The World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) recognized Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) in Negros Occidental as one of the global top 400 innovative universities and top 100 academic institutions in three categories.
CHMSU ranked 312th in the global top 400 innovative universities while also placing 31st in crisis management, 92nd in industrial application, and 93rd in SDG-based responses to global challenges categories, WURI announced July 10.
This marks CHMSU’s second consecutive year in the WURI rankings, which assessed 1,253 universities from 87 countries, highlighting 4,866 innovative programs around the world.
The WURI assesses higher education institutions’ real contributions to industry and society, highlighting innovative education, research, and engagement with society.
Using 16 categories, it encompasses innovation targets and methods, offering a comprehensive measure of institutions’ creative contributions to societal advancement, according to the WURI.
The university landed in 31st place for crisis management through Project PDL, or Pagdating ng Sakuna, Dapat Lagi Tayong Handa (We should be prepared for disasters at all times)” of proponent professors Robert Pardillo and King Abram Cabautan.
Project PDL is a disaster preparedness and response program designed for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), aimed at equipping them with essential skills in basic first aid, basic life support, and earthquake drills.
This category focuses on managing environmental and economic crisis that universities face from the greater society, such as climate change and other global and local crises, the university said in a press release July 14.
Meanwhile, CHMSU ranked 92nd in industrial application after submitting three innovation entries, including Prof. Raynor Ereje’s EcoSafe Soldering Station: An Energy-Efficient and Fume-Free Solution, providing for safer and more energy-efficient working environment;
Enhancing Worker Safety through Production of Personal Protective Equipment for Sugarcane Farmers and Workers of director Rhoderick Samonte of the Center for Internationalization and External Relations, aimed at addressing the gap in preferred apparel types among farmers in Negros Occidental; and the three-sectioned Movable Spelling and Vocabulary Board utility model developed by Prof. Vanessa Joy Judith, aimed at improving the English proficiency of Indigenous people students in the Philippine hinterlands.
CHMSU also ranked 93rd in the SDG-based responses to global challenges category through the High-Volume, Low-Density (HVLD) Marine Fish Cages Community Engagement Project of Extension and Community Services director Roger Ray Manzano, addressing SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 14: Life Below Water.
The Hinoban-on Entrepreneurs and Leaders Partnership and the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Management Council of the Municipality of Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental, were the project partner beneficiaries.
The study promoted milkfish culture in HVLD technology, with 20 units of marine fish cages installed at Nabulao Bay in Barangay Tacalagay, Hinoba-an.
The ranking, said the WURI, aims to spotlight higher education institutions that excel in these innovative approaches, thereby inspiring advancements across the academic and societal landscape. ||
