By Jaren Marr P. Jaco
Dr. Aries Roda D. Romallosa (2nd from upper L), Acting Vice President for Research, Development, and Extension, and resource speaker Engr. John Patrick E. Casipe (3rd from upper L) with the representatives from OVPRDE-aligned units for the 2-day of the “Strategic Capacity Building: Developing Training Plans and Calendar for Research, Development, and Extension Offices.”
On October 8-9, 2025, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Development, and Extension (OVPRDE) partnered with the Review, Continuing Education, and Consultancy Center (RCECC) for the “Strategic Capacity Building: Developing Training Plans and Calendar for Research, Development, and Extension Offices” at the CPUGAD TBI Co-Working Space.
The event comprised of participants from the University Research Center (URC), Innovation and Technology Support Office (ITSO), Community Engagement and Service-Learning Center (CESLC), Research Ethics Review Board (RERB), and CPUGAD Technology Business Incubator. Dr. Aries Roda D. Romallosa, Acting Vice President for Research, Development, and Extension, delivered her welcome remarks and presented the rationale of the two-day workshop, highlighting the directions of office plans and activities to support a unified cause of programs that align with the University’s mission and vision.
Resource speaker, Engr. John Patrick E. Casipe, began the first session on “Understanding the RDE Framework and Capacity Building,” which discussed the goals that must be met through a unified vision and a well-defined plan to make the objectives clear, whether the offices aimed for community empowerment, research, ethical practice, or innovation. Planning is primarily essential when making a goal a reality. The second session, titled “Identifying Training Needs in RDE Offices,” discussed what the offices want to achieve after understanding the framework, where the participants were given time to have a workshop activity to list the programs that the offices envisioned for the academic year.
The third session, regarding “Aligning Training Programs with Institutional Goals,” was where Engr. Casipe discussed the need for targeted programs to be aligned with their goals. The offices outlined their targets, aligning them with the OVPRDE goals to ensure they were heading in a unified direction. The first day concluded with a review of what the participants had learned that day, which helped prepare them for their presentations of the training programs scheduled for the next day.
The second day began with a recap of the discussions addressed on the first day, and then proceeded to the fourth session titled “Designing Effective RDE Training Plans,” where Engr. Casipe discussed a more specified action plan. After the lunch break, they continued to align goals and polish their drafts. The last session “Developing the Annual RDE Training Calendar” proceeded, where Engr. Casipe showed the participants a sample of a unified training plan calendar under the OVPRDE and discussed specific budgeting for activities in preparation for an event. The participants proceeded to share their action plan and include their general objectives on the calendar to sync with the RDE year plan.
After the fruitful event, Engr. Casipe wrapped up the discussion with his closing remarks, which the participants highly appreciated, as it enlightened their perspective and practice in their respective offices. Overall, the workshop activities and discussions by invited speaker Engr. Casipe straightened out objectives and provided direction to the plans and programs of RDE offices for a greater Central.