Wednesday, August 5, 2015

IRRI welcomes UPLB College of Agriculture freshmen


The University of the Philippines Los BaƱos College of Agriculture (UPLB-CA) held an orientation for UPLB-CA freshmen and their parents on Sunday, 2 August 2015. This included a guided tour of the IRRI headquarters (HQ) facilities, which was made possible through partnership efforts led by the newly appointed UPLB-CA dean, Dr. Enrico P. Supangco, and IRRI Deputy Director General for Communication and Partnerships, Dr. Bruce J. Tolentino.

The orientation was well attended by around 300 BS Agriculture, BS Agricultural Biotechnology, and BS Food Technology freshmen and their parents. The morning program at the UPLB Baker Hall intended to motivate future scientists and agricultural technology enthusiasts through the inspiring messages delivered by the dean and directors of the UPLB-CA clusters, and other academicians and scientists. Guidelines and assistance programs offered by CA and UPLB were also discussed. The UPLB-CA research clusters and academic organizations had their booths set up in Baker Hall, including those of other research institutions around the campus and some from the private sector. The IRRI booth was  set up by staff members of IRRI’s Events and Visitors Office (EVO) and manned by members of the IRRI Filipino Scientists Association (IFSA). These booths served to promote future career opportunities in the field of agriculture.

The guided bleacher tour of the IRRI HQ facilities was done in the afternoon, in which IFSA members served as guides for the students, parents, and some members of the CA faculty. The tour kicked off at the Long-Term Continuous Cropping Experiment plots, followed by IRRI’s research buildings, screenhouses, salinity-submergence plots, pure breed variety plots, and finally, the IRRI Riceworld Museum.

UPLB has always been a strong partner of IRRI in its research mission. It not only hosts IRRI’s headquarters, but also provides a steady and reliable stream of scientists and scientific training since 1960, when the Institute was founded.

To read more about IRRI and UPLB collaborative projects and partnerships, visit http://irri.org/our-work/locations/uplb.

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