Curriculum Matters

The newly revised master’s and doctoral curricula of the Sustainable Development Studies (SDS) programs were approved by BOR (#143  Series of 22) last  June 13, 2022.  The program has two options: the academic track with publication requirement and the professional track with capstone   for the master’s and  practice-based dissertation  for the  doctoral level.  SDS  is now offering a new track-  Peace and Conflict Transformation (PCT) as the 7th specialization area of the program.

The Master in Data Science (MDS) program   was approved  by BOR on July 12, 2022.  However,  its implementation started a year after, particularly  during the first semester , SY 2020-2023.

CMS Initiated the Hosting of  Two Visiting  Professors

For 2022, the  Center for Multidisciplinary Studies and  the College of Arts and Social Sciences  jointly sponsored two visiting professors from the  University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hiroshima University, Japan. The details of their activities while in the campus are outlined below.

Professional Lecturer from University of Hawaii at Manoa

Dr. Federico V. Magdalena   delivered a professional lecture on “Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement and the Bangsamoro in Southern Philippines” last May 20, 2022  at the College of Arts and Social Sciences (New Building).  He is a visiting professor from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) and is instrumental in forging  a number of  formal partnerships between MSU-IIT and his university.  Currently, MSU-IIT and UHM are jointly   engaged in the online delivery of the class regularly offered in UHM on  Peace Processes in Mindanao and the Pacific (ASANPACE 407)  every First/Fall  semester   together with Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

Visiting Professor from Hiroshima University, Japan

Last December 5-18,  2022, we were proud  to sponsor a female visiting professor from Hiroshima University, Japan-- Dr. Dahlia Simangan. She is   an Associate Professor (tenure-track) at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her position supports the research activities of the university’s Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS). She also contributes to the teaching activities of the International Peace and Coexistence Program of the School. She is in charge of three graduate courses: Global Governance, United Nations Peace Missions, and Peace, Conflict, and the Environment.

Simultaneous with her visit to us, she  did her fieldwork in Marawi City in relation to her research project funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science with a title “Urban Sites of Peace and Conflict in Marawi City, Philippines: Another Brick in the Wall?”.

While she was at the campus, she delivered a public lecture on” How to Publish?: Trends and Opportunities” for the faculty members  and graduate students at CASS and SDS  and online participants via zoom.  She also took the opportunity to launch her book “ International Peacebuilding and local Involvement:  A Liberal Renaissance? at the Learning Commons at CASS.

While she stayed with us, she had a  series of  consultations   with the graduate students of CASS and SDS for their research topics/interests related to  their thesis/dissertation.  She also  offered  technical and practical tips in doing their research and  having their works published.

Engagements with International and National Program Partners

MSU-IIT  has an existing MOU with the Southeast Asian University Partnership for Peacebuilding (SAUP), a  regional program of the Zivilen Friedensdienst (ZFD) der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit’s (GIZ’s) Civil Peace Service (CPS) and the Center for Conflict Studies of Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. SAUP supports the SDS-Peace and Conflict Transformation (SDS-PCT) Program in its  program delivery through  its participation in  the learning resource materials development, online and printed library collection enhancement,  scholarship of  foreign students  who are part of  the SAUP program and capacity building of   core faculty teaching in the SDS-PCT track.

By  February of 2023, 6 Asian students coming from  Cambodia and  Timor Leste   will be   enrolling in the SDS-PCT program through SAUP scholarship grants.  Also,  to enhance the capability of faculty teaching in the SDS-PCT track, 2 faculty from CASS, Dr. Maria Pia  M. Sison and Asso. Prof. Yasmira P. Moner were selected by Marburg University to grab the 4-month training course on peace and conflict transformation through the Erasmus  program. 

Moreover, series of capacity building  activities  have  also  been sponsored by SAUP to enhance the competencies  of faculty members engaged in  peacebuilding and conflict transformation  practice. Last  September 11-18, 2022, Dr. Mark Anthony J. Torres, Dr. Marilou Siton  Nanaman, Ms. Yasmira P. Moner, Dr. Sulpecia L. Ponce, Dr. Maria Pia M. Sison, Dr. Elaine M. Baulete, and Cesar G. Demayo   went to Phnom Penh, Cambodia  to attend the Regional Conference on Transitional Justice organized by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ)  and SAUP. The conference exposed the attendees about  negotiation skills,  sharing of experiences in transitional justice, field exposures on  Cambodia’s genocide museum and other pedagogical tools to teach peace/conflict.

The Philippine APEC Study Center Network (PASCN)

PASCN is our university partner in promoting research and development as well as in providing scholarship grants to students. The Sustainable Development Studies program being hosted by  CMS has two doctoral students  with approved dissertation grants from PASCN. Last May  17, 2022,  the Philippine Institute of Development Studies ( PIDS)  in partnership with the Foreign Service Institute (FSI)  held its first online session of Philippine APEC Study Center Network (PASCN) Annual Symposium on “Circular Economy in the Philippines and APEC: Perspectives, Experiences, and Pathways”. The symposium is one of PASCN’s information dissemination programs where researchers can present key findings of their studies and solicit comments from various stakeholders relevant to the APEC theme for the year. The CMS Acting Director served as the  Session 1 moderator   under the theme:  Philippine Perspective,  Experiences, and Pathways.

