PSHS System’s Science Research Summit (SRS) 2018 opened in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on September 28, 2018. Prior to the formal opening in the afternoon, the scholars and teachers were oriented about house rules, events, and expectations in the summit at Skylight Convention Center.
A total of 308 PSHS scholars arrived in Palawan for this research summit, coming from the different 16 PSHS campuses around the country. Nineteen (19) of these scholars came to perform during the opening ceremony and socials night. The four youngest campuses that were established in the last four years (Caraga, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and Zamboanga campuses) sent scholars as observers. As newly-established campuses, the scholars from these campuses just started their research or haven’t taken the research subject yet, which is given in Grades 10-12.
Opening Ceremony
Skylight Convention Center, September 28, 2018, 1:30 P.M. — DOST Undersecretary for Scientific and Technical Services Dr. Carol M. Yorobe and PSHS System Executive Director Lilia T. Habacon graced the summit and welcomed all delegates, guests, participants, and organizers to this 4-day PSHS’ official event in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Photo above (left to right): Exec. Dir. Habacon, Mrs. Foon, Dr. Foon of Nanyang Polytechnic International Singapore, and Dr. Yorobe.
Hillary Diane A. Andales, PSHS Eastern Visayas Campus alumna batch 2018 and winner of Breakthrough Junior Challenge 2017, shared her inspiring journey to winning in this prestigious international competition. Hillary topped 3,200 video entries from 178 countries in the recent Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
Dr. Foong Tse Foon, Chief Executive Officer in Nanyang Polytechnic International Singapore, discussed about brain drain, developing talents, and journey to success by facing adversities and finding meaning to life.
Mr. Paul Ernest N. De Leon, Chief of Research and Development Management Division of DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, introduced the Harmonized National Research and Development Agenda (HNRDA) of DOST which integrates the research and development efforts of various sectors. Mr. De Leon mentioned that HNRDA is aligned to the DOST’s mandate of providing central direction, leadership, and coordination of the scientific and technological efforts in the country
Meanwhile, a press conference was simultaneously held during the latter part of the program to inform the Media about the ongoing science research summit in Palawan. PSHS leaders encouraged the public, particularly the kids, to come to the Community Fair on Sunday, Sept. 30 and see the various researches of PSHS scholars from around the country. The press conference was also an avenue for the PSHS System to promote PSHS MIMAROPA Region Campus (MRC) to the residents of Palawan. Mandated by law to establish one campus in every region of the country, the PSHS System brings the PSHS brand of excellence to MIMAROPA region through the establishment of MRC.
Team Building and Socials
After the opening ceremony, the student-participants stayed in the convention center for the team building activities. Mr. Ed Herpert D. Briones of PSHS System-Office of the Executive Director (OED) facilitated the activities that aimed to foster teamwork and build camaraderie among students.
In the evening, during the socials night, scholars from 10 PSHS campuses showcased their talents in various art forms such as singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, etcetera. These 10 campuses are: Bicol Region Campus, Central Luzon Campus, Zamboanga Peninsula Region Campus, Cordillera Administrative Region Campus, Caraga Region Campus, Central Visayas Campus, MIMAROPA Region Campus, CALABARZON Region Campus, Southern Mindanao Campus, and Eastern Visayas Campus. All students brought local goodies from their respective regions and shared it with everyone in the event.
G.L.O.B.E. Training and Research Presentation
Skylight Convention Center, September 29, 2018 — In the morning, PSHS scholars stood by their respective research posters that were set-up at the lobby. The judges roamed around the research posters, and posed questions to the researchers.
Simultaneously, the G.L.O.B.E. Zika Mosquito Protocol Training for Teachers was ongoing inside the convention center. G.L.O.B.E. stands for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, an international program that promotes science education to the communities. PSHS System Deputy Executive Director Dr. Rod Allan A. De Lara spearheaded this one day activity, attended by about 33 PSHS teachers from around the country and 31 public school teachers in Palawan.
