University of the Philippines
Diliman

University of the Philippines
Diliman
Students

UPD has 100% passing rate in LESW

September 27, 2023
All 30 first-time examinees from the Department of Social Work (DSW) of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) passed the September 2023 Licensure Examination for Social Workers (LESW), with three of them landing in the first, second, and fourth spots of successful examinees. Imperial. Photo from the CSWCD Leading the examinees is Patricia Marie R. Imperial with an 88.60% rating. She is followed by fellow UPD examinee Queenie Anne C. Umadhay at second place with an 87.20% rating. Completing the triumvirate of UPD examinees at the top is Maria Theresa D. Lucas at fourth place with an 86.60% rating. Furthermore, the University is among the top-performing schools in this round of LESW. According to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), a school is considered top-performing if it has 10 or more examinees with at least 80% passing rate. In a correspondence with UPDate Online, Ana Teresa L. Prondosa, an assistant professor of social work and former DSW chair, said “The CSWCD has been Top 1 for four years now, maintaining its 100% passing rate in the LESW.” List of LESW passers from the CSWCD. Image from the CSWCD The PRC announced on its website that 3,878 of 6,833 examinees passed the examination given by the Board of Social Workers in the National Capital Region, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Calapan, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Kidapawan, Koronadal, Legazpi, Lucena, Pagadian, Palawan, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, and Zamboanga this September. The CSWCD building. Photo from the UPDIO Archive
Campus

Queer art exhibit open for submissions until Sept. 30

September 26, 2023
UP Diliman (UPD) faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to participate in an LGBTQI+-themed exhibit for UP Pride. Artworks may be submitted until 12 a.m. of Sept. 30 (Saturday). The exhibit, which carries the theme Dangal, Husay, Pagkakapantay-pantay, is in celebration of UP Pride 2023 and echoes the call for the passage of the SOGIESC Equality Bill. It will be held at the UP Diliman Parola: Fine Arts Gallery from Oct. 23 to 27. Quezon Hall with the Pride flags. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO The exhibit is an avenue to champion queer artists from UP. Admission is free. Those who would submit their artworks for the exhibit may contact Naomi Alexis R. Laviña (mobile number: 09178012053, email address: uppride.official@gmail.com). The week-long exhibit is an activity of the UPD College of Fine Arts, UP Center for Women and Gender Studies, and the UPD College of Arts and Letters. UP Pride is an annual celebration of the LGBTQI+ community of UP that hosts various Pride-related activities. UP Pride 2023 aims to push for the passage of an institutionalized UP Code of Equality and nondiscrimination along with the wide-scale, national equality bill.—With a report from UP Pride 2023
Students

UWA 2023: Encouragements and challenges

September 26, 2023
“Serve the people,” the university officials urged some 800 UP Diliman (UPD) freshmen, transferees, shiftees, and exchange students from foreign institutions at the University Welcome Assembly 2023 (UWA 2023) on Sept. 18 at the UP Theater Main Hall. UPD transferees, shiftees, and exchange students from foreign institutions at the UWA 2023. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO In his message at UWA 2023, UPD Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II underscored the importance of public service while encouraging the students to participate in various UPD activities commemorating the 51st year of the declaration of Martial Law. “I want you to be part of that even if it’s not the same experience anymore but we have to remember and never forget. Why does UP do that? It’s because of one of the values UP stands for, which is service. Of course, you have honor and excellence. But all that is really for service. Service to the Filipino people,” Vistan explained.  Vistan. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO He also advised the UPD students to enjoy what the University offers to its constituents. “Make the most of this rich community. Kayo ay lalabas dito na may tatak UP. And that means a lot of things. But I want you now, since you are beginning your journey here in the University, particularly in Diliman, to allow the UPD community to have an imprint on you,” Vistan said. He mentioned that the students could draw inspiration from Kontra-GaPi (Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino), the resident music and dance ensemble of the UPD College of Arts and Letters that rendered a musical performance at UWA 2023. Kontra-GaPi. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO “Matagal na ang Kontra-GaPi. It gives you a glimpse of how rich the community in UPD is; rich in culture, rich in tradition, rich in history, rich in diversity, rich in experiences, particularly learning experiences not only from the classes that you will attend but also from the other members of the UPD community that you will interact with,” Vistan said. Meanwhile, UP President Angelo A. Jimenez also highlighted in his message the importance of UP’s service to the nation. Jimenez. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO
Research

