CSU Teams Up with UTM in STEM

CSU signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Johor, Malaysia to work together in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

On July 13-18, 2019, a party composed of eight faculty-researchers from the various programs led by Dr. Rolando N. Paluga, Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), and Dr. Rowena P. Varela, Vice President for Research Innovation and Extension (VPRIE), visited the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as part of the effort to internationalize CSU's programs.

The CSU party was met by Prof. Dr. Abdull Rahim Mohd Yusoff, the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Prof. Dr. Fadhilah Yusof, Department of Mathematics Chairperson, and the rest of the management committee of the Faculty of Science.

The CSU team had a 2-hour meeting with the officials of the Faculty of Science to discuss the areas of collaboration which centered on co-organizing of international scientific conferences, collaborative research and joint authorship, student mobility, and faculty exchange including serving as external thesis advisers.

A seminar on Copula Applications was put together by the Departments of Mathematics og UTM and CSU. Both CSU and UTM presented three papers each. From CSU, Dr. Paluga presented the areas where both parties can work together relative to Copula Applications; Dr. Varela talked about the application of copula in population studies for ecosystem restoration; and Dr. Jayrold Arcede discussed about a method on how to construct a copula. The UTM, presented papers from their current research in applying copula, to understanding climate change phenomena towards finding science-based mitigation and adaptation.

Moreover, the CSU team also joined the 7th International Conference and Workshop on Basic and Applied Sciences (ICOWOBAS 2019). The ICOWOBAS is an offshoot of the international collaboration between UTM Faculty of Science and counterparts from universities in Indonesia, Iran and other countries.

The CSU team presented eight technical papers from various sciences: mathematics, agricultural science, marine science, environmental management, information system, artificial intelligence, and geographic information system. These were presented by Dr. Jayrold Arcede (as an invited speaker), Dr. Rowena P. Varela (as an invited speaker), Dr. Romell Seronay, Ms. Karen Burdeos, Mr. Joseph Vistal, Engr. Rodulf Joshua Candare, and Engr. Arnold Apdohan, respectively.

The active participation of CSU in the ICOWOBAS and the camaraderie formed between the CSU party and UTM's Faculty of Science officials during the seminar and partnership meeting led to the identification of CSU to host the next ICOWOBAS in 2021.

Additonally, the CSU team managed to have short meetings to collaborate with the UTM-Center of Industrial and Applied Mathematics for several key projects of CSU. However, the discussion focused on CSU's Niche Centers in the Region (NICER) Program in Industrial Tree Plantation Species and Dr. Seronay's Clam project. The academic visit at the UTM was very productive, and has widened CSU's horizon in promoting internationalization to contribute in attaining its vision and mission. RPV/pico