Mr. Wilfred Aure of the Department of Health’s Research Institute of Tropical Medicine discussed about mosquitoes as vectors of diseases while three G.L.O.B.E. trainers (PSHS teachers) facilitated the training.
In the afternoon, the research presentations were clustered by subject area. Four locations in the city were determined as venues of the simultaneous research presentations:
- Skylight Hotel – Environmental Science and Biology
- Sunlight Hotel – Engineering and Computational Science
- Fersal Hotel – Material Science
- Skylight Convention Center – Chemistry clusters A and B
Twenty-nine (29) DepEd students participated as observers during the research presentations. Sixty-two researches were presented on this day and critiqued by the judges:
| Biology | 10 | |
| Judges: | Dr. Marie Christine M. Obusan, Dr. Marian P. De Leon, and Dr. John Donnie A. Ramos | |
| Facilitator: | Dr. Jessamyn Marie O. Yazon | |
| Chemistry A | 10 | |
| Judges: | Dr. Ramon S. Del Fierro, Dr. Mario A. Tan, and Dr. Irene M. Villaseñor | |
| Facilitator: | Mr. Ed Herpert D. Briones | |
| Chemistry B | 11 | |
| Judges: | Dr. Agnes T. Aranas, Dr. Gladys J. Completo, and Dr. Ramon R. Miranda | |
| Facilitator: | Dr. Dahlia C. Apodaca | |
| Computational Science | 7 | |
| Judges: | Dr. Arnulfo P. Azcarraga, Dr. Rogel Mari C. Sese, and Dr. John Paul C. Vergara | |
| Facilitator: | Mr. Joseph Tabadero, Jr | |
| Engineering | 7 | |
| Judges: | Mr. Mario Carreon, Dr. Elmer P. Dadios, and Mr. Mark Christian E. Manuel | |
| Facilitator: | Mr. Mark John V. Ayaay | |
| Environmental Science | 5 | |
| Judges: | Dr. Nonillon M. Aspe, Dr. Loucel E. Cui, and Dr. Perry S. Ong | |
| Facilitator: | Mr. Jason Alcarez | |
| Material Science | 12 | |
| Judges: | Dr. Drexel H. Camacho, Dr. Arnold C. Alguno, and Dr. Terence P. Tumolva | |
| Facilitator: | Ms. Jerine A. Dasallas | |
| 62 |
Community Fair
Skylight Convention Center, September 30, 2018 — Two weeks before this research summit, the PSHS System-OED sent out invitations to Department of Education (DepEd) schools to come to the SRS 2018 Community Fair in Palawan, an activity open to the public where research works of PSHS scholars will be exhibited. The PSHS scholars will be standing by their researches, ready to discuss to the visitors and answer questions. Official Press Release was also posted on the official website and social media accounts of PSHS System, and disseminated to DOST-Science and Technology Information Institute (STII) and various local media in Palawan.
Sixty (60) DepEd teachers and 300 students came to this one-day fair. The DOST-STII conducted random interviews to the visitors to get their feedback about the fair:
“First of all, nagpapasalamat po yung Palawan tsaka yung Puerto Princesa lalo na yung mga DepEd schools na dinalaw nyo kami dito for this kind of event kasi napakaganda, napaka interesting lalo na sa mga estudyante. Ngayon sa mga teachers na tulad ko na bago at ngayon pa lang din naka-attend ng ganitong event, very fruitful yung experience kasi as a teacher… lalo na pag nagtuturo tayo sa research at sa science.”
— Jay-r Valdez – Teacher, Palawan National High School
“Kasi kagaya po ng ginagawa namin sa school, meron po kaming playstation sa science namin so ginagawa po namin differentiated instruction pero ito po napakaganda kasi yung mga kasing level din nila, mga estudyante rin po nagtuturo, so napakagandang avenue po para sa mga bata, so iba’t ibang experiences po yung pwedeng ibigay po sa mga bata.”
