Existing regulations on the procurement and handling of strategic goods and requirements for acquiring a research ethics clearance primarily for science, technology, and innovation research were discussed at a recent forum conducted by UP Diliman (UPD) for its faculty, staff, and researchers. Navigating Regulatory Compliance for Science, Technology, and Innovation Researchers featured lectures from the Policy and Enterprise Relations Division (PERD) of the Department of Trade and Industry Strategic Trade Management Office (STMO), and the Research Ethics Board (REB) of the UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (OVCRD). UPD officials, guest lecturers, and forum attendees. Photo by Jerald JD Caranza, UPDIO    Vice Chancellor for Research and Development Carl Michael Odulio said UPD’s research undertakings, “may involve human participants which will require ethics clearance to ensure that the research will be conducted in a responsible and ethical manner. The required clearance should be secured from the research ethics board even before the start of the research.” For her part, STMO Director Janice Sacedon-Dimayacyac said, “As drivers of innovation and cutting-edge research, UP represents a very crucial component of our national strategic trade system and shares the unique responsibility of keeping our nation’s most critical technologies from falling into the wrong hands.” Lecturers at the forum were PERD Assistant Division Chief John Derrick Anchiges, PERD Chief Regina Samantha Castro, and REB Chair Maria Corazon De Ungria. Anchiges spoke about the Strategic Trade Management Act (STMA) or the Republic Act 10697, which lays out the all the rules and regulations in managing the trade of strategic goods. Anchiges’ lecture focused on the regulations and procedures relevant to science, technology, and innovation researchers. Castro, meanwhile, talked about the inter-agency mechanisms and services available to researchers, should they handle strategic goods. The STMA defines strategic goods as, “products that, for security reasons or due to international agreements, are considered to be of such military importance that their export is either prohibited altogether or subject to specific conditions. Such goods are generally suitable to be used for military purposes.” Meanwhile, De Ungria, who is also head of the DNA Analysis Laboratory of the UPD Natural Sciences Research Institute, spoke about the newly formed REB. According to the REB website, the board ensures “the safety, protect the rights, and promote the welfare and well-being of research participants; issue the ethical approval required for the implementation of any research it has reviewed and approved; promote research integrity by identifying and resolving conflicts of interest; ensure the proper documentation of and adherence to the confidentiality rule and policy on informed consent; and monitor the progress of ongoing research until its completion.” The forum, held at…

Two DZUP 1602 service-oriented radio programs won in the 18th UP ComBroadSoc Gandingan Awards (Gandingan Awards) held on May 4 at the Charles Fuller Baker Memorial Hall in UP Los Baños (UPLB). Serbisyong Tatak UP (STU) by the National Service Training Program Diliman and the UP Reserve Officers’ Training Corps won Most Development-Oriented AM Program under the General Awards (Radio) category. STU representatives receiving the award. Image from the Gandingan Awards Facebook page Go Teacher Go! (GTG) by the UP Diliman (UPD) National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development won Most Development-Oriented Educational Program and Most Development-Oriented Science and Technology Program under the Core Awards (Programs) category. GTG representatives receiving the award. Image from the Gandingan Awards Facebook page STU airs twice a week, while GTG airs twice a month, on DZUP 1602, UPD’s official radio station operated by the UPD College of Mass Communication. The Gandingan Awards is organized by the UP Community Broadcasters’ Society Inc., a media-oriented student organization based at the UPLB College of Development Communication. The theme for this year is Agrikultura: Mga Kuwento ng Hamon at Pag-asa, which according to the Agriculture takes center stage in 18th UP ComBroadSoc Gandingan Awards article on the UPLB website, “is the guiding principle in choosing the winners for this year’s awards.” “The winners should best capture, through stories, the pressing problems faced by farmers, fisherfolk, and other concerned groups and how these affect the overall agricultural landscape in the country,” stated in the article.

Two art installations were unveiled on the same day at the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Architecture (CA) as part of the UPD Arts and Culture Festival 2024 and the President’s Committee on Culture and the Arts’ (PCCA) Day of Remembrance. The CA first launched the HOM(e)AY ng Pangarap: HOMage to the UP Dreams of palAY farming families (HOM(e)AY), a land art installation. The Space LAb x lighting. Photo by Jacelle Isha Bonus, UPDIO Maria Vio Bianca C. Fernandez, program coordinator of the bachelor of landscape architecture program, said the installation “is a testament to the resilience of Filipino migrant rice farmers… who face significant challenges in providing education for their children including the dream of attending institutions like UPD.” As part of the HOM(e)AY launch, the UP Filipiniana Dance Group performed a ritual dance celebrating the hard work of migrant farm rice workers. HOM(e)AY was presented by the CA Environmental Landscape Studio Laboratory (ELSL), in partnership with the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts. The UP Filipiniana Dance Group. Photo by Jacelle Isha Bonus, UPDIO Following the HOM(e)AY launch was the official launch of the Space (LAb) x: Space x (Landscape + Architecture + Laboratory) x Experiences Project (Space Lab x), a CA project undertaken with a grant from the PCCA. Nappy L. Navarra, head of the ELSL, said Space Lab x “can be divided into three groupings or clusters of meaning.” Navarra said the first part is the space. According to him, “space is the main product of architects and landscape architects.” The second part is the “LAb” and the third is the “x”. “The LAb is spelled with L, A, and b to emphasize the role of landscape architects in creating spaces. It also represents the ELSL. The x stands for their readiness to collaborate with other disciplines, other professions, other units and colleges, and with the UP System and UPD administration and offices,” he said. He added that the art installation, which is the centerpiece of the Space Lab x, is “inspired by the concept of artificial nature—a human made or simulated environment that mimics natural element or ecosystem.” “This installation adopts a critical perspective that examines the troubled connection between humans and nature, the constituent’scontestations between culture and nature, formality and informality in buildings and in ourhabitations, and the technologies that we can see all around us, be it mechanical, analog, or digital,” Navarra said. In describing the installation features, he said the natural elements were deliberately made to look artificial. “The landforms were made of cardboards and artificial turf, the trees were made of bamboos to look like manufactured structure, the…