NOTABLE STORIES FROM OCTOBER 2023
Blazing Fast Breaks
Rajko Toroman: The Coaching Maestro Reviving Benilde Blazers' Dreams
In a bold and strategic move, Benilde has enlisted the services of a basketball mastermind to guide their team toward ending a championship drought that has persisted since the year 2000. The man entrusted with this ambitious task is the highly respected former Gilas Pilipinas head coach, Rajko Toroman. The stage is set for Toroman to work his magic and breathe new life into Benilde’s men’s basketball program.
Rajko Toroman is no stranger to the Philippine basketball scene. He’s best known for his tenure as the head coach of Gilas Pilipinas from 2009 to 2011. Following his stint with the national team, he ventured into the PBA, contributing his expertise to Petron and Barako Bull.
Toroman’s arrival not only strengthens the Blazers’ coaching staff but also sends a clear message: Benilde is determined to regain its status as a basketball powerhouse in the NCAA. His experience and track record in nurturing young talents are the qualities needed to chart a path to success.
Coach Charles Tiu shed light on Toroman’s appointment circumstances, revealing that Benilde extended the invitation earlier but was delayed due to Toroman’s prior commitments in Bahrain.
With the arrival of Rajko Toroman as a coaching consultant, Benilde is on the cusp of a new era in collegiate basketball. As the Blazers set their sights on the NCAA Season 99 and beyond, fans can’t help but dream of the championship glory Toroman’s expertise might bring. It’s a thrilling chapter for Benilde, one that could redefine the course of their basketball history.
Benilde Lady Blazers: Philippine Collegiate Volleyball at its Finest
Last September 29, the Benilde Lady Blazers, with its back-to-back NCAA championship, won the V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge against the FEU Lady Tamaraws at the Paco Arena (25-18, 25-19, 25-18). After a two-game sweep, the Lady Blazers became the league’s first women’s champions.
The cherry on top includes three individual awards for Zam Nolasco (best middle blocker), Jhasmine Gatle Pascual (opposite spiker), and Jade Gentapa (outside spiker). Assistant Coach JP Martinez said in an interview with The Philippine Star, “Every game here serves as part of an experience which we hope to add to our arsenal and bring into our next games in the NCAA.”
Expanding Horizons: NCAA Season 99 Welcomes New Sports
NCAA Season 99’s sporting calendar has been expanded post-pandemic, with badminton and table tennis back on the roster. New disciplines include kiddie basketball and 3×3 (two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court). The men’s basketball tournament was the first sport to open on September 24, with the Benilde Blazers now holding a 3W and 3L record.
Benilde will host the NCAA 99 Taekwondo Championships on Nov 15 and 16 at the activity center of Ayala Mall, Manila Bay. This event will be from 9 am-6 pm with Kyorugi (Sparring) and Poomsae (Forms) events. There will be competition in the Seniors (men and women) and Juniors (boys) Divisions.
Everyone is encouraged to attend the games to support our teams.
Benilde's Roadmap for AY 2023-2024: Enhancing Academics and Embracing Innovation
As the new academic year dawns and Benilde celebrates its 25th foundation year anniversary, the community is gearing up for an exciting journey marked by academic excellence, innovation, and technology. At the #IKnowThePlan Roadshow Series I for AY 2023-2024, key figures unveiled the strategic initiatives set to shape the future of Benilde.
Mr. Reynaldo Villegas, Director of CIP, set the stage by emphasizing that all endeavors would revolve around Academics, complemented by Marketing and Resource Management efforts and Lasallian Formation with Innovation and Technology.
Strategic Initiative on Academics (AY 2023-2026)
Mr. Angelo Lacson, Vice Chancellor for Academics and Strategic Initiative Team Leader, detailed the roadmap. Their commitment centers around three pillars:
- Enhanced curricula and instruction.
- A strong faculty tradition.
- Optimized learning spaces.
Specific measures include:
- Reimagining and recalibrating programs and school/student activities.
