PANABO CITY – The 2nd International Research Festival (IRF) at Davao del Norte State College (DNSC), held on November 27–28, 2023, featured a distinguished roster of both local and international plenary and pre-conference resource speakers, complemented by 12 poster presenters and 81 oral presenters.

The theme for the IRF 2023 was The Futures of Mindanao’s Commons: Harmony, Sustainability, Resiliency, and Globality. The conference embraced a multidisciplinary approach, encompassing the fields of biodiversity, technology and innovation, food innovation, humanities, culture, education, and more.

Headlining the plenary sessions were Dr. Mari Katanayagi from the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Hiroshima University (HU), Dr. Han Soo Lee from the International Development Cooperation and Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering of HU, Dr. Inocencio E. Buot, Jr. from the Institute of Biological Sciences of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and Dr. Azura Amid of the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART) of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Apart from knowledge sharing, the participants, especially budding scholars, were also able to gain valuable insights from the pre-conference skills-building sessions. Dr. Dahlia Simangan from HU presented tips on navigating negative reviews, while Dr. Exequiel Cabanda from the National University of Singapore (NUS) empowered participants to make informed decisions on choosing suitable journals.

Dr. Azura Amid from IIUM discussed Building Research Partners and Collaborators Abroad. Her presentation was followed by another IIUM colleague, Dr. Nurrulhidayah Ahmad Fadzillah, who delved into Making a Global Impact: The IIUM-INHART Experience. Another session featured the back-to-back talks of Assoc. Prof. Hiromi Yamauchi from HU on Thriving in the Academe while Protecting Well-being as an Early Career Scholar and DNSC’s Dr. Mark Ronald S. Manseguiao on Plagiarism vs. Copyright Infringement: Intellectual Property in the Academe.

Completing the parallel sessions were discussions on Strengthening Research Governance through Proper Monitoring of Externally Funded Projects by Fides Marciana Z. Tambalo of UPLB and Cultivating Success through Strategic Innovation Management by Dr. Emil John Cabrera of UPLB.

In her opening message during the plenary talks, College President Joy M. Sorrosa mentioned the College’s hopes for the festival, “We hope this platform facilitates a scholarly exchange of discussions. We also expect the research festival to encourage our presenters to have more meaningful and fruitful research collaborations in the future, beyond the conventional discipline boundaries that will lead to the creation of new materials, innovative technologies, and broader perspectives.”

The festival was facilitated by DNSC’s Research, Extension, and Production Unit in collaboration with Hiroshima University, the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and the Southern Mindanao Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium.