AIC installs potable water system in Samar hospital
The Ateneo Innovation Center (AIC) installed a solar-powered water system at the Dr. Gregorio B. Tan Memorial Hospital in Laoang, Northern Samar, last February 5-10. AIC Engineers Paul M. Cabacungan and Dominic Solpico proposed the installation of the water system after being invited last August 2016 by Representative Edwin Ongchuan (2nd District, Northern Samar) and Provincial Health Officer II Dr. Mary Ann G. Avalon to help address the limited access to clean, potable water in the hospital. Apart from the water system, AIC is currently working on deploying similar systems with low-cost PVC water pumps in Pandi, Bulacan, and in fishing communities in Laguna de Bay. Gaby N. Baizas
JGSOM offers new course on Restaurant Entrepreneurship
The John Gokongwei School of Management will be offering an undergraduate bachelor of science course on Restaurant Entrepreneurship beginning school year 2018-2019. According to Vice President for the Loyola Schools Maria Luz Vilches, PhD, the course will be offered in partnership with international culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, and will have a lab in the Ateneo’s Creative Hub, Areté. The promotion for the course will take place during the next iteration of recruitment for incoming students. Aside from students’ interest in the course, Vilches also said that the decision to offer it was made because of the “opportunity to actualize ideas.” Loreben Ll. Tuquero
Development studies alum on the way to sainthood
The Society of Jesus is working towards the late Filipino Jesuit Brother Richie Fernando’s (AB DS ‘90) beatification and eventual canonization as the third Filipino saint after Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod. Fernando died on October 17, 1996, after he shielded his students from an explosion in a school for the handicapped in Cambodia. Fr. Antonio Moreno, SJ, head of the Jesuits in the Philippines, had petitioned “to initiate and do the spadework leading to the opening of the cause of Richie,” authorized by the worldwide head of the Jesuits, Superior General Fr. Antonio Sosa, SJ. According to Moreno, there is still a “long way to go” before Fernando can be proclaimed as a “blessed.” Loreben Ll. Tuquero
Philippines-China relations tackled in OBOR forum
The Chinese Studies Program and the Leadership and Strategy Department, in partnership with the Association for Philippines-China Understanding, organized the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Policy Program of China and Philippines-China Relations forum on August 18 at Escaler Hall. The forum detailed China’s current strategies for international relations that included its aspiration for peaceful development and partnerships with neighboring countries. According to China Institute of International Studies Executive Vice President Ruan Zongze, PhD, President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to China last October 2016 saw a “new chapter” for Philippines-China ties, and an opportunity for the two countries to cooperate on issues such as terrorism, illegal drugs, and infrastructure development. Luis M. Millares
