Tarroja Participates in Research Congress Talk Show with Center Directors
 SDRC Director Maria Caridad H. Tarroja was one of nine research center directors who sat on a panel discussion in a talk show format that highlighted the 2016 DLSU Research Congress held from March 7 to 9 at the Henry Sy, Sr. Hall. The directors spoke about the role of the centers in the University, particularly in providing assistance in designing proposals or projects, or in applying for funding. Some, like the Br. Alfred Shields, FSC Ocean Research (SHORE) center, have facilities open to researchers (in SHORE’s case, it is the marine station in Lian, Batangas) and offer assistantships to those pursuing graduate studies.
The center heads also relayed how they collaborate across the disciplines, such as in the case of Dr. Raymund Habaradas of the Center for Business Research and Development (CBRD), who was invited to join the Unilab Foundation study on persons with intellectual disability (PWIDs) at SDRC. He contributed to the project as an evaluator of HR practices of firms that have become inclusive for these individuals. Later, he recounted how Unilab approached CBRD to produce an HR manual to institutionalize the recruitment of PWIDs. Such collaborations thus result in opportunities that enable studies to be done across colleges. Following this year’s Research Congress theme of “Responding to the Challenges of the ASEAN Integration,” Angelo King Institute (AKI) Director Dr. Tereso Tullao asserted that in preparing for such challenges, the University should not specialize, but rather nurture and expand. He further pointed out that DLSU is a leading private university in the region, recognized by institutions such as the National University of Singapore and the Chulalongkorn University, and that it draws its strength from diversity, easily capable of drawing experts from among the colleges and disciplines. Dr. Tarroja added that SDRC, being the first and oldest of the University’s research centers, has collaborated on projects with researchers from ASEAN nations such as Cambodia and Vietnam. She noted that these linkages create more opportunities for the Center as well as for the faculty and their departments. In turn, the faculty on the research teams recruit students as assistants and associates, increasing the level of student participation. The directors also brought up the need to look at regional as well as local problems, and observed that integration provides the chance to learn through partnerships with other schools in the region. They looked into the possibility of developing satellite centers in other parts of the country, and setting up consortiums with other institutions of the world. As one of the region’s best universities, Dr. Tullao cited the obligation for it to assist other colleges and universities in the country. By sharing best practices, DLSU can contribute to enabling the country to move forward. The other center directors who participated in the talk show were Dr. Shirley Lua of the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center, Dr. Francisco Magno of the Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance, Dr. Ma. Luisa Enriquez of the Center for Natural Sciences and Environmental Research, Dr. Luis Razon of the Food Institute, Dr. Jose Manuel Biona of the Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research, and Dr. Ethel Ong of the Advanced Research Institute for Informatics, Computing and Networking. |
