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Hosted by the PPSA NCR Chapter, the event was attended by political science students from the University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, Universidad De Manila, Centro Escolar University, Adamson University, University of Makati, and representatives from the National University – Clark, Pampanga Campus.

Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters Atty. Jacqueline O. Lopez-Kaw, DCL, welcomed the delegates, and former PPSA president Dr. Dennis C. Coronacion of the UST Political Science Department delivered the opening remarks. Meanwhile, PPSA president Dr. John Robert Go thanked all the delegates for their attendance, and the university for hosting the on-site event.

Dr. Anthony Lawrence A. Borja of De La Salle University’s Department of Political Science and Development Studies delivered the first lecture titled “Analyzing the Essence of Democracy: On the Question of Popular Sovereignty.” The second talk, titled “Politics of and at the Margin: Issues and Manifestations of Power through Nodal Governance” was presented by UST Political Science Department Chair Dr. Louie Benedict R. Ignacio.

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In the paper, a library of novel, natural products-inspired cyclopentenone derivatives were prepared synthetically using a newly developed synthetic methodology, characterized spectroscopically, and assessed for their effect on inflammatory response mediators such as Nrf2, NF-κB, and IL-6 via cell-based reporter assays. The synthetic substances presented incorporate Michael acceptor structures which activate the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway through covalent modification of cysteine residues on Keap1. Nrf2 activation confers cytoprotection to normal cells by expressing genes involved in the antioxidant response and therefore an important aspect to explore in discovering new substances with anti-inflammatory action. The results of Prof. Macabeo and his co-workers point to their compounds being effective chemical templates for anti-inflammatory drug designs.

23-ICOS with its theme “Synthesis for our Future” was jointly hosted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC) and was chaired by Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Dawei Ma. With the main goal of center staging frontiers in organic synthesis, ICOS was initiated by IUPAC in 1976 as a biennial meeting of synthetic organic chemists which has showcased numerous advances in organic chemistry worldwide. The Conference was held in PR China for the first time and provided excellent platforms for world-leading organic chemists to present latest advances in total synthesis, catalysis, reaction methodology development and chemical biology. The opening ceremonies was highlighted by a plenary talk of 2021 Nobel Laureate Chemist Prof. Dr. Benjamin List of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Germany with the title, “Universal Organocatalysts for Our World”. Over 1,000 delegates attended this prestigious conference. The four congresses were previously held in Mumbai (India for 21-ICOS) in 2016, Budapest (Hungary for 20-ICOS) in 2014, and Melbourne (Australia for 19-ICOS) in 2012.

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The presentations—some delivered onsite and others online—covered a diverse range of topics, including colonialism, ecocriticism, film, new media, history, and cultural practices.

In his presentation, “Meme-Worthiness: Rhetorical and Political Analysis of Popular Filipino Memes,” Assoc. Prof. Joselito D. Delos Reyes, PhD, Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program, delved into the world of popular Filipino memes, discussing the rhetorical and political factors behind their virality and how they represented indignation and assault to both local meme personalities and Filipino netizens.

Asst. Prof. Paul A. Castillo, Deputy Director of the UST Publishing House, explored the influence of Russian literature on Filipino cinema by reimagining Fyodor Dostoevsky’s works. He discussed how filmmaker Lav Diaz incorporated Filipino culture and challenged the original narrative through extended takes and slow movements in “Dostoevsky’s Influence on Lav Diaz’s Cinema: Reimagining Crime and Punishment.”

Academic staff and former coordinator of the Creative Writing Program, Assoc. Prof. Chuckberry J. Pascual, PhD, conducted a cultural exploration of cabinets/closets in the Filipino context in his presentation, “Opening the Aparador: Exploring the Cultural History of Cabinets in the Philippines.”

Mr. Jose P. Mojica investigated the impact of mobile photo editing apps on the cultural identity of Filipino youth in his presentation, “Mobile Photo Editing Apps and Cultural Identity: Filipino Youth Perspective.” He analyzed how these apps influenced beauty standards and questioned their effect on Filipino national identity.

Castillo, Delos Reyes, Mojica, and Pascual presented their papers in Indonesia.

