The Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Development (OVCRD) of UP Diliman invites everyone to its first major event for 2012, the Paliwanagan sa UP Diliman â€“ OVCRD Colloquium 2012. It will be held on 16 January 2012, 8 AM-5PM, at the National Institute of Physics Auditorium, National Science Complex, UP Diliman.

The Colloquium aims to: 1) showcase OVCRD-funded research and development (R&D) projects, programs, and initiatives, 2) discuss available institutional support to UPD researchers and creative workers, 3) acquaint UPD constituents about research and creative work initiatives of their colleagues in other UPD units, and 4) highlight the complete R&D cycle from proposal writing through intellectual property (IP) creation and invention, to IP dissemination and utilization.

Twenty-five OVCRD-supported R&D initiatives will be presented during the Colloquium. Six of these initiatives are completed or ongoing interdisciplinary researches or creative works under the Open Grants program, while 19 are new initiatives under the Source of Solutions Grants (SOS) program. The SOS Grants is a new program launched to encourage researches and creative works addressing pressing problems of/in UP Diliman. In addition, there will be a presentation of the accomplishments of the 10-year program of the CHED-UPD Zonal Research Center. There will also be a parallel event to the Colloquium, featuring OVCRD information booths, UP Diliman publications, and information about UPD’s research partners. (Details of the Colloquium Programme can be found here.)

The event’s theme, Paliwanagan, takes off from colloquium’s literal meaning, i.e. a conversation or dialogue. Paliwanagan sa UP Diliman, therefore, is envisioned as a platform for dialogue among UP Diliman researchers and creative workers, a dialogue that is to be conducted in the spirit of exchange and understanding. As such, the Colloquium sessions have been designed as a venue for sharing research information, experiences and insights between the presenters and the attendees. The parallel event provides a glimpse into the broader context of the R&D process, in terms of various forms of institutional support and other opportunities available to UPD researchers and creative workers. Through the sessions and the parallel event, the OVCRD hopes that the UP Diliman community will gain a better understanding of how R&D progresses in the campus, leading to a sharing of inputs on how a responsive, proactive and dynamic R&D program can better be achieved in UP Diliman, making the University a source of solutions for the problems besetting the country.

To participate in this event, please pre-register by email (lj.novio@gmail.com) by 11 January 2012. Please provide your: a) name, b) sector (e.g., faculty, REPS, graduate student, undergraduate student, etc.), c) affiliation (e.g., College/Unit and Department), and d) for graduate students, your degree program and faculty adviser. For more information, please call (632) 927-2568/436-8720/981-8500 local 4048 or email rduo.ovcrd@up.edu.ph. Colloquium updates are also posted on the OVCRD’s website.