- Offering new programs, alternative pathways, and innovative education systems.
- Increasing faculty involvement in research activities.
- Achieving external accreditations and recognitions.
- Fostering collaboration across programs, services, and external partners.
In pursuing these objectives, it’s clear that it indeed “takes a village,” and the team’s gratitude was expressed for the whole ‘Benildean Village.’
Strategic Initiative on Innovation and Technology (AY 2023-2026)
Ms. Lea Abarentos, Project Manager under the Digital Technology Office and Strategic Initiative Team Member, shed light on the plan for innovation and technology. Their objectives are to:
- Objective 1: Establish a Digitization Platform This involves archiving institutional records, academic-related output, and workflow automation to enhance access to information and boost productivity.
- Objective 2: Build and Deploy a Data Warehouse This data warehouse will cover student and finance data to support management decision-making.
Measures to gauge progress include:
- Establishing the digitization solution on an institutional scale in the next two years, resulting in workflow automation, space-saving, and efficient file storage and retrieval.
- Ensuring data warehouse security, policy compliance, and accessibility.
- Establishing a Digital Transformation Office to drive and facilitate digitization
initiatives.
How Can the Benildean Community Help?
The success of these initiatives relies on active involvement from the Benildean community. You can:
- Participate in beta testing, provide feedback, and help refine the projects before their official launch.
- Become advocates for these innovative projects.
- Support the broader cause of innovation and technology initiatives.
Mark your calendars for these important dates:
- November 24: Operations Plan Orientation
- November 28: #IKnowThePlan Roadshow 2
As the roadshow unveiled these dynamic plans, it’s evident that Benilde is poised to continue its journey of academic excellence and technological innovation in the years ahead, 35th Anniversary, and beyond.
Benildean Educators Recognized in 2023
The Center for Faculty Advancement (CFAd) held its first hybrid event titled, “2023 Benildean Educators: Recognized” last September 19, Tuesday, at the Augusto Rosario-Gonzalez Theater.
CFAd, with its three units, recognized 141 Benilde educators for their timely compliance, exemplary participation, and meaningful contributions in the center’s activities conducted during the academic year 2022-2023. The Curriculum Unit recognized the curriculum writers for developing two industry-responsive curricula and were approved by CHED within a year’s time. As for the Instruction Unit, they recognized the faculty who set time to learn and be involved in teaching and learning activities in various learning modalities. For the Service-Learning Unit, they recognized the faculty who guided their students throughout a meaningful journey in working with a partner community. As for the Director’s Office, she recognized the program and school that had the most number of engagements done by their faculty.
The extra mile that the Benildean educators do for their students is valuable for, despite the challenges that we are in, they continue to move forward towards Benildean excellence in teaching and learning.
Fashion Forever Exhibition: Embracing Sustainability in Style
The Embassy of Sweden in Manila, in collaboration with the Swedish Institute and esteemed brands like H&M, Zarah Juan, Lily of the Valley, and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) Program, hosted the “Fashion Forever” Exhibition Talk on October 19.
Chancellor Benhur Ong delivered a warm welcome and highlighted Dars Juson, a 2023 FDM graduate, to an enthusiastic audience. The exhibition, running from October 2023 to January 2024 at the D+A Campus, focuses on the circular economy in fashion and textiles, promoting innovation, zero-waste practices, and garment longevity.
Benilde Trailblazer Startup REPAMANA, Dars Juson’s brainchild, demonstrates the power of collaboration between academia, government, industry, and society. Her Excellency Annika Thunborg, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Philippines, emphasized the Quadruple Helix Model of Innovation and dynamic stakeholder relationships in Sweden’s circular fashion success.
Guest speakers included Camille Escudero, founder of Lily of the Valley, and Zarah Juan, creative director of her eponymous brand. Both shared their journeys towards sustainability in fashion.