UP-CIFAL Philippines

The University of the Philippines-Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders (UP-CIFAL) Philippines in partnership with the UP College of Education (UP CEd) and the Quezon City Education Affairs Unit (QCEAU) organized  an orientation on 

Sustainable Development Goals for Higher Education to highlight Goal 4: Quality 

Education. The orientation highlighted the HEIs experiences as well as integration of SDGs in implementing and promoting the 17 SDGs in research, curriculum and classes, organizational governance structures, and community engagement activities. The orientation also  attempted to build on future university level multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral efforts toward SDG integration in the key functions of the university.

The CMS Acting Director was invited  to share MSU-IIT’s experiences regarding our best practices in integrating SDGs in  our curriculum, research, extension, organizational processes and directions.  She delivered a recorded input on Sustainable Development Studies Program:  Opportunities, Challenges and Ways Forward.  The input was well received by the participants who were also thinking  of  similar ways to integrate the SDGs in their institutional practices.

Students’ International/National  Paper Presentations

There were two doctoral students who presented  their papers in Indonesia last August 10-11, 2022. Another 3 doctoral students also did the same  in the  Philippine Political Science Association ( PPSA) Conference  last November 22-24,  2022 in Cebu City.  The titles of their papers and corresponding presenters are shown below: 

Conference Title: International Conference on Rural Socio-Economic Transformation:  A Transdisciplinary Approach for Promoting, Sustainable, Resilient,  and Just Rural Transitions in the Era of Climate Crisis. August 10-11, 2022. Via Zoom Video Communications, Inc.

• Community-based Agro-ecotourism for Integrated Sustainable Farming  system: The Case of  Barangay  Lantud, Talakag, Bukidnon (Jerelyn B. Medalla)

• From Arms to Farms: A Case Study of a Community-Based Sustainable agriculture in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte (Grace M. Taruc)

Conference Title: 2022 PSPA International Conference 

 Theme: "Bringing Back Equity and Ethics in Philippine Public Administration and Governance: A Public Sector Reform Agenda for the New Administration"

November 22-24, 2022 at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Zoom Video Communications, Inc 

• Sustainability Assessment of the Katipunan ng Liping Filipina (KALIPI) Program Implementation in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City

• Early Recovery Situation of women Survivors of the  Marawi Siege in a Temporary Settlement: Gearing Towards a Gender Responsive Community Development Framework ( Leamen  L. Lucman)

• Participation of Women Beneficiaries in KALAHI-CIDSS Program Towards Empowerment (Jhona D. Landong)

Community Extension/Outreach Activities

After the Water Dialogue in Iligan City held  last August 25-26, 2022, the  CMS Extension team conducted  a community consultation in Barangay Luinab, Iligan City for a possible extension project of the Center. Luinab is one of the barangays in the city that has very  serious water problem. The extension project proposal    has been forwarded to OVCRE for  possible funding support for 2023.

CMS Extending   Support  to the Orphan Girls in Baloi

CMS conducted an Outreach Activity to at least 30 orphans at Darul Yateemat Lietahfiedhil Qur-Anil Kareem, Inc. ( Home for the Orphan Girls) in Baloi, Lanao del Norte..  Together with Dr. Marilou Nanaman  (SDS Faculty) and CMS Interns  from the Sociology Department, the group donated  food items to the  beneficiaries last November 20, 2022. The  orphanage  has been managed by Ms. Cairon Ali, our alumna from the Political Science Department.  She articulated  that to be admitted to the Home, the applicant  must be  a girl,  at least orphaned to a father,  poor,  and passed the  interview that she  conducted. The orphanage has been  in existence  for more than 2 years. There is also a separate orphanage for the boys located in Barangay Pacalundo in the same municipality.

CMS Strategic Planning Activity

The faculty of SDS, Data Science, Environmental Science and the former OGS Director Dr. Candidato,  gathered together to craft the direction of CMS last August  5-7, 2022 at Cagayan de Oro City. The output was significant in framing   the  vision , short term an long term goals of the  Center.

CMS Program Campaign

In order to reach possible enrollees of the programs hosted by CMS,  selected faculty members of SDS and PCT embarked on a program campaign caravan last December 19, 2022 in Lanao del Norte. The campaign  was conducted  in the offices of the  government, non-government organizations and the military infantry battalion  assigned in the Lanao del Norte area. As a result, it was decided by the team  that in order to attract more military personnel to enroll in the SDS-PCT program,   a strategy has to be made. There must be a need to meet  the appropriate office in the military bureaucracy in Manila to enlist the SDS program of MSU-IIT  as one of the  programs to be included in the portfolio of  military  scholarships  available, especially in Mindanao.