University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) welcomes newly appointed directors of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), Office of the Public Affairs (OPA), and Office Information and Communication Technology Development Office (ICTDO).
Dr. Ria Mae H. Borromeo is now the Director of the UPOU OSA. She has a Master’s and PhD degree in Engineering (Computing Science) from Keio University in Japan. Dr. Borromeo has been an Associate Professor with the UPOU FICS since 2012 and served as the FICS Faculty Secretary. She handles courses under the Bachelor of Arts and Multimedia Studies, Diploma in Computer Science and Master of Information System programs. She is also leading the development of the graduate degree in Data Science, and served as Director of the Information and Communication Technology Development Office (ICTDO) from 2019 to 2022. Dr. Borromeo has published multiple research articles related to databases, crowdsourcing and educational technologies. In 2012, she was awarded the Silver Medal for Young Innovator Awards at the 26th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities held in Chiba, Japan, where she presented her paper titled “Automatic Content filtering and Publishing by Email for the UP Open University Doctor of Communication Program Learning Management System”. Dr. Borromeo will serve as OSA Director from 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2025.
UPOU also welcomes Asst. Professor Myra C. Almodiel as the new Director of the UPOU OPA. She handles courses with the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) under the Bachelor of Arts and Multimedia Studies, Diploma in Computer Science, and Master of Information Systems programs. Asst. Prof.. Almodiel has previously served with OPA as a Program Development Associate and helped the university with streamlining its social media presence. She also served with the Office of the Chancellor as Assistant to the Chancellor until she had to go on study leave to complete her Doctor of Communication degree with UPOU. Director Almodiel has published several articles related to distance learning, social media, network analysis, massive open online courses and web accessibility. In 2016, she was awarded the Excellent Paper Award (Special Commendation) at the International Conference on Flexible Education for a research paper she co-wrote with Asst. Prof. Aurora Lacaste, titled “The Relationship between Learning Styles and the Use of Facebook Groups as a Learning Management System for Online Learners.” In 2020, she was awarded the UPOU Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Faculty for her exemplary work in instruction, research and public service. Her appointment as Director of OPA is from 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Assistant Professor Reinald Adrian D. Pugoy has been appointed as the new Director of the UPOU ICTDO. Asst. Prof. Pugoy is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering of the National ChengKung University in Tainan City, Taiwan. He obtained his Masters and Bachelors degree in Computer Science from UP Los Baños. Director Pugoy has been teaching since 2008, first at UPLB then at UPOU. At UPOU, he handles courses under the Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies, Diploma in Computer Science, and Master of Information Systems programs. His research interests include Recommender Systems, Natural Language Processing, Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning And Data Mining. In 2017, he was awarded the Young Innovators Award at the 31st Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The title of his research paper was “Badge Enrollment and Digital Certificates: Technical Considerations in Customizing the UP Open University Massive Open Distance eLearning (MODeL) Platform.” In 2015, he was also the recipient of the same award for his paper titled “Mobile Solutions For Synchronized and Offline Version Of Open Educational Resources.” Asst. Prof. Pugoy will serve as ICTDO Director from 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2025.
Other directors of UPOU offices will continue on their terms in support of the vision of Chancellor Melinda dP. Bandalaria on her third term: Asst. Prof. Rita C. Ramos as University Registrar; Asst. Prof. Ana Katrina T. Marcial for the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS); Asst. Prof. Queenie Roxas-Ridulme for the Office of Ugnayan ng Pahinungod; Dr. Finaflor F. Taylan for the Office of Gender Concerns (OGC), and Ms. Luisa A. Gelisan for the Multimedia Center (MC).
Written by Anna Canas-Llamas
Edited by Myra C. Almodiel
Graphics by Lovelyn P. Petrasanta
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