Adrian Zethraeus, program manager for sustainable consumption at Science Park Boras, and Rachel Vanessa Tan, Sustainability Manager for H&M Southeast Asia, inspired sustainable fashion choices and circular business models.
Dars Juson’s initiative addresses bedsheets from the hospitality industry ending up in landfills, promoting circularity through second chances.
This event highlights the growing importance of sustainability and circularity in the fashion industry, where creativity, innovation, profit, and ethics merge into a new generation of fashion professionals.
The Exhibit is open every Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10AM to 6PM (Except on Holidays and Suspension of Class).
Registration is required at least two days before the chosen schedule to visit. Both Benildeans (students and associates) and the general public are welcome to see this unique Exhibit via this link – https://bit.ly/
Look: Photos from the Benilde Mission Week
The Benildean Community is celebrating the 35th Anniversary in AY 2023-2024. To kickoff the celebration, several offices participated in the Benilde Mission Week open house and welcomed associates from neighboring offices. Below are some of their creative outputs in support of the launch of the Benilde Like No Other campaign.
Benildeans are also enjoined to use the Benilde Like No Other wordmark and the Benilde 35th Anniversary logos in their promotional collaterals.
In Case You Missed It
- Center for Institutional Helpdesk
- CIH launched its new ticketing system: HELPDESK.BENILDE.EDU.PH. One website. All the help you need.
- Office of the Registrar
- In view of the several cancellation of classes due to inclement weather and transport strike, the institutional make-up class for T1 AY 2023-2024 was announced and posted in the SIS login page.
- The Academic Adviser’s Online Course Approval is extended until November 9.
- Center for Restorative Discipline
- CRD has launched the “Restorative Discipline Course” in BigSky.
- Visit the respective CRD offices in the different campuses to claim the lost
and found item/s from October 5-31, between 9am to 4pm only. Bring
proof of ownership for verification purposes.
- Office of the Chancellor
- Suspension of Classes and Work Operations start from 31 October to 4 November 2023. Regular classes (onsite and online) and work operations (onsite and work-from-home arrangements) will resume on 6 November 2023.
- Pursuant to Proclamation No. 359 series of 2023 by the Office President of the Philippines, declaring 30 October 2023 (Monday) as a Special (Non-Working) Day throughout the country, classes (onsite and online) and work operations (onsite and work from home arrangements) are suspended in Benilde Manila, Benilde Antipolo, Benilde Deaf School, and Benilde Senior High School.
- Center for Intellectual Property Management
- Call for Entries: Invitation to Submit Entries for 2023 Socially Relevant Technologies Competition. Deadline of submission is on October 31.
- Call for Entries: Invitation to Submit Entries for 2023 Socially Relevant Technologies Competition. Deadline of submission is on October 31.
- Center for Emergency Management, Safety and Security
- Occupational Safety Inspections of Offices: This inspection is a proactive step to identify and address potential safety concerns in the College.
- Risk Management Office
- It is required that a Data Privacy Notice be posted prior to the collection and processing of personal information. This is to ensure that data subjects such as attendees are informed of what personal data is being collected / processed, purpose of collection, who has access to such data, its storage and retention period.
- Center for Student Life – Culture and Arts Unit
- REGISTRATION for the BCAU ART is HERE Recruitment is now officially open until October 31.
- School of Professional and Continuing Education
- Join the upcoming programs for October & November 2023.
- Office of the Vice President for Innovation
- The BEnilde Innovation Tank (BE ‘It’) is open to all Benildean associates and students who share the vision of fostering a culture of innovation. We are actively seeking innovative ideas to enhance our institution.
- Center for Sports Development
- BENILDE BLAZERS GAME SCHEDULES: October 25, 29, and November 4.
- School of Environment Design
- The Philippine Textile Congress welcomes the partnership with Benilde’s Fashion Design and Merchandising Program. Two of our FDM Faculty will be speaking during the Closing Plenary and Textile Research Colloquium Session 5: Textile Apparel & Garment Design. Interested participants may register through this link.
Upcoming Events
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