Five new scholars funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, together with four regular SEARCA scholars who started their studies in November 2013, attended the second semester orientation on 6 December 2013 at SEARCA Sam Arng Room. The orientation program is a semestral activity of the Graduate Scholarship Department (GSD) and provides the venue for new scholars to familiarize themselves and be oriented with the policies and guidelines concerning the administration and management of the SEARCA and IDRC scholarship.
Dr. Virginia R. Cardenas, SEARCA Deputy Director for Administration, gave the welcome message to the new scholars. She reminded the new scholars to study hard and wished them a fruitful stay in UPLB. Ms. Zacyl R. Jalotjot, Program Specialist of GSD, facilitated the orientation. The open forum provided the opportunity to accommodate questions and clarifications regarding scholarship administration from the new scholars.
The five new IDRC scholars are the last batch of scholars that belong to the first cohort of 33 scholarships funded by IDRC under IDRC-SEARCA Southeast Asian Upland Agriculture Fellowship Project that started in March 2012 and intended for nationals of Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Researches of these IDRC scholars, who are studying at University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Kasestart University (KU), Khon Khaen University (KKU), and Chiang Mai University in Thailand, are focused on agriculture and food security in the uplands. (Jachin Jane Aberilla)
