The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Chancellor, Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, has appointed Dr. Diego Silang S. Maranan as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) for the Office of Student Affairs (OSA).
Dr. Maranan holds a doctorate degree in Art and Media as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Plymouth University, United Kingdom. He is an Associate Professor of the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) and is the current Program Chair for the Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies. Dr. Maranan has been instrumental in many of the UPOU processes and operations, the most recent include the development of the UPOU Helpdesk System where he was appointed as Program Development Associate under the Office of Public Affairs. He has also just recently spearheaded the development of UPLOAD or University of the Philippines Live Open Access Database, a repository which archives scholarly output of the UPOU community. UPLOAD will soon be available outside the UPOU Community as part of UPOU’s advocacy for openness.
Dr. Maranan is a transdisciplinary artist and researcher who has engaged in research and creative works done in the country and abroad. He led the UPOU Biomodd Project, an art/science collaboration exploring how biological, technological, and social systems can integrate in a symbolic hybrid ecosystem, which was exhibited in Los Baños and Manila in the Philippines, and in Slovenia, in New York, USA, and in Belgium. Dr. Maranan is also a contributor to the multi-level art project about Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) repair and immortality that will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS). He is one of the core members of Space Ecologies Art and Design (SEAD), a transdisciplinary and cross-cultural collective of artists, scientists, engineers and activists. Dr. Maranan also co-founded Curiosity, a Manila-based design strategy firm.
Dr. Maranan’s appointment took effect on 3 January 2022 and will end on 31 March 2022. He succeeded Ms. Yasele Irene Angela M. Yambao, University Research Associate, who served as Director of OSA from 01 April 2018 to 31 December 2021.
Written by Anna Cañas-Llamas
Edited by Joane V. Serrano