The Academic Field Instruction Committee (AFIC) of the College of Development Communication (CDC) held Ugnayan: CDC Field Partners’ Congress on August 31 via Zoom. The event sought to gather CDC’s current and new field partners to discuss partnership opportunities with Devcom field courses for Academic Year 2022-2023.
Representatives from various government units and agencies, non-government organizations, and academic institutions within and outside Los Baños attended Ugnayan. Participating institutions were as follows:
- Bernaldo N. Calara Elementary School
- Brgy. Malinta, Los Baños LGU
- CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (MRI)
- ERDB Agroforestry RDEC
- ERDB Forest and Wetland RDEC
- ERDB Technology Transfer Division
- ERDB Urban and Biodiversity Research, Development and Extension Center
- ERDB Watershed and Water Resources Research, Development and Extension Center
- Labuin Association of Persons with Disabilities, Inc. (LAPDI)
- PCAARRD LSPU Technology Hub
- Rural Improvement Club Los Baños
- SIKAP BIDANI
- Streets to Schools CALABARZON
- UPLB BIDANI
- UPLB Learning Resource Center
- UPLB Office of Alumni Relations
- UPLB Office of Counseling and Guidance
- UPLB Program for Zoonotic Diseases
- UPLB Ugnayan ng Pahinungod
- Youth Development Affairs Laguna
At Ugnayan, AFIC members discussed the course descriptions, expected outputs, modes of delivery, and roles of field partners in Devcom field courses. These included DEVC 70 (Interpersonal Communication in Development), DEVC 126 (Participatory Development Journalism), DEVC 144 (Media-based Learning Systems), among others. Sample outputs from previous Devcom classes were also presented to give the partners a deeper appreciation of what CDC students could offer their organizations and communities.
Additionally, the AFIC provided the field partners with an eight-step workflow which would serve as their guide throughout the partnership. This workflow summarizes the steps that field partners need to undergo from the beginning to the end of their partnership with their assigned Devcom field courses.
Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions about field partnerships during the open forum. Concerns related to the number of possible class partners, scope of possible topics for students’ communication outputs, and logistical and budget arrangements were raised by some of the participants, which members of the AFIC promptly addressed.
By the end of the program, the field partners were provided with a Google Form where they could indicate their chosen Devcom field courses. These responses will be used by the AFIC to pair them with Devcom field courses that match their identified institutional or community needs.
When asked about the importance of Ugnayan this year, Rural Improvement Club (RIC) Los Baños President and Ugnayan attendee Angelica Martinez said, “Ang Ugnayan ay naging daan upang ang mga samahan tulad ng RIC ay maging kaagapay ng mga estudyante ng CDC para sa ikakaunlad ng organisasyon, and at the same time, ay nakatulong sa mga estudyante na makamit nila ang kanilang mga adhikain.”
(Ugnayan was a way for RIC to partner with CDC students towards our institution’s growth, and at the same time, an opportunity for CDC students to achieve their goals in class.)
Organizing gatherings with field partners towards collaborative communication initiatives is a key thrust of the AFIC. In August 2021, the AFIC held CDC Virtual Meeting with Partners, an event which also aimed to facilitate a forum between CDC staff and field partners regarding class partnerships for Academic Year 2021-2022.
AFIC was formed during the CDC Generalist Curriculum Workshop in July 2014 to address fieldwork-related concerns of Devcom students such as identification of potential partners, coordination of field-based activities, and setting guidelines on ethical conduct during fieldwork.
Interested field partners for Academic Year 2022-2023 may contact AFIC at fieldinstruction@devcom.edu.ph. (Elijah Jesse M. Pine)
