“This award is not only for me but for all ISSI staff. I will not have this without your full support“.
Prof. Rolando Ramon C. Diaz, one of the two 2019 Gawad Tsanselor Para Sa Natatanging REPS awardees from UP ISSI, said in an interview a day before he received the award. The awarding ceremony was done at the Institute of Biology Auditorium at the UP Diliman, last 21 June 2019.
Gawad Tsanselor is one of the University’s most prestigious awards and is given to all deserving staff who contribute to the “growth of the University, the generation of knowledge, development of skills and exemplary service to the development of the country,“ as stated in the Nomination Guidelines prepared by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development.
Prof. Diaz started teaching at the UP Diliman College of Engineering at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research in 1981 as Instructor. He left the University to work for a private company and later came back as full time faculty member in 1992 until 1996. At present, he is Senior Lecturer at Engineering’s National Graduate School specializing in the following fields: Operations Research, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, and Manufacturing Scheduling. He obtained his BS in Industrial Engineering degree, cum laude, at UP DIliman in 1981 and finished his MS in Industrial Engineering, four years later.
Prof. Diaz transferred to UP ISSI in 2015 as University Extension Specialist and was Deputy Director and Officer-in-Charge in March 2017 up to January 2018, in lieu of the absence of an appointed director.
“It’s a great honor to serve the University in my own little capacity,” said Diaz. “The pay is good in the private, but there is so much pressure,” Diaz shared with regards to his past job in the private sector, enumerating the instances wherein he was not enjoying his rest days due to work’s responsibilities.
At the ISSI, Diaz‘s desk is full of different tasks. He lectures in various training programs the Institute offers. He does some mentoring and coaching tasks as member of different committees at the MSME Development of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); trains LGU staff and DTI personnel through the Small Business Counselors Course; and evaluates the training outputs of participants in some training programs offered by ISSI, like the Productivity for Effective Supervision, Total Quality Management, etc. He does all those things aside from being the head of the Administrative Division of the Institute.
“Here at the ISSI, we are doing some innovations particularly in the courses we are offering,” Diaz expounded regarding the future directions of the Institute. The new director, Dr. Aleli B. Bawagan, as he explained, is going on the direction of e-Learning for the Institute’s training offerings. The use of technology in addition to the face-to-face aspect is the next focus of the Institute.
“We thank all the staff who have been supportive of the plans and directions we are undertaking,” Diaz uttered.
Hoping for another Gawad Tsanselor awardee from the Institute, Diaz said,” “I wish na sana, next year taga ISSI ulit ang manalo.” (I wish that another ISSI staff would win an award next year.)
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