LRC leads UPLB career trip for UP Integrated School students

UPLB hosted a career trip for 309 students from the UP Integrated School (UPIS) on February 19, 2024.

Under the banner of LRC’s Recruitment Program for the Best and the Brightest (RPBB), the event introduced Grades 9, 10, and 11 UPIS students to academic opportunities at UPLB.

Dr. Agham C. Cuevas, vice chancellor for academic affairs, on behalf of Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr., welcomed UPIS students and staff during the opening ceremony held at the Baker Memorial Hall.

Selected UPLB faculty members then introduced their respective colleges and disciplines to the students.

Dr. Butch G. Bataller, college secretary of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology, provided an overview of their undergraduate degree programs.

He listed the accreditations of their programs, including the ASEAN University Network Quality Assurance Certification and the Commission on Higher Education Center of Excellence and Center of Development Awards.

Carson Jeffrey O. Cruz, head of the Communication Division of the Department of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, discussed the importance of humanities and social sciences, the relevant skills they develop, and UPLB’s Bachelor of Arts programs. He urged UPIS students to consider the field, saying, “Today’s world demands more humanists.”

“Delivering adaptive and meaningful experiences,” an acrostic of D.A.M.E. or the Department of Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship, was the main theme of the talk of Fitz D. Jimenez, faculty member at the College of Economics and Management. He listed potential career paths for budding businessmen and entrepreneurs and expressed his hope to empower, engage, and collaborate with UPIS students as UPLB Iskolar ng Bayan.

UPLB Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janette H. Malata-Silva concluded the welcome ceremony for the UPIS students and staff, who then toured UPLB facilities and the UP Open University campus.

They explored the Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC), the Center for Agri-Fisheries and Biosystems Mechanization (BIOMECH), and the Makiling Botanic Gardens. They were shown modern engineering, agro-industrial, fisheries technologies, and the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve’s rich biodiversity.

They also visited pasalubong centers such as the UPLB One Town One Product (OTOP) Hub, and the Philippine Carabao Center’s Milka Krem.

Overall, participants gave positive feedback on the career trip because it allowed them to learn more about the programs and opportunities at UPLB. “Although the courses mostly revolve around agriculture, their versatility makes them very beneficial to many practical career paths,” a student said.

“Listening to the [speakers] enabled me to expand my horizons and [explore] possibilities for career and college [program] options,” said another student.

Institutionalized under the LRC, the RPBB aims to promote diversity among UPLB applicants and increase enrollment in UPLB, especially for its three pioneer colleges of agriculture, veterinary medicine, and forestry.

RPBB has been brought to several provinces, such as Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan in the north, Palawan in the west, and Dinagat Islands in the south post-pandemic. LRC intends to bring RPBB to more provinces this year.