Understanding and preserving Baybayin

September 19, 2023
Early this year, three scientists from the Institute of Mathematics (IM) of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Science (CS) made national headlines with their study, Block-level Optical Character Recognition System for Automatic Transliterations of Baybayin Texts and Using Support Vector Machine (Block-level OCR System). Pino. Photo from Pino Rodney Pino, Renier Mendoza, PhD, and Rachelle Sambayan, PhD, developed an algorithm to convert or translate an entire paragraph of Baybayin scripts into Latin characters using a support vector machine (SVM).  Baybayin is an old Tagalog writing system primarily used in the northern Philippines during the pre-Hispanic period. Meanwhile, the SVM is a cutting-edge machine that can categorize hand or typewritten characters.  Block-level OCR System claims to be the first OCR study that can classify Baybayin at the block or paragraph level. In an email correspondence with UPDate Online, Pino explained that his interest in studying Baybayin was influenced by Mendoza, his master thesis adviser at the IM.  “He was the one who discussed with me and revealed his intention to develop a Baybayin OCR for my MS thesis. He then invited Sambayan, a specialist in SVM to work with the Baybayin OCR,” said Pino. Pino’s master thesis is Baybayin Optical Recognition System Using Support Vector Machine. He finished his Master of Science in Applied Mathematics in 2021 and was named most outstanding Master of Science graduate by the CS. Pino said he and his team chose to conduct the study because, “Baybayin and other old scripts are living proof that our nation has a unique systematic manner of writing. The one we can consider our own writing system and feel proud of and humble about as Filipinos.” According to Pino, Baybayin OCR is still in its infancy stage unlike other highly-developed OCR for other scripts such as the Roman alphabet and the Han scripts, among others. A UPD bicycle lane with Baybayin scripts. Photo by Bino Gamba, UPDIO “Fortunately, the SVM method we tried out for the Baybayin script worked and has a good recognition rate when classifying or identifying Baybayin characters,” he said. Pino added that technology has played an important role in the ongoing restoration of the script. Mobile keyboards such as Gboards have indigenous scripts included in their keyboard settings. The Baybayin scripts can now be typed into word processing.  Currently, however, “There are none that translate or transliterate Baybayin manuscripts into comprehensible Latin or Roman text,” he said. Still, with the technology that Pino and his team developed, the Baybayin writing system can be conveniently learned, read, and written.  Pino said he and his team’s study supports…
Extension

UPD, ARTA sign MOU

September 26, 2023
UP Diliman (UPD) through the Center for Policy and Executive Development (CPED) of the UPD National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) on Sept. 18 at the NCPAG Assembly Hall. Signed by UPD Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II and ARTA Director General Ernesto V. Perez, the MOU aims to promote collaboration and enrich the intellectual environment of both parties. (From left) Vistan and Perez. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO ARTA is a national government agency mandated to administer and implement Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. Through the MOU, the University will support ARTA in its mission to transform the way government services are delivered through the whole-of-the-nation approach, innovation, and good regulatory practices towards bureaucratic efficiency. According to the Philippine Congress website, the whole-of-the-nation approach is the government’s policy to “prioritize and harmonize the delivery of basic services and social development packages in conflict-affected areas and vulnerable communities, facilitate societal inclusivity, and ensure active participation of all sectors of society in pursuit of the country’s peace agenda.” (Behind podium) Vistan, (seated, from left) Basilio, Berse, Perez, and Abot. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO UPD will extend technical assistance to ARTA in the following areas: development and execution of executive certificate courses on regulatory management systems and strategic public management; conduct of training and capacity-building activities on regulatory impact assessment for national government agencies and local government units; conduct of policy research on ARTA priority sectors and areas particularly in the mining, logistics, and housing; and identification and implementation of opportunities for other forms of cooperation. Witnessing the MOU signing were NCPAG Dean Kristoffer B. Berse, ARTA Deputy Director General Genesis Abot, and CPED Director Enrico L. Basilio.
Notices

Announcement From the UP Diliman Office of the Chancellor on Suspension of Work and Classes on 25 September 2023 Starting 3:00 PM in Observance of the “Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga Day”

September 25, 2023

UPDate ONLINE

UPD remembers Martial Law

September 26, 2023

From 12 to 1 p.m. on Sept. 21, a din could be heard in UP Diliman (UPD) as the campus observed the 51st year of declaration of Martial Law. Faculty, staff, and students from all over UPD came out to participate in Noises and Voices of Memory and Dissent (Noises), a one-hour “noise-making” event to […]

Siringan opens MSI lecture series

September 21, 2023

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) of the UP Diliman College of Science, the institute held a lecture series featuring its faculty members, beginning with Fernando P. Siringan, PhD, on Sept. 18 at the MSI Seminar Room. Siringan said the lecture series of the MSI will help the public […]

UPD gets 100% in Librarians Licensure Examination

September 21, 2023

Every examinee fielded by the UP Diliman (UPD) School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the September 2023 Librarians Licensure Examination (LLE) passed, giving the University a 100% passing rate for the ninth straight year and securing the title of top performing school. UPD is number-one among the four top performing schools for this […]
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Events

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