By Arturo Belano

SEVEN De La Salle University professors made it to the list of top researchers in the world based on the recent statistical analysis of Stanford University.

The rankings are based on composite citation metrics developed by a team of statisticians led by SU Professor John Ioannidis.

The list also includes 200,000 scholars from all over the world.

The DLSU professors in the list are Dr. Raymond Tan, Dr. Kathleen Aviso, and Dr. Luis Razon.

There were 29 locally-based researchers, but only 11 are affiliated with higher education institutions.

Meanwhile, DLSU faculty members who were among the world’s leading researchers based on citations received in 2022 are Tan, Aviso, Dr. Allan B.I. Bernardo, Dr. Aristotle Ubando, Dr. Fides del Castillo, and Dr. Alvin Culaba.

There were a total of 50 locally-based researchers listed, with 32 from Philippine HEIs.

According to SU, researchers are classified into 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields. Field- and subfield-specific percentiles are also provided for all scientists with at least 5 papers.

By Arturo Belano

DESPITE its big drop in ranking, Ateneo de Manila University remained the top education institution in the country for 2024 based on the latest Times Higher Education World University Ranking.

Landing on the 1001-1200 bracket, Ateneo had an overall score of 28.3-32.6 based on five pillars —teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook.

The university dropped from its previous ranking of 351-400.

The University of the Philippines and the De La Salle University also fell to the 1201-1500 and 1501+ brackets, respectively.

UP was in the 801-1000 spot in 2023, while DLSU was ranked 1201-1500.

Meanwhile, the University of Santo Tomas was in 1501+ bracket, an improvement from last year’s “reporter status.”

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 include 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions, making it the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

The assessment is based on new WUR 3.0 methodology, which includes 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance in five areas — teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.

This year’s ranking analysed more than 134 million citations across 16.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 68,402 scholars globally. Overall, THE collected 411,789 datapoints from more than 2,673 institutions that submitted data.

Meanwhile, Cebu Technological University, Central Luzon State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Mapua University, Mariano Marcos State University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Nueva Ecijia University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Tarlac Agricultural University, and Visayas State University submitted data for inclusion in the rankings but did not make the cut.

By Arturo Belano

THE De La Salle University has opened the period of application for freshmen for Academic Year 2024-2025.

The College Admission Test will be administered from September 18 to December 12, 2023.

The submission of application will be done online via the Online Admissions Facility.

“For the AY 2024-2025 freshman intake, admission to the University and the chosen degree program will be based on an applicant’s DLSU College Admission Test (DCAT) results and high school academic records,” the school said.

Applicants may take the test at the Manila, Laguna, or External Testing Centers.

To be eligible for the exam, applicants must be Grade 12 students who are expected to graduate at the end of Academic Year 2022-2023 or students who graduated from Grade 12 (local or abroad) in AY 2021-2022 or earlier and have not taken any college course from any university.

Those who passed the Philippine Educational Placement Test, Alternative Learning System or Non-Formal Education Accreditation and Equivalency Program and are certified eligible for admission to college/tertiary level or holders of Scholastic Aptitude Test result, AP result, IB Diploma/IB Certificate, or A Level certificate who has met the DLSU criteria can also apply.

By Arturo Belano

A PROFESSOR from the De La Salle University placed second in the Queen Mary UK Best PhD in Robotics Award.

Dr. Alexander Abad, who studied Computer Science and Informatics at Liverpool Hope University, was recognized for his thesis “Fine-grained Haptics: Sensing and Actuating Haptic Primary Colours.”

Abad is the first Filipino student to finish in the top three in the competition’s history.

His study focused on the development of a novel sensor that could be used in telemedicine and telerobotics.

He presented his research during the 2023 TAROS Conference, the longest running UK-hosted international conference on robotics and autonomous systems.

“It is a great honor to finish second in the prestigious Queen Mary UK Best PhD in Robotics Award,” Abad said.

“I am very grateful to my PhD Supervisor, Dr. Anuradha Ranasinghe, and Director of Studies, Professor David Reid as well as the support from the Department of Science and Technology – Engineering Research and Development for Technology Foreign PhD scholarship, and Mme. Maillefer Study Program of De La Salle University,” he added.

Sponsored by the Centre for Advanced Robotics at Queen Mary, the UK Best PhD in Robotics Award is open to students who attend a robotics PhD program at a UK University and sees their work reviewed by a panel of international experts.

By Arturo Belano

THE Ateneo de Manila University joined forces with the De La Salle University in a bid to advance social entrepreneurship and sustainability in the country.

A memorandum of agreement was recently signed by key officials of the two universities.

“Social enterprises have been recognized as a vehicle that help towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ateneo said in a statement.

“The United Nations report on Youth Social Entrepreneurship and the 2030 agenda indicates how youth social entrepreneurship has the potential to make young people agents of change especially when nurtured in an enabling environment,” it added.

The three-year partnership will be facilitated by the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship and the Lasallian Social Enterprise for Economic Development.

It aims to focus on the promotion and advocacy of social entrepreneurship and sustainability; mobilization of internal and external stakeholders for cooperation-building, resource generation, and capacity-building endeavors and sharing of good practices in the fields of social entrepreneurship and sustainability.

“The collaboration of Ateneo and DLSU not only strengthens both schools’ mission towards poverty alleviation and social justice but also supports in the achievement of the SDGs,” Ateneo said.