Tarlac State University’s key officials, deans, and directors, along with representatives from the various planning and development offices of Tarlac Province’s local government units attended the first two-day international hybrid training and workshop on AITECH on Tuesday (May 21) at the Alumni Center in Lucinda Campus.
Titled “Advanced Innovation and Technology for Smart Sustainable Cities and Communities,” the event aims to foster a culture of innovation and impact-driven collaboration among scholars, public administrators, and other societal stakeholders.
The Center for Engineering and Environmental Research, the Center for Solar and Emerging Technologies, and the Center for Community and Local Governance Studies and Policy Development from the Office of the Vice President for Research Development and Extension organized the training-workshop, which comprises interactive lectures, workshops, and practical skills training to develop smart, sustainable, technology-driven research activities, planning management, and office processes.
The sessions on the first day, spearheaded by Dr. Michael Lochinvar Sim Abundo, Research and Development Programme Integration Manager of Saab-NTU Joint Lab at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, covered topics such as SDG indicators, the theory of change framework, gap analysis, and road mapping.
After the lecture, Dr. Abundo instructed the participants to create an output presenting their proposed vision, mission, identity, goals, and SOAR analysis, as well as their plans and programs aligned with the SDGs for their respective offices. Representatives from the different offices then presented their outputs, which were critiqued by the speaker.
In his closing message, Dr. Abundo shared a quote from the film Lorax, and urged the participants to find their passion to create an impact in the world.
"'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better.' Find that particular impact [in your life] and have a little bit of contribution to the world. Kahit isang katiting lang na patak, it's already so meaningful if you put your heart [into it]," he said.
Presentations from other offices and lecture sessions will resume tomorrow.
