The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) marked its 34th foundation anniversary on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph. A Eucharistic celebration was held at the Sancta Maria Stella Orientis Oratory on March 22 at 12:05 pm, which was followed by a program at the Telengtan Hall. The Filipino Department Chair Dr. Moreal N. Camba read an original poem entitled “Moog” composed by Assistant Professor Dr. Leodivico C. Lacsamana for the occasion. The poem may be read here.
AI in Education
“To respond to the emerging trends, it is important for us to learn how to learn,” said UA&P President Dr. Winston Conrad Padojinog in his message to the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) on March 22 in celebration of the 34th foundation anniversary of CAS with the theme “Trailblazing in the Time of AI.”
“Three things are necessary,” he continued. “First, self-knowledge and self-learning grounded on holistic formation. Second, the ability to integrate the digital world in harnessing our knowledge and in developing our capacity to relate with others. Third, the ability to always reimagine the learning landscape.”
With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly ChatGPT, in the education setting, the message of Dr. Padojinog cannot be truer. Dr. Joachim Emilio Antonio, who gave a brief talk after the University President, encouraged his fellow educators to focus on the role of the academe in the dawn of AI instead of on the fear of how AI influences the education of the young. Considered the resident expert of ChatGPT in CAS, Dr. Antonio explained that since much about AI and ChatGPT is still unknown, the most reliable way of understanding it is by using it extensively.
“We need to learn how to use it (ChatGPT) ourselves and teach students how we use it, especially in the context of our respective fields of expertise. Inconvenient, yes. Hassle, yes. That is the price of blazing trails: we do not stop at the ones that have already been found. We have to build the trails ourselves.” – Dr. Joem Antonio
3rd CAS Bahandi Awards
Another highlight of this year’s celebration was the CAS Bahandi Awards, a CAS internal award to honor selected faculty members and administrative staff for their outstanding achievement/s in various areas.
Following are this year’s recipients of the CAS Bahandi Awards:
The award is in grateful recognition of her achievements as a Professor for the past 30 years.
The award is in grateful recognition of her achievement as Project Proponent and Head of the CAS Waste Management Project (CAS’ extension and community outreach), which was implemented for UA&P’s partner community, Barangay Pineda in Pasig City.
The award is in grateful recognition of her trailblazing achievements as JC Program Director for the last six years.
Recent faculty achievements
Highlighted also in the celebration were the contributions of CAS faculty in the areas of faculty exchange, networking, teaching, and research:
Dr. Philip Samuel Z. Peckson is part of a regional research group awarded a grant from the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) under the program “Walking as a mode of transport.” VREF is an independent foundation that inspires, initiates, and supports research and educational activities that can contribute to new knowledge on broad issues related to urban mobility and access.
Dr. Laya B. Gonzales and Mr. Arthur Joseph I. Vito Cruz, both from the Department of Arts, are this year’s UA&P faculty grantees of the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) Programme with Universidad de Cordoba (UCO), Spain. The ICM Programme supports the mobility of individuals enrolled or employed at a higher education institution, from a programme country to a partner country or vice versa. It also aims to promote the sustainable development of its partners in the field of higher education such as UCO and UA&P.
By Ms. Agnes Clarizza S. Enriquez, CAS OpCom Secretary.
Posters and photos by Ms. Carie Anne Feria.
Banner photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash.
Great article. Thanks for sharing it!