Part of Pangasinan State University’s awareness campaign towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is the roll-out of the SDG and Futures Regional Caravan held on June 10 at the Main Campus Convention Hall.
The University’s partner institution, the Development Academy of the Philippines – Graduate School of Public and Development (DAP-GSPDM) collaborated with PSU and the Pangasinan province to amplify their research efforts’ impact and disseminate their research findings and initiative with the PSU community.
Vice President for Academics and Student Affairs Dr. Manolito C. Manuel, who represented University President Dr. Elbert M. Galas, said PSU extends its heartfelt gratitude to DAP for choosing PSU to be one of the hosts of the meaningful endeavor.
“We believe that by coming together and leveraging the futures thinking framework, we could explore innovative ways to address and achieve the SDGs,” Dr. Manuel said.
The Vice President also highlighted the humble efforts of PSU in contributing towards the achievement of SDGs in instruction, research and extension with the special mention of PSU being newly ranked in the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2024 along with 2,152 universities from 12 countries as well as obtaining impressive ranks in the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) 2024.
The Caravan’s plenary sessions comprised of insightful discussions from Research Fellows of DAP-GSPDM. They are Dr. Ruperto Sangalang (Futures of Philippine Rice Security: Scenario Building); Dr. Mario Aguja, (Ligawasan Marsh: Developing Context-Specific Process of Futures Thinking: The Use of Bitala in Crafting Futures Scenario of the Ligwasan Marsh Communities); Prof. Eric Daniel De Torres (Local Government Autonomy Index: Analyzing the Governance Impact of Further Devolution in the Philippines as a result of Mandanas vs. Ochoa, Jr.); and Dr. Alex Brillantes, Jr. (SDGs in the Philippines: Incorporating the SDGs in HEI Curricula and Capacity Building Programs for LGUs)
Incidentally Dr. Sangalang and Dr. Brillantes were former members of the PSU Board of Regents.
Providing the synthesis and closing remarks of the activity is the supervising fellow of DAP GSPDM and also a PSU Consultant Dr. Olivia Z. Domingo.
Winners of the ‘Best SDG Corner’ university-wide contest were also awarded during the event (read separate story)
After the program, the DAP officials paid a courtesy visit to the Provincial Government of Pangasinan being led by Governor Ramon “Mon-Mon’ Guico III. The group was met by Atty. Raymund Bautista, the Head of the Economics and Investment Office. They then proceeded to LGU Binmaley where they were welcomed by Mayor Pete A. Merrera.
In the face of volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, PSU remains steadfast in its commitment to steering toward a sustainable future. It strives to build a future that is not only secure and prosperous but also ensures the well-being of our planet and inhabitants.