— Felix Nero – Teacher, Gregorio Oquendo Memorial School
Closing Ceremony
During late afternoon, around 5:00 P.M., all student-participants, teachers, organizing committee and campus directors were gathered at the convention center for the closing ceremony.
Two videos were presented that showed the highlights of the SRS 2018 from the opening ceremony to the community fair. Another video was shown featuring footages of the preparation and set-up made by the Organizing Committee, two days before the formal opening of this research summit.
PSHS System Executive Director Lilia T. Habacon went to the stage to congratulate everyone for a job well done, to the scholars who shared their knowledge to the benefit of the community and to the organizers who dedicated their time and effort in ensuring the successful conduct of this research summit. Afterwards, the SRS 2018 awardees were announced and acknowledged on stage:
A. Top In-Category, Gold Medal
Biology
Research title: Diversity and Antioxidant Activity of Seagrass Fungal Endophytes (Eastern Visayas Campus)
Chemistry
Research title: Replacing L-Amino Acid with D-Amino Acid Residues on an Ultrashort Cationic Lipopeptide to Improve Antimicrobial Activity (Main Campus)
Computational Sciences
Research title: Automated Text Summarization of Research Papers Regarding the Effectiveness of Various Treatment Plans for Leukemia (Main Campus)
Engineering
Research title: REDetect: Automated Saltwater Quality Monitor for Harmful Algal Blooms Detection (Bicol Region Campus)
Environmental Science
Research title: Reproduction Inhibition Potential of Calamansi Ethanolic Seeds and Peelings Extracts Against Green Bottle Blowfly (Central Visayas Campus)
Material Science
Research title: Synthesis of Activated Carbon/Chitosan Composites and Expanded Graphite for Symmetric Solid-State Supercapacitor (Central Luzon Campus)
B. Grand Awards
Fourth Grand Award, Small Bronze
Research title: Nanocellulose from Pineapple Leaf Fiber Cross-Linked with Chitosan from Shrimp and Crab Exoskeleton as Hydrogel Composites for In Vitro Drug Release of Metformin Hydrochloride (Southern Mindanao Campus)
Research title: Nanocellulose from Pineapple Leaf Fiber Cross-Linked with Chitosan from Shrimp and Crab Exoskeleton as Hydrogel Composites for In Vitro Drug Release of Metformin Hydrochloride (Southern Mindanao Campus)
Third Grand Award, Bronze
Research title: QSAR Study for DENV-Selective Competitive NS2B/NS3pro Inhibitors (Main Campus)
Research title: Synthesis of Activated Carbon/Chitosan Composites and Expanded Graphite for Symmetric Solid-State Supercapacitor (Central Luzon Campus)
Second Grand Award, Silver
Research title: Absorption of Hexavalent Chromium Using Coffee Husks in Simulated Chrome Water (Ilocos Region Campus)
First Grand Award, Gold
Research title: Reproduction Inhibition Potential of Calamansi Ethanolic Seeds and Peelings Extracts Against Green Bottle Blowfly (Central Visayas Campus)
Research title: Diversity and Antioxidant Activity of Seagrass Fungal Endophytes (Eastern Visayas Campus)
Research title: Radiation Shielding Property of Lagaw Scales Against Gamma Rays (Central Visayas Campus)
Research title: Replacing L-Amino Acid with D-Amino Acid Residues on an Ultrashort Cationic Lipopeptide to Improve Antomicrobial Activity (Main Campus)
Educational Trip
About 80 kilometers from Skylight Convention Center, the student-participants, teacher-chaperones, and organizers travelled by land to Binduyan Marine Research Station can be found. It took them about two hours to reach this destination, which is under the Western Philippines University’s College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
Student-participants were divided into two groups, in terms of schedule of visit to Binduyan: Morning and Afternoon.
Upon arrival, they were oriented about this research station, its objectives and operations. The Abalone, a sea snail that can be found in Palawan seas, is cultured at this station for research and to maintain/ increase production. The students were toured around the station where they saw live abalones from a few weeks old to adult size.
(Armi Flor Santos, Information Officer)