DABE leads int’l sharing session, commends 4 agri- biosystems eng’g alumni 

CTTO: PPGA TAU Chapter Facebook Page 

The Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (DABE) spearheaded the “International Student Sharing and Learning Session on Israeli Technology and Techniques on Fruit Harvesting, Mushroom Farming and Post-Harvest Activities and Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)” via the Zoom platform last August 12, 2021.

The event is in collaboration with the Office of External Linkages and International Affairs and the Philippine Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers – Pre-Professional Group (PSABE-PPG) TAU Chapter. 

Four (4) homegrown talents from the university shared their experience about their respective internship programs in Israel and Indonesia. Interns from different Israeli farms shared their practice working on the ground, namely: Angelica Jane Ordoña and Lhenny Rose Casaña (Mushroom Farming: Planting, Harvesting, and Post-Harvest Activities), and Jesusa Flores (Fruit Harvesting); while Leah Marie Curameng shared her experience as a virtual intern at the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember in Indonesia and delivered an introduction to the Geographic Information System (GIS). 

Completing the list of the speakers who did the sharing during the event are Cambodia's Sok Vanny and Thoeurn Y Thean, and Ali Aman Gnondebro Carole of Cote d’Ivoire. Sok Vanny discussed the comparison of Cambodian agriculture from the past to the present, while the comparison of the new irrigation techniques in Cambodia in contrast to the Israeli irrigation techniques was discussed by Thoeurn Y Thean. For the penultimate part of the event, the cocoa industry in Cote d’Ivoire was then discussed by Ali Aman Gnondebro Carole. 

The diverse range of topics attracted audience members from other universities like the Aklan State University, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College, Pampanga State Agricultural University, and Western Philippines University, to name a few. Also, other audience members are from government agencies like the Regional Field Offices in Central Luzon and MIMAROPA of the Department of Agriculture, and international agencies like the Interior Ministry of the Kingdom of Cambodia. 

The said event brought together audiences from different areas of the world into a single platform to share and discuss actual and virtual experiences of an internship. Through a series of open forums, the audiences were allowed to ask questions and likewise, the speakers also shared their words of motivation to students on why pursue an internship even during this time of the pandemic. With this, the department vowed to launch more academic and skills enrichment activities in the future.  (JZSamson, CET)