AI Durian project launched

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

Project Leader Assoc. Prof. Armacheska M. Satina introduces the project staff

Durian industry leaders and government partners join the project staff on the October 10, 2023, launch

UPMin administrative and academic staff join the project meeting on October 11, 2023*

The UP Mindanao team held a launch for their project, “AI-based Non-Invasive Grading System of Durian,” or AIDurian, at the University Library on 10 October 2023. The AIDurian project will develop durian quality classification applications using Artificial Intelligence (AI). It aims to serve the booming Davao durian export industry, which is expected to earn P14.3 billion in 2023 alone.

Project leader Assoc. Prof. Armacheska Satina said with an 11 Million Peso grant from the DOST for multispectral and infrared cameras, the team will develop desktop and mobile phone applications for fruit quality classification.

DuDONG, an acronym for the Durian Desktop-Operated Non-Invasive Grading System, is an app in development that uses computer vision and image processing for fruit classification. Audio technology will disclose fruit quality from the sound of gentle knocking on a durian fruit.

INDAI, an acronym for Inspection of Durian Using AI, is an app that will generate durian fruit classification on a smartphone. INDAI has farm management tools and data storage and retrieval, as well.

At the launch, industry partners from Belviz Farms, Rosario's Delicacies, and D'Farmers Market discussed some of the challenges to the local durian industry at the launch. The other industry partners are VJT Enterprises and Eng Seng Food Products.

The AI Durian project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) under the Accelerated R & D Program for Capacity Building of Research & Development Institutions and Industrial Competitiveness: Industry-Level Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (I-CRADLE). Present during the launch were Supervising Science Research Specialist Maria Teresa De Guzman and Science Research Specialist Kathleen Faith Villarma of the PCAARRD’s Agricultural Resources Management Research Division.

Also present during the launch were representatives of government partners who pledged policy actions to support the project. These are the Department of Agriculture’s High-Value Crops unit, the Bureau of Plant Industry’s Davao National Crops Research and Development Center, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Science and Technology-XI, and the Mindanao Development Authority.

The UP Mindanao interdisciplinary team is composed of Associate Professors Armacheska Satina, Vicente Calag, and Vladimer Kobayashi from the Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science and Adjunct Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan of the Department of Biological Science and Environmental Studies. They will be assisted by Mr. Jenno Fred Villarino, Mr. Marlon Maddara, Ms. Leizel Secretaria, and Ms. Mary Jean Tuando.

The AIDurian project addresses the Sustainable Development Goals of work and economic growth, innovation, and quality education.

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* The UP Mindanao AI DURIAN project proponents at the project launch on October 10, 2023, with their project partners. The persons holding the project title are (left-right) DOST-XI Asst. Regional Director Mirasol Domingo, DOST-PCAARRD Science Research Specialist Kathleen Faith Villarma, Supervising Science Research Specialist Maria Teresa De Guzman, UPMin Adjunct Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan, durian grower Mary Grace Belvis, UPMin Assoc. Prof. Armacheska Satina, UPMin Asst. Prof. Vic Calag, DTI-XI Asst. Regional Director Romeo Castañaga, and grower Larry Miculob of D' Farmers Market.

**In the bottom photo, seated left-right are: Assoc. Prof. Armacheska Satina, DOST-PCAARRD Science Research Specialist Kathleen Faith Villarma, Supervising Science Research Specialist Maria Teresa De Guzman, VCAA Annabelle Novero, Vic Calag, Leo Manuel Estaña. Standing behind are project staff members Marlon Maddara, Jenno Fred Villarino, and Mary Jean Tuando, UPMin Chief Accountant Zenaida Calatrava, Assoc. Prof. Vladimer Kobayashi, Adjunct Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan, Budget Officer and BAC representative Jo-An Garcia, Project Technical Specialist Leizel Secretaria, and Michael Angela J. Urquiola.

UPMin joins small-scale fisheries consortium

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

The University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) entered into an agreement to be part of a small-scale fisheries policy inputs and advice consortium.

UPMin Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao signed the Memorandum of Agreement with the Too Big To Ignore (TBTI) Philippines, a small-scale fisheries research & development consortium.

The consortium will focus on filling information gaps on small-scale fisheries across the Philippine archipelago.

The agreement was signed at the 1st University of the Philippines - State Universities & Colleges (UP-SUC) Summit on September 15, 2023, in Davao City.

“UPMin has organized or joined a number of regional consortiums, but UPMin is always open to new relationships with other SUCs and Higher Education Institutions in Mindanao, in the Philippines, and even in other countries,” Chancellor Murao said in a video message at the Summit.

UPMin is the convenor of the Mindanao Genomics Consortium, which has more than 30 academic, government, health, and industry institutions throughout Mindanao.

In addition, UPMin has created networks for innovation and startups towards bringing the products of research to the broader community. One is the IDEAS - Davao consortium, which holds the Davao Startup Week held on 11-17 September in Davao City.

“Being the lone UP Constituent University in the southern Philippines, UP Mindanao is ready to serve as a bridge between Mindanao SUCs and the eight UP Constituent Universities in different parts of the Philippines,” said Chancellor Murao.

21st Development Policy Research Month

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

UP Mindanao joins the entire nation in celebrating the 21st Development Policy Research Month for September 2023, with the theme “Going Green and Digital for a More Sustainable, Inclusive, and Prosperous Future for All.”

For more information, visit the Facebook page of the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS): https://www.facebook.com/PIDS.PH/

UPMin researchers bag awards

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

Two UP Mindanao researchers bagged a “Best Presentation” award in their respective sessions at the 4th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Industry and Academic Research (ICMIAR) 2023, on July 8, 2023, at Aklan State University.

University Researcher Marilou O. Montiflor of the School of Management (SOM) won for her research titled “Creating Inclusive Policies that Enhance Women’s Role in Agriculture.”

Meanwhile, Prof. Karen Joyce G. Cayamanda of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences won for her research titled “The Role of Risk Messages on COVID-19 Towards the Social Amplification of Risk, Risk Perception, and Risk-Related Behavior in the Workplace.”

Prof. Cayamanda also received a Silver Laurel Award for “outstanding accomplishments in leadership, publication, and community engagement toward a dynamic and sustainable academia.”

First chancellor, Dr. Cuyno, gives reflections on institution-building

Written by Rene Estremera. Posted in Report

Cuyno Socmed Card 1

Dr. Rogelio V. Cuyno, the first chancellor of the University of the Philippines Mindanao, returned to the campus on July 6, 2023, to give a talk in the Legacy Lecture Series of the UPMin Office of Research.

In his talk, “Reflections on Building a Higher Education Institution,” Dr. Cuyno prescribed sustainability and continuity as key to UPMin’s future direction. He detailed these in six suggested interdisciplinary academic clusters and 11 institutional elements. Reactions to Dr. Cuyno’s talk were given by Education Supervisor Mr. Randy Tudi of the Commission on Higher Education-Region 11, Assistant Regional Director Ms. Mirasol Domingo of the Department of Science and Technology-XI, Mr. Nap Concepcion, chairperson of the UP Alumni Association Davao, and UP Mindanao Chancellor Prof. Lyre Anni Murao.

Read Dr. Cuyno's paper here: REFLECTIONS ON BUILDING AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING

Read Mr. Nap Concepcion's reaction here: Reaction of Mr. Nap Concepcion, UPAA-Davao Chairperson

Read Chancellor Murao's reaction here: Response of Chancellor Murao

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