Director for CTU-PHILSCA School of Aviation Jonathan Maglasang is among the Filipino Newton Fund grantees on February 26 in Manila to collaborate with United Kingdom institutions for projects on economic and social development.
The Newton Agham Programme (NAP) revitalizes research opportunities and is a great step forward for the British Council and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in linking Philippines and the United Kingdom.
Both agencies conducted deliberation from December 2019 through February 2020, selecting ten awardees thereafter from different Philippine institutions for PhD scholarships, research links workshops, and institutional links grants.
Apart from Cebu Technological University (CTU), other institutional grant recipients included Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU), University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD), Cardiff University, and University of Strathclyde.
NAP suggested for Mindanao grantees to conduct a study “Utilizing Marine Renewable Energy to Satisfy Community Energy Demands and Stimulate Socio-Economic Development within the Philippines,” prioritizing Surigao context.
UK project lead, University of Strathclyde, will be working closely with ADDU representative as Philippine lead project investigator instead of Dr. Maglasang, who recently moved to Cebu.
“The lead in the UK requested a PH lead to be in Mindanao. I declined when UPD asked me since I’ am not in Mindanao anymore. So I recommended my student from ADDU,” he said, referencing ADDU’s established Renewable Energy Center Soefic for Ocean Energy that could potentially help their goal.
By April of this year, the participants are expected to start the two-year project./Ale Taneo