TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan –The new administration of the Cagayan State University (CSU) has identified human resources not at par with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and global standards as one of its challenges in the next few years.
Urdujah A. Tejada, former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology and newly appointed President of CSU said amid rapid globalization, the issue will be one of the many her new administration is expected to address..
“ I want to create a culture of innovation and excellence and to transform the university into a leading university in the ASEAN region in the next four years,” she said.
Aside from the issue of human resources, she said there is likewise a mismatch between skills and knowledge of graduates with industry needs.
She added that the culture of innovation still needs to be enhanced. She said this observation when she visited the different campuses when she was a regent of the same university for nine years.
“We need to modernize the facilities of the university and to meet such challenges on board,” Tejada, in an online interview, added.
Tejada said her long-term goals include increasing productivity of CSU’S rich land resources through agricultural and fishery production; establishment of a laboratory for agricultural systems and forging of cooperation and partnership for research , development and innovation at the national and international levels especially those identified the priorities of the Cagayan Valley Regional Development Council.
She said she also wants more empowerment for the students and to expand scholarships on Science and Engineering and will propose to enrich curricula on existing academic programs of the university. She will also take the lead in pushing state universities in the region to be amalgamated.
“Cagayanos should be proud of themselves with a university which can propel development such as academic excellence in all programs, more empowered faculty and staff and more jobs for them as a result of better capabilities of our own young professionals, “she said.
In a text message to The Northern Forum, Tejada called on Cagayanos to help “create the best future for the university through cooperation and teamwork.”
“Her promotion last year as Assistant Secretary of DOST has been the result of an exemplary performance during her long stint as regional director,” a former director of an agency in the region who requested not be identified, said in a message.
Tejada, who finished secondary school at the then Cagayan Valley Agricultural College, now CSU-Lal-lo, was one of the most outstanding student in her batch and eventually tucked her degree in Agricultural Economics at the Gregorio Araneta University Foundation now the De La Salle Araneta University. She pursued her Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture under the DOST Scholarship Program.
She has her early employment beginnings at the Phil. Cotton Corp then to Cagayan Integrated Agricultural Development Project (CIADP) established by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and forged by former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile Iguig, Cagayan.
She has been a recipient of the Pag-Asa Awards and the GAWAD Career Executive Service Officer award and other awards from DOST and other institutions. Tejada was a former President of the Association of Regional Executives in Region 2. TNF
