The UP Open University (UPOU) Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) kicked off Research Conversations 2018 on 26 January at the Sandbox, CCDL, UPOU Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna.
Dr. Melinda Lumanta, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, opened the conversation by re-emphasizing Research Conversations’ intentions and purpose. As an equivalent to the scientific community’s research laboratories, Research Conversations is OVCAA’s initiative in upholding a participatory quality research culture in the university. Dr. Lumanta also introduced OVCAA’s next publication project that discusses teaching models in open and distance eLearning (ODeL), opening the invitation to UPOU faculty members that teach research, theory, skills, and practicum courses to participate in the discussions.
The kick-off activity featured two UPOU faculty members who imparted tips and advice in research and publication. Asst. Prof. Al-Francis Librero, faculty member of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) and Director of the UPOU Information and Communication Technology Development Office (ICTDO), shared his experience in winning 2nd Place for the Best Paper Award at the 2nd International Conference on Open and Distance e-Learning (ICODeL) back in 2014. His advice include finding your motivation and carrying out the research with dedication and rigor; minding the way you carry yourself; knowing the ins and outs of the conference that you are attending; finding a passion project then see where it takes you; noting the trends; and taking time to rest.
As the Managing Editor of the Journal of Nature Studies and the Director of both the UPOU Information Office and Multimedia Center, Dr. Joane Serrano also shared some tips for publishing papers in journals. According to Dr. Serrano, great benefit will come from studying the scope of the journal, following the required format, doing a comprehensive study on which journal the research paper would fit, and practicing proper indexing. She emphasized that authors should be careful of predatory journals. To determine if a journal is predatory, the author/s should note its publishers, cost of publishing, preservation of papers, and growth in number of articles.
Research Conversations are held every Friday the whole year-round, serving as the venue where UPOU faculty, REPS, research assistants, and everyone else can come together and talk about research and other academic matters. Speakers are also invited to talk about their field of expertise and/or studies to facilitate conversation and come up with other researchable areas. Concerns and suggestions from everyone are also very much welcome. Write ups of the Research Conversations sessions are found in the OVCAA microsite. (MRSanBuenaventura, OVCAA)
