Seven University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) faculty members participated in the Workshop on Data Analytics for Decision Support, organized by the UP Digital Transformation under the UP Office of the Vice President for Development. The workshop was held on 16-17 July 2024 at the University of the Philippines Cebu.
Resource speakers for the workshop were Dr. Jomar Fajardo Rabajante, Dean of the UP Los Baños Graduate School (UPLB) and a Full Professor and UP Scientist III at the UPLB Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics. He is also an affiliate faculty member of the UPOU Faculty of Education. Dr. Rabajante leads the groundbreaking research in mathematical modeling and data analytics. Another resource speaker was Dr. May Anne E. Mata, a UP Scientist 1 who serves as a Full Professor at UP Mindanao’s Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science. She is concurrently serving as the Research Director of UP Mindanao the Director of the Center for Disease Watch and Analytics and Division Head of Complexity within the Intelligent Systems Center. Her leadership extends to the Mindanao Center for Disease Watch and Analytics, distinguished as an Outstanding Niche Center in Research and Development by the DOST.
The workshop was designed to equip participants with practical skills that can be immediately applied in their work. These skills include predictive modeling for forecasts, pattern recognition via data mining, information design with data visualizations, Interactive dashboards for monitoring, data cleaning and analysis with R, and creating a capstone project. The training was distributed across eight sessions within two days, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of each skill. The workshop also included a post-training follow-up, including webinars and Q&A sessions, as well as an online forum for support and knowledge sharing. The re-entry planning ensures that participants can implement small-scale projects using the skills they learned.
Participants of the workshop are faculty and staff members from all UP Constituent Units whose work involves data-driven decision-making. At the UPOU, the participants included Dr. Charisse T. Reyes, Dean, Faculty of Education; Asst. Prof. Luisa A. Gelian, University Registrar; Dr. Myra C. Almodiel, Director, Office of Public Affairs; Dr. Reinald Adrian D. Pugoy, Director, ICT Development Office; Dr. Roberto B. Figueroa, Jr., Program Director, Immersive Open Pedagogies Program and Deputy Director for Open and Digital Learning Research; Asst. Prof. Cecille Moldez, ICTDO Program Development Associate for Administration; and Asst. Prof. Blancaflor Arada, ICTDO Program Development Associate for Cybersecurity.
Written by Anna Cañas-Llamas ♦ Edited by Dr. Myra C. Almodiel
