Four of UP Diliman’s (UPD) faculty members and one student were given opportunities to learn more about their respective fields and enhance their skills abroad. Receiving fellowships and a scholarship from universities and organizations were Rommel B. Rodriguez, PhD, a professor at the UPD Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas (DFPP); April J. Perez, an assistant professor at DFPP; Sir Anril P. Tiatco, PhD, a professor at the UPD Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts; and Aletheia Kerygma B. Valenciano, an assistant professor at the UPD Department of Political Science. Rodriguez. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO Representing the country in a leadership summit is Juanquine Carlo R. Castro, a student at the UPD National College of Public Administration and Governance. Rodriguez was accepted as a fellow in the Protective Writing Fellowship for Human Rights Defenders 2024 (Protective Writing Fellowship) of the University of York, United Kingdom, while Perez was accepted as a participant in the Lancaster Summer School (LSS) at Corpus Linguistics for Language Learning, Teaching, and Testing of Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Rodriguez’ fellowship lasted for three months and was one of two fellowships organized by the Center for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) of the University of York, stated on the CAHR website. It started in May. The CAHR website states the Protective Writing Fellowship is “a new initiative aimed at strengthening the capacity of human rights defenders at risk who are in leadership positions within local human rights movements and organizations. It builds on and complements our Protective Fellowship Scheme for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, which we have run since 2008.” Perez. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO During their stay, fellows “benefit both from time away from a difficult environment, and from educational resources designed to increase their effectiveness and their ability to influence policy and practice when they return home,” the CAHR website states. Meanwhile, the LSS website states that the Corpus Linguistics for Language Learning, Teaching, and Testing is “held annually during the summer at Lancaster University.” It is “aimed at students, researchers, and teachers who are interested in analyzing language data using quantitative (corpus) methods research. The summer school focuses on using corpus methods to analyze learner language and on applying corpus findings in language teaching and assessment,” the website adds. This annual program “takes place under the aegis of the ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS), which is the recipient of The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. CASS is investigating the use of language related to important social topics such as healthcare, poverty, hate crime and language learning,” the website also says.

Students from the two departments of the UP Diliman College of Home Economics (CHE)—Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (DHRIM) and the Department of Food Science and Nutrition (DFSN)—made their mark at the recent 18th Manila Food and Beverage Expo (18th MAFBEX) and the 50th Department of Science and Technology Food and Nutrition Research Institute Seminar Series Undergraduate Research Competition (50th DOST-FNRI Competition), respectively. Team Ayam Na! composed of DHRIM third year students Audrey Chan, Trishia de Guzman, and Kathleen Mogol were named champions of the Food Wars Asian Hawker Street Food Challenge at the 67th Young Hoteliers Exposition Culinary Competition (67th YHE) on June 16 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The 67th YHE was one of the highlights of the 18th MAFBEX. Team Ayam Na! with Eleazar (second from left) and Ranada (right). Photo from the DHRIM Facebook page According to the DHRIM Facebook page, the “innovative Indonesian chicken dish with coconut rice and pickled vegetables” of the team “impressed the judges and select audience members, besting 10 other hospitality and culinary schools participating. The participants were given one hour to prepare and present this elevated Asian street food masterpiece in night market style.” Guiding the team were dedicated coaches Rosanne Nicollette Eleazar, an assistant professor at the CHE and Golda May Ranada, a chef lecturer, also at CHE. This was the first time in over a decade that a UP team participated in the MAFBEX. Two weeks later, three research projects by DFSN students would place in the 50th DOST-FNRI Competition held from July 3 to 4 at the Sheraton Hotel in Pasay City. The DFSN winning authors along with their advisers and other participants from the University. Photo from the DFSN Facebook page Nutrition Knowledge, Eating Practices, and Maternal Characteristics Among Selected Filipino Female Adults Under the Sandwich Generation by Alyssa Arnaco, Juan Diego Caña, Marc Ishmael Pulido, and Dominique Nicole Ricardo won first place under the competition’s Nutrition and Dietetics Category. Their thesis adviser was Maria Fema Aquino, an assistant professor at the DFSN. Meanwhile, Detection of Honey Adulteration with C3, C4, and CAM Sugar Syrups Using Laser-Inducted Breakdown Spectroscopy by Jeremiah Abog with thesis adviser Maria Leonora Lotis Francisco, a professor at the DFSN, and Development of an Analog Meat Product Using Philippine-Sourced Elkhorn Seamoss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) Protein Concentrate by Elise Yabut with thesis adviser Mark Paulo Tolentino, a former assistant professor at the DFSN, won first and third place, respectively, under the competition’s Food Science and Technology category.—With reports from the DHRIM and DFSN

Edcel John A. Ibarra, an assistant professor at the UP Diliman (UPD) Department of Political Science, is this year’s recipient of the Aileen San Pablo Baviera Prize by the Graduate Research and Development Network on Asian Security (GRADNAS) for his research paper Issue-Based Cooperation on Conflict Resolution in the South China Sea: Exploring Roles for ASEAN Beyond the Code of Conduct. Ibarra. Photo from the UPD Department of Political Science website In Ibarra’s research paper, he stated that “the article offers an original framework that can be used to examine other aspects of conflict in the South China Sea or analyze similar multiparty conflicts.” Among Ibarra’s research interests are territorial and maritime disputes, maritime security and ocean governance, and regional security. According to the GRADNAS website, the committee was impressed with the article “which contributes to the field of Southeast Asia-China international relations. The parsimonious framework supports a clear and systematic analysis of the South China Sea conflict, breaking up the conflict into different types of issues that might be addressed using different modes and with different aims in mind.” The GRADNAS write-up further explains that Ibarra’s work “resonates with the scholarship advocated by Aileen Baviera, in whose name this prize is offered.” The GRADNAS website states that the Aileen San Pablo Baviera Prize is an award that recognizes “impactful academic publications on Southeast Asia-China relations.” The award was named in honor of the late scholar and founding GRADNAS member who was known in the field of Philippine foreign policy and a China specialist, particularly in China’s international and security relations in Southeast Asia. Baviera was the dean of the UPD Asian Center from 2003 to 2009. GRADNAS logo. Image from the GRADNAS website The committee was composed of Evelyn Goh, DPIR, GRADNAS convener and Shedden professor of strategic policy studies at the Australian National University; Helen Nesadurai, PhD, a professor of political economy at Monash University Malaysia and a GRADNAS Senior Scholar Network member; and Alvin Camba, PhD, an assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and a GRADNAS Emerging Scholars Network member. According to its website, GRADNAS “promotes Asian security research that effectively combines conceptual rigor and innovation with deep empirical analysis.” Based at the Australian National University, the network is composed of “established scholars from leading universities around the world” and “advanced doctoral students and promising early career researchers in a series of programs for training, exchange, and research collaboration.”