NEWLY-appointed Center for Research and Development (CRD) director Dr. Gloria Bernas plans to improve University researchers through overseas studies.
Bernas said UST needs to improve the academic profile of researchers to produce research outputs not only for local panels, but also for global audiences.
“We are now very aggressive in promoting human power by sending our researchers abroad to study because I believe that it is only through acquiring a post-graduate degree that they can be competent researchers,” Bernas said.
She added the CRD will further establish contacts for the researchers to help them with their research.
Moreover, Bernas said she will implement strategies to encourage research among faculty members. She said the center will assist interested faculty members in getting research grants and awards, reduced teaching loads, and better working conditions.
Likewise, the center’s facilities will be maximized.
“Before the construction of the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex, we had to go out of the University to do our research, which was very discouraging for some. Now, these people would have no qualms on researching because of the sophisticated and up-to-date facilities of the center built solely for research,” Bernas said.
She also plans to improve the quality of research output, especially in internationally recognized journals and international conferences as well as increase the publication of scientific papers and the accreditation of UST journals.
Bernas officially took over the position vacated by now College of Science Dean Dr. Fortunato Sevilla III last Nov. 16. Prior to her appointment as CRD director, Bernas was the Science dean for five years.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Chemistry in UST in 1962 and 1978. She took her doctorate degree at Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of the Philippines in 1993.
