For more information Visit the IFTR website: http://www.iftr-asia2018.upd.edu.ph/  

The UP Diliman (UPD) Housing Office will implement a new policy on Jan. 1, 2018 requiring all retiring employees occupying UPD housing units to file a one-time request of extension before they can be allowed to stay. Approved in 2016, it also states that the extension will only last six months, after which the occupant must return the unit to the University. Currently, retired UPD employees are automatically given a grace period of two years. The request for extension is also tied to the retiree’s clearance, which will be processed upon the signing of…

“I am a grade conscious student, but I am the balanced type,” Arman Ali Ghodsinia said. He was the class representative at the 106th General Commencement Exercises held June 25. Ghodsinia, a summa cum laude (SCL) graduate of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MBB), has a weighted average grade of 1.173. Ghodsinia is the first Maranaw Muslim to receive said honor. His father is an Iranian who became a naturalized Filipino. His mother is a Maranaw from Marawi City and is from the “Ali clan, one of the four Royal Houses of…

A study on the views on aging of Filipina migrants to New Zealand found that some older women have more relaxed beauty standards and still consider themselves successful in their lives. The research “Erasing/Embracing the marks of aging: Alternative discourses around beauty among Filipina migrants” by Michelle G. Ong and Virginia Braun revealed that there are counter-discourses on aging that allow women space for nonconformity with what society dictates in maintaining a “particular ideal of beauty.” Popular…

The University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno at its 106th General Commencement Exercises held June 25 at the University Amphitheater. The Doctor of Laws, honoris causa is the University’s highest academic rank and honor. It is awarded to public servants and lawyers who have contributed to international understanding, leadership and the rule of law, notes the Commission on Higher Education. Diokno is Professor Emeritus at the School of Economics where he has taught courses…

Prof. Maria Patricia V. Azanza, PhD and Prof. Casiana Blanca Villarino, PhD, both faculty members of the College of Home Economics’ Department of Food Science and Nutrition (CHE-DFSN), received accolades from the Philippine government and from a non-profit international organization, respectively. Azanza is this year’s recipient of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) 2017 Outstanding Research and Development Award for Applied Research, while Villarino received the 2017 Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Regional Professorial Chair award. A full professor at DFSN, Azanza was cited…

(JUL. 12)—There has been news going around that UP Diliman will no longer collect tuition fees this schoolyear. I need to clarify that this is a misinterpretation of our decision to suspend collection of any kind of fee during the ongoing pre-registration for the 1st semester, 2017-2018. The suspension of tuition collection is not unique to UP Diliman. Most of the other state universities and colleges (SUCs) did this as well because of the CHED tuition subsidy scheme. Under this scheme, undergraduate students will be prioritized by need and extended subsidies from a fund which for UP is P183 million for…

CRS ADVISORY posted July 12, 2017 9 a.m.: UP Diliman has suspended collection of registration fees for the first semester AY 2017-2018 pending clearer guidelines on the implementation of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Free Tuition 2017. The registration process pushes through until validation of courses but there will be no assessment and collection of fees yet. Incoming freshmen are assured of the courses they have validated during the Freshmen Advance Registration. The same assurance is given to the rest of the students once they have validated their pre-enlisted courses…

NIP Professor Jose Perico “Perry” H. Esguerra received the 2016 National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Achievement Award last March 22, 2017 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. The NRCP Achievement Award is the highest recognition bestowed by the Council on its members whose works greatly contributed to the advancement of their respective fields of expertise and responded to the needs and challenges of various industries. The citation for Dr. Esguerra’s Award is as follows: “In recognition of his contributions to the statistical mechanics…

(JUL. 6)—Prof. Evangeline C. Amor, PhD and Ma. Theresa T. Payongayong, PhD, have been appointed to head the offices of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the University Registrar, respectively. Amor, a professor at the Institute of Chemistry of the College of Science, served as University Registrar from April 2011 to April 2015. Recognized as UP Scientist I, she specializes in Natural Products and Organic Chemistry. Her research interests include isolation and structure elucidation of bioactive (analgesic, hypoglycemic, anticancer, cytotoxic, anti-diarrheal, antioxidant) compounds from Philippine…