salle University Manila, where the top three winning teams had the chance to go home with P10,000, P5,000, and P5,000 respectively. More information on the mechanics of the event may be found here.
Each team only had 5 minutes to pitch their creation, and had 3 minutes to answer the judges’ questions.
This year’s 1st-place winners are Carlos Nazareno, Dominic Ligot, Nikko Torcita (left to right) from Team Troglodyte, who are graduates from Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University Manila, and University of the Philippines Diliman respectively. They were able to create a network graph to track purveyors of disinformation by mapping out the relationships of fake news websites with each other. The team also brought their prototype that they showed the judges during their pitch.
“The network graph proposed by Team Troglodyte is truly innovative. By mapping out the web of fake news sites – which have figurative and literal links to one another – we can also begin to separate these sources from legitimate outlets and publications. Separating the two will undoubtedly lift the quality of public discourse,” said Sofia Galve, a co-founder of Ambidextr, one of the partners for Break The Fake.
The other winners, Team Git Stash and Team GigaMike, won 2nd and 3rd-place respectively. Team Git Stash created a web browser extension that bridged the gap between users and fact-checking organizations, while Team GigaMike created an app that gives bloggers a badge that detects fake news.
Technology for Social Good
The event first made its stop in Jakarta, Indonesia in June and held the second outing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July. The Manila leg is the last stop of the event. Participants are encouraged to develop a multitude of possible solutions for fake news, including everything from an online database of fake news sites and an anti-fake news content portal to more niche solutions, like an app that identifies whether an applicant’s credentials are true or a mapping tool that maps traffic sources of a social sentiment in an online platform.
Devcon, an organization dedicated to professionalizing Filipino IT professionals, is partnered with Break the Fake for the hackathon.
“Many people associate innovation with just websites and apps. But technology is so much more than that. Just as the previous generation of innovators has worked to keep our data, privacy, and identify safe from cyber criminals, the next will be tasked with ensuring the integrity of our news and information. We’re proud to encourage solutions in this endeavor,” said Devcon founder and president Winston Damarillo, who is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Amihan Global Strategies.
The winning teams from each of the three cities will then compete in the Grand Hackathon that will be held on the second week of September in Manila, Philippines, where they will have the chance to win Php100,000 worth of prizes.
The winners will also be given opportunities to pitch their programs to potential investors, visit the country offices of some of the region’s biggest companies, and get mentorship from local entrepreneurs and professionals, and consultancy from marketing and events management company, Ambidextr.
The Hackathon was made possible through the generous grant awarded by the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds for the Future program of the US government, in cooperation with Cultural Vistas. Launched in 2013, YSEALI is the signature program of the United States to strengthen youth leadership in the region.
The “Break the Fake Hackathon” was among the 21 winners of the small grants competition, where they received grants ranging from $4,000 to $15,000. The winners emerged as most deserving from the 400 applications the organization received in Southeast Asia.
For more information and updates, check the organization’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/breakthefakeph.
Source: Ambidextr Media
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