TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte — Entries from the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) and the Leyte Normal University (LNU) bagged major awards during the 6th UPVTC Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS 2019) held last May 8, 2019 at the UPVTC, Tacloban City.

A Tech Plan Demo Day of the Tech Planter Program organized by Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. was held for the third straight year at the QBO Innovation Hub, Makati City, Metro Manila last May 18, 2019. The Tech Planter program work together with people whose aim is to change the world or implement the technology for global happiness. Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. (with headquarter in Japan and offices Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, USA and UK) is the Tech Planter’s organizer and provides startups mentoring, fundraising and market expansion opportunities in Asia.

Dr. Najih Lazar, senior fisheries management adviser of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Fish Right Program, talked about fisheries management practices at the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS), UP Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo on May 6, 2019.

Israeli Ambassador His Excellency Rafael Harpaz invited presidents of State Universities and Collleges in Western Visayas to visit Israel to learn about Israeli technologies and spread it to their universities and colleges.

The acceleration of the exploration and development of renewable energy sources is the country’s top policy direction. This includes the achievement of self-reliance to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel and to minimize the country’s exposure to price fluctuations. With these is the adoption of clean energy to mitigate climate change and promote socio economic development in the rural areas.

Representatives from 12 concessionaires and food vendors in the university were invited to participate in a presentation of issues concerning cross-contamination, causes of food-borne illnesses, proper hygiene and proper attire - and its relation to food handling.

In line with the efforts of UP Visayas to strengthen its internationalization, Dean Encarnacion Emilia S. Yap of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) attended the China-ASEAN Marine Aquaculture Industry Development Forum at Zhuahai, Guangdong, China on May 17-20, 2019.

Iloilo City – The University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) held its 43rd Regional Alumni Institute in Iloilo last May 17-18, 2019. It was a two-part event dubbed “Hanot kag Makig-angot” (hit and connect). Its focus was on the forum on renewable energy, and an open golf tournament sub-event.

Thirty youth members from the local government unit of San Joaquin, a second class municipality located 53 kilometres in the southernmost part of the province of Iloilo, benefited from the two-day training on marine conservation conducted by the UP Ichthyophilic Society (UPIS) on May 4-5, 2019.