In her paper “Communicating Ecology and Advocacy: John Iremil Teodoro’s ‘Sa Yakap ng Gubat at Dagat ng Palawan’ as a Tool for Ecological Literacy,” Asst. Prof. Jenny Ortuoste examines John Iremil Teodoro’s eco-essay collection, focusing on its role in promoting ecological literacy and advocacy while also emphasizing the potential of literature and storytelling to ignite environmental activism and societal change in the archipelagic context of Palawan and the Philippines.

 Ms. Vae Dadia’s “Ecopoetics of the Archipelagic Space and the Islandic Subject” defined “ecopoetry” in the context of the Philippines, exploring its connection to the nation’s maritime environment and island identity, highlighting the tensions, connections, and interactions within the complex ecological and cultural landscape.

Aside from the academic exchange, the conference provided a unique platform for establishing international connections. With 51 participating institutions spanning 10 countries, along with 13 collaborative partners in organizing the event, it brought together 123 presenters and participants, each contributing to a roster of 107 diverse presentation titles.

During breaks, attendees had the opportunity to engage in discussions. Assoc. Prof. Delos Reyes introduced the Creative Writing Program and explored potential collaborations with other universities. Asst. Prof. Castillo highlighted some titles available in the UST Publishing House and Assoc. Prof. Pascual distributed copies of TOMAS Journal, the peer-reviewed journal of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies, to some of the heads of literature departments.

Prof. Luisa Torres-Reyes, the UST Scholar-in-Residence, also participated in the conference, representing Philippine universities within the Critical Island Studies Consortium.

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The three-day hybrid conference, organized by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) in cooperation with UST College of Education’s Departamento ng Filipino and UST Sentro sa Salin at Aralin Salin (UST SSAS), brought to light concerns on translators’ welfare and professionalization of translation practice.

UST Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Dr. Cheryl Peralta and KWF Chairman Dr. Arthur P. Casanova led the opening ceremony with a reminder that translation fortifies diplomacy and cultural exchanges.

Dr. Tereso Tullao looked back on the role of translation in writing the very first Economics textbook and glossary. Meanwhile, Dr. Josephine Barrios-Le Blanc and Dr. Raquel Sison-Buban revealed unreasonable compensation to most translators in the United States and the Philippines, as well as concerns in accreditation and translation ethics.

Subject-matter experts shared insights on their years of experience. The panelists include court interpreter Ms. Ma. Cristina Carmela Japzon, from Branch 15 of the Regional Trial Court Manila and President of the Philippine Association of Court Employees-Manila; Lexcode Inc. director Ms. Christine Ignacio, who lectured from Canada; Propesyunal na Asosasyon ng mga Tagapagtaguyod ng Salin (PATAS) National Committee member Dr. Emmanuel Gonzales; and KWF commissioner on the Languages of Northern Cultural Communities Dr. Jimmy Fong.

KWF commissioner on Cebuano Language Dr. Hope S. Yu mentioned the possibilities of translating one word into a myriad of equivalences.

To continue the panel discussions, heads of government agencies presented their programs that focused on translation. The panelists include KWF Sangay ng Salin chief and conference director Mr. John Enrico Torralba, Department of Education (DepEd) Bureau of Learning Delivery-Teaching and Learning Division program specialist Gaudencio Serrano, and National Commission for Culture and the Arts-National Committee on Language and Translation (NCCA-NCLT) head Dr. David Michael San Juan.

Serrano expounded on E-Salin: Pagsasalin sa Filipino, under DepEd’s E-Taguyod, a national program on Filipino for Basic Education, while Torralba and San Juan enumerated the seminars, fora, and grants of KWF and NCCA-NCLT, respectively.

The third panel saw lectures on programs by various university centers on language and translation. UST SSAS chief Dr. Wennielyn Fajilan, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila (PUP) Sentro ng Pagsasalin head Dr. Jenalyn Lai, and UP Diliman (UPD) Sentro ng Wikang Filipino director Dr. Jayson Petras presented the conception of their center, their publications, and collaborations.

Leaders of language and translation organizations recounted their programs on training and organizing translators in the country. The panelists include Filipinas Institute of Translation director Dr. Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., Filipino Sign Language (FSL) National Network founder Dr. Liza Martinez, and Kasalin Network-Visayas head Dr. Lita Bacalla.

Baquiran enumerated the national and international seminars and contests that his group has been organizing for years. Martinez pointed out that FSL, like any other languages, have variants depending on the region. Lastly, Bacalla related in Waray that happiness and fulfillment are few key elements in overcoming the burdens of translating and organizing translators.

The second day ended with focus group discussions gathering insights from participants on the skills training and accreditation of translators, protection of the rights and welfare of translators, development of registry and network of translators, and promoting a bill for the professionalization of translation.

Outputs presented on the last day revealed experiences on the ground and the need for organizing and legislation.

Sessions can be viewed on the Facebook pages of KWF and UST SSAS.

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The conference theme was “From Discourses to Actions: Mobilizing the Academe for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.” It took place at the Atencio-Libunao Hall, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City from October 25 to 27, 2023.

In his paper, Tan emphasized the crucial role of Physical Therapists (PT) in disaster response, specifically in preventing long-term disabilities resulting from injuries. Research reveals that PTs are underutilized in this context. The study explored the factors that affect PTs’ involvement in disaster response and identified four key themes: personal and social factors, profession-related factors, organizational support, and operational considerations.

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EMPOWER 2023 is an annual scientific meeting that brings multiple stakeholders together for the development, innovation and utilization of assistive technologies. The conference was held in October in IIT Madras Research Park, Taramani, Chennai, India.

After the conference, a study visit was done on various centers that showcase a wide spectrum of assistive technologies both in Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India.

Participants got to explore the Museum of Possibilities, an establishment under the Department of Welfare of Differently Abled Persons of the Government of Tamil Nadu that showcases adaptive devices and model accessible home modifications for persons with disabilities (PWDs) where technologies followed the principle of universal design. PWDs themselves were given the opportunity to provide service at the Museum Cafe.

In addition to the museum visit, two institutions were also visited namely, Vidya Sagar Institute (formerly the Spastics Society of India) and Madras Industrial Training Institute (ITI). Both institutions showed how the PWDs were educated, trained and integrated to be independent and to engage in individually-designed and adapted occupations. Vidya Sagar offers various services to more than 3800 PWDs each year that includes early intervention, education, community empowerment, therapy, vocational training and advocacy for disability rights. In ITI, PWD youths were involved in vocational activities as an exposure training for future job placements.

A study visit at the National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) in Thiruvananthapuram was also made. NISH is an institute that offers innovative approaches allowing multidisciplinary team approach for the development, testing, utilization and implementation of assistive technologies for the benefit of PWDs. The International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS) was visited to observe how advanced technologies are being applied for assistive technology. It also allows linking of communities, developers and institutions to collaborate in promoting research-based development of softwares, instruments and machines.

Participants were also given an exposure at Kanthari which provided an opportunity to learn from PWDs who were involved in a 12-month immersive, hands-on, multi-national and intensive training program. Kanthari aims to equip change makers with all tools and skills required to start their own impact-making organizations or projects.

The conference and study visits provided learnings as the university aims to develop its own assistive technology center that will provide interprofessional research-based collaborative opportunities to provide services for PWDs.

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Medina joined the panel composed of different educational institutions to talk about skills exchange and increased engagement through alumni relations of different educational institutions. The panel included Gadjah Mada University’s Director for Partnerships, Alumni and Global Initiatives Puji Astuti, and University of Nottingham Malaysia’s Chief Strategy and Operations Officer Kylie Colvin. The session was moderated by De La Salle University Executive Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations Office Edwin Theodoro Reyes.

The best practices of handling and establishing alumni relations were thoroughly discussed during the session. Challenges of filling the gap between graduates’ competency and industry standards and how to solve it were also added to the discourse.

THE Campus Live Southeast Asia is a two-day affair held at DLSU Manila. The event gathered academic and administrative higher education leaders, industry partners, and policy experts together to explore more ways to achieve institutional success.

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Borlongan, who is based in Japan,  talked about the linguistic aspects of endonormative stabilization in the standardization of Englishes.  In his talk, Borlongan examined the linguistic aspects of the penultimate stage in the Schneider’s (2003, 2007) dynamic model of the evolution of Englishes. His talk focused on how linguistic features evolve from being deviations to becoming legitimate variations and, therefore, varieties in world Englishes.

