UP Resilience Institute (UPRI) recently welcomed a new batch of National University of Singapore College (NUSC) students last June 2, 2026 for an educational visit that highlighted UPRI’s growing portfolio of climate and disaster resilience initiatives. Around 15 NUSC undergraduates from various courses, joined by a handful of De La Salle University students, spent the day at UPRI for a full-day learning tour.
The visit forms part of the Global Experience (GEx) Manila–Tacloban course on disaster resilience and climate adaptation, led by Dr Shelley Tuazon Guyton, Lecturer in Global Studies at the National University of Singapore. The course lets students examine how institutions, communities, and individuals in the Philippines understand and act on disaster resilience and climate adaptation. At UPRI, students were introduced to how disaster risk reduction (DRR) is approached at the national level before they proceeded to see how these frameworks and policies are translated into local realities in Tacloban and other communities.
The program opened with an introduction to UPRI’s advocacies and programs, followed by short presentations from the Education, Research and Creative Work, Institution Building, and Knowledge Sharing divisions. Students took part in a Q&A session and a guided tour, where they asked about UPRI’s ongoing work in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and how these efforts support national and local stakeholders. The UPRI’s educational materials and Augmented Reality Sandbox were also presented during this period. (Related: https://resilience.up.edu.ph/upri-leads-natural-hazard-demonstrations-activities-workshop-to-strengthen-school-based-disaster-preparedness-in-aroroy-masbate/)
Several UPRI staff present to NUSC students the different activities and programs of the Institution during a guided tour
UPRI Executive Director Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay welcomed the delegation, and further discussed UPRI’s major accomplishments and current projects, including flood control initiatives and the work of the UP NOAH Center. This highlights the importance of science-based decision-making and partnerships in reducing disaster risk. UP President Angelo Jimenez, a NUS alumnus, also greeted the students and underscored the value of academic exchange and shared resilience work.
The students also met with the UPRI YouthMappers the day before, as part of their Manila run for the program’s focus on youth and citizen science for resilience. (Related: https://resilience.up.edu.ph/regional-perspectives-local-action-upri-youthmappers-host-nusc-and-dlsu-for-joint-field-mapping-exchange/)