The EduRank organization placed UP Mindanao in the number one rank among Higher Education Institutions in the Davao Region for Biology and Environmental Science. This ranking was contained in the 2024 February report of EduRank, an independent organization based in Lebanon that evaluates higher education institutions worldwide. The same report placed UP Mindanao's Biology and Environmental Science in the 22nd and 25th ranks, respectively, nationwide. Globally, UP Mindanao was ranked in the 5743rd and 5711th place, respectively, in these disciplines.  

The UP Mindanao Department of Biological Science and Environmental Studies (DBSEs) disclosed these rankings on their social media page. According to the DBSES, the rankings are a product of their pioneering research. The DBSES reported 210 publications and 1,909 citations in Biology and 214 publications with 1,639 citations in Environmental Science. Through the disciplines of Biology and Environmental Science, the DBSES demonstrates its unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge and addressing relevant issues in the region and beyond.

These endeavors address the Sustainable Development Goals of Quality Education, Clean Water and Sanitation, Life on Land, Life below Water, Climate Action, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and others. 

Chancellor Murao and Prof. del Mundo at the DOST-STRAND-N ceremony

UP Mindanao Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao (in the second row, second from the right) signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the DOST – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) for scholarships under the Science and Technology Regional Alliance of Universities for National Development (STRAND), specifically crafted for scholars of the Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER). 

Called by the acronym STRAND-N, the scholarships aim to make higher education more accessible to S&T professionals in the regions, foster professional advancement, and contribute to progress and development throughout the country.

UPMin is an awarded NICER for R&D in Mindanao, and UPMin's full-time MS Food Science students are qualified to apply for the DOST STRAND-N. They are trained in the scientific analysis of tropical food and vegetable processing to solve Mindanao's food industry concerns in waste reduction, food safety, food security, development of new products, and the like. 

Assoc. Prof. Dann Marie del Mundo (behind Chancellor Murao), the chairperson of the UPMin Department of Food Science and Chemistry and MS Food Science coordinator, witnessed the signing. 

The MS Food Science program addresses the Sustainable Development Goals of Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption and Production, and others.  

DMPCS Chairperson Cinmayii G. Manliguez gives the Closing Remarks in the hybrid event

The Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science delivered four lectures in its DMPCS Lecture Series on March 13, 2024, its offering to the 29th UP Mindanao Anniversary celebration. Assistant Professor Kim Dianne Ligue-Sabio disclosed their findings from their field study of "Spatiotemporal Patterns and Risk Factors of the 2020-2021 African Swine Fever Epidemic in Region XI, Philippines." Associate Prof. Vladimer Kobayashi delivered a quick training on using machine learning in "Reading text without reading them: Topic modeling and text summarization." Assoc. Prof. Alexis Erich Almocera offered solutions to the question "What can a dynamic system tell us about the CARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity?" in his talk "The In-Host Dynamics of COVID-19 Infection." Finally, Assoc. Prof. Rommel Real shared how mathematics can save lives in his lecture on "Inverse problems and regularization: Capturing the (entirely) unknown."  Prof. Almocera welcomed the on-site student audience and the online viewers at the live hybrid event, while DMPCS department chairperson Assoc. Prof.Cinmayii Manliguez acknowledged the contributors to the success of the event in her closing remarks.

Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao and the participants of the Strategic Planning of the Technical Working Group for the Creation of the UP BDI

The Technical Working Group (TWG) for the Creation of the UP-Bangsamoro Development Institute (UP-BDI) conducted a two-day strategic planning workshop on March 4-5, 2024, at the Acacia Hotel in Davao City.

Headed by Prof. Lyre Anni E. Murao, Chairperson of the UP-BDI TWG, this session aimed to foster collaboration between UP and the Bangsamoro, focusing on co-creating opportunities and taking collective action to enhance human capital, improve socio-economic conditions, and contribute to sustainable development in the Bangsamoro.