All smiles for the first virtual IAS Stakeholder Consultation Meeting with Employers. Photo courtesy of KZG Lavadia

The Institute of Animal Science (IAS) spearheaded the 2021 BS Agriculture major in Animal Science (BSA ANSC) Stakeholder Consultation Meeting with Employers last December 9 via video conferencing.

Attended by 21 individuals from various local, foreign, government, and industry partners, the meeting aimed to solicit information from employers regarding their evaluation of the performance of BSA ANSC graduates. Their feedback will be useful for the continuous improvement of the BSA ANSC program.

In his welcome message, CAFS Dean Elpidio M. Agbisit, Jr. thanked all employers for their participation in helping the IAS produce workplace-ready graduates. He also wished for future collaborations and partnerships between CAFS and different companies as potential Host Training Establishments (HTE) for UPLB student interns.

As part of the program, Dr. Maria Cynthia R. Oliveros discussed the revised BSA curriculum. She mentioned that the revision is responsive to the restructuring of the College to capture the various sectors in the agriculture value chain from production, post-production, and marketing.

IAS Director Rommel C. Sulabo, also discussed the remote teaching strategies that the Institute adopted amid pandemic. Part of his presentation included the course pack development, remote learning strategies to conduct laboratory activities, and virtual internship options.

Breakout sessions were conducted in the second half of the program to solicit insights from industry partners on the performance of BSA ANSC graduates and to assess the need for skill-specific associate degree program in Agriculture and Animal Science. This was done to align the BSA ANSC curriculum with the needs and expectations of potential employers.

Included in the roster of participants were Mr. Ronald Daniel R. Mascariñas (President and General Manager, Bounty Agroventures, Inc.), Dr. Rene C. Santiago (OIC Assistant Director for Production and Research, Bureau of Animal Industry), Dr. Ameer A. Pham (R&D Manager, San Miguel Foods, Inc.), Dr. Julius Jerome G. Ele (Dean, College of Agriculture-University of Southern Mindanao), and Ms. Babylyn Moog (Assistant Technical Manager, Philchema, Inc.).

The event was organized by the IAS Quality Management Committee (QMC) headed by Dr. Oliver D. Abanto. Also present were IAS faculty and staff as facilitators and rapporteurs.

In her closing remarks, Dr. Veneranda A. Magpantay, incoming College Secretary and Co-chair of the IAS QMC thanked all the industry partners for their time and inputs. The BSA program of the UPLB is the first BSA program in the Philippines to be assessed by the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA). AUN-QA is the initiative of the University of the Philippines System to make its degree programs at par with international standards.