Borlongan was previously with De La Salle University (Philippines) and ������Ƶ of Tokyo (Japan) and also held various visiting teaching and research posts at the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), SEAMEO Regional Language Centre (Singapore), the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London (The United Kingdom), University of Bialystok (Poland), the University of Freiburg (Germany), Universiti Malaya (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), and Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages (Kaohsiung, Taiwan).

The online lecture was attended by graduate students taking up MA and PhD major in English Language Studies from UST and Far Eastern University,  and  English teachers currently teaching in Japan.

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ACCS 2023 is the 14th Asian Conference on Chemical Sensors.  It is a multidisciplinary meeting of scientists and engineers engaged in research and innovation in the field of chemical sensors. It is organized by the University of Santo Tomas with the cooperation of the Chemical Society of the Philippines (Kapisanang Kimika ng Pilipinas) – Division of Analytical Science.

In a video message, DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr., Ph.D. commended the success of the event, saying “this would definitely inspire our young scientists and engineers to further their desire to discover technologies related to chemical sensor research and development, which are crucial in environmental and medical applications.”

UST Secretary-General and College of Science Regent Rev. Fr. Louie R. Coronel, O.P., EHL warmly welcomed participants to the 14th ACCS, calling the conference a great platform “where brilliant minds across Asia and beyond converge to share insights, research findings, and technological advancements in the field of chemical sensors, whose importance cannot be overstated in our rapidly evolving world where precision and accuracy in detecting and analyzing various substances are crucial in scientific, industrial, environmental, and healthcare applications.”

University of Toyama (Japan) Graduate School of Science and Engineering Professor Hiroaki Shinohara was the first to present his plenary lecture titled “Sensing Cell State by SPR Imaging Technique: Assessing the Differentiation State of Stem Cells into Neurons or Cardiomyocytes by SPR Monitoring”. The study found that the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging technique is effective for drug sensing because it enables noninvasive observation of intracellular reactions to drug stimuli, and can continuously assess changes in cellular states, such as differentiation of stem cells into neurons or cardiomyocytes, over a period of several days.

National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan) Professor Hung-Wei Yang discussed “Microneedle-Based Biosensors for Sampling, Diagnosis, and Monitoring“ for the second plenary lecture. He talked about three types of microneedle-based biosensors tailored for three specific purposes: an integrated hydrogel microneedle patch (HMNP) and lateral flow cassette (LFC) system for early diagnosis and daily management of chronic kidney diseases, a microneedle-based biosensor housed within a detection box that is dedicated to detecting the IgA antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) and spike protein, and a glucose-biosensing microneedle patch (GBMP) to achieve instrument-free glucose monitoring in a painless and safe manner.

Pukyong National University (South Korea) Professor Wan Young Chung delivered the third plenary lecture on “Wireless Battery-Free Sensors with Optimized RF Energy Harvesting”. He reported that radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting technologies hold great potential in enabling wireless sensors to operate without traditional power sources.

            Jilin University Professor Geyu Lu served as the fourth plenary speaker, with his presentation on “Mixed Potential Gas Sensors Based on Solid Electrolyte and their Applications,” where he discussed strategies to significantly improve the gas-sensitive performance of mixed potential gas sensors, paving the way for their practical applications in areas such as breath detection, pollution source tracking, atmospheric monitoring, and in situ indoor air quality assessment.

Invited speakers also include Prof. Dr. Ping Wang of Zhejiang University, Assoc. Prof. Yu-Jui Fan of Taipei Medical University, Prof. Jui-Ming Yeh of Chung Yuan Christian University, Prof. Yoshiteru Itagaki of Ehime University, Prof. Karsten Haupt of the University of Technology of Compeigne, Prof. Jose Bergantin, Jr., of UST, Prof. Hyoun-woo Kim of Hanyang University, Dr. Ni Luh Wulan Septiani and Assoc. Prof. Allan Christopher Yago of the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia, and Prof. Manabu Tokeshi of Hokkaido University.

            In addition to the abovementioned lectures, there were also over 50 research and poster presentations in various parallel sessions during the conference.

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