After being rescheduled twice due to inclement weather, Salindiwa, the first National Service Training Program (NSTP) UP Diliman (UPD) Faculty Symposium, finally pushed through.
NSTP faculty and coordinators from UPD and other UP campuses, as well as students from UPD, gathered for the whole-day symposium last October 13.
Officer-in-Charge Olivia Alma G. Sicam said the symposium served as an avenue for exchanging experiences and as an inspiration to the entire NSTP community in UPD.
In her letter to UPDate Online, Sicam noted that the presentations at the symposium focused on “pedagogical innovations, community engagement, and insights aimed at enhancing NSTP implementations [as] the event aims to foster collaboration and advance the university’s civic mission.”
For his part, UP Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II said NSTP cultivates in every UPD student the desire to embody the University’s ideals of honor, excellence, and service.
“Sa pamamagitan ng NSTP, nalilinang ang mandato ng ating Unibersidad na makaambag sa iba’t ibang aspekto ng pagpapaunlad ng ating bansa. Dahil dito, ang ating mga mag-aaral ay nagiging responsable at mapagmalasakit na mamamayan ng kani-kanilang komunidad at ng buong kapuluan,” Vistan said.
In the program the organizers shared with UPDate Online, presentations were divided into six sessions: three in the morning and three in the afternoon.
In the morning session, 13 presentations were grouped under three topics. Five were under Transforming Teaching: Innovative Pedagogical Strategies and Effective NSTP Implementation, while the remaining eight were evenly split between Cultural and Environmental Heritage: Arts, Tourism, and Resilience and Civic Learning in Action: Strengthening Public Health and Wellbeing.
Meanwhile, 14 presentations in the afternoon were also distributed into three topics. Sustainable Communities: Infrastructure and Environmental Initiatives and Program to Partnership: Strengthening NSTP Project Implementation through Collaborative Approaches had five presentations each, while Integrating Art, Technology, and Health in Community Service covered the rest of the presentations.
Also present at Salindiwa were UP President Angelo A. Jimenez, who delivered an inspirational message; UPD Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Maria Vanessa Lusung-Oyzon; University Librarian Elvira B. Lapuz; and Roberto “Ka Dodoy” Ballon, the recipient of the 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award, who delivered his keynote speech via Zoom.
Salindiwa was held on Oct. 13 at the David M. Consunji Theater of the UPD Institute of Civil Engineering Building.