FMDS REC Training participants with Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for Research and Publication, Assoc. Prof. . Myra D. Oruga.
The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) successfully conducted a two-day Research Ethics Committee (REC) Training on 19-20 September 2024, at the Audio-Visual Room (AVR), University of the Philippines Open University Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.
The two-day training aimed to strengthen understanding of ethical procedures and enhance compliance with institutional guidelines in accordance with Memorandum No. OVPAA 2020-145 issued by the UP System in 2020. The training held was in line with two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4: Quality Education and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals through enhanced educational advancement and partnerships. The hybrid event was participated in by five online and 10 onsite participants.
Asst. Prof. Ria Valerie Cabanes, UPOU IREC Chair, opening the training session as the first resource speaker.
Asst. Prof. Ria Valerie Cabanes, who opened the first day of the training, provided an overview of the committee’s function. She presented the 27 standard operating procedures in terms of Initial Submissions, Post Clearance Submissions, External Transactions, and Internal Transactions.
To further engage the participants, Asst. Prof. Cabanes also facilitated the IREC SOP Workshops where she divided the attendees into two groups for the first activity. . Ms. Marian Tatlonghari, one of the facilitators, provided two different research proposal studies distributed to each group and roles of REC members wherein the participants of each group will choose their own designated position/role. Each group identified the step-by-step process that the study needed to undergo and what role/position should be involved in each step. Additionally, the activity required the participants of each group to identify the documents or requirements that are not available for submission and what must the researcher do after determining these lacking documents. Furthermore, the second activity Asst. Prof. Cabanes prepared for the two groups was determining the research process scenarios and the participants will identify which SOP/s correspond/s to the scenario given. These activities allowed the participants to enhance and enable them to remember the SOPs and processes the IREC requires.
(From left to right) Training participants with Asst. Prof. Ria Valerie D. Cabanes after and during the two workshop activities.
On the second day, Dr. Myra Oruga, Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for Research and Publication delivered a talk on the history of UPOU IREC, explaining the brief background and history of UPOU IREC, the initial submission for ethics review, the requirements for ethics review of research proposals, and the procedures in submitting requirements for ethics review of research proposals.
Dr. Myra Oruga opened the second day of the training by discussing the history of UPOU IREC.
Expanding on her discussion, Dr. Oruga also led a training titled “Accomplishment of Protocol, Informed Consent Assessment Forms and Ethical Review of After-Approval”. It covered how research protocols/proposals are accomplished, a discussion of the meaning and significance of Informed Consent, and the Post Approval Submission.
The two-day training concluded with plans to offer more training for faculty and staff to enhance the knowledge on the process of UPOU IREC.
Written by: First Name Surnmae • Edited by: Larry N. Cruz
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