The UP Resilience Institute (UPRI), through its Education Division, hosted the Midyear Internship 2025, providing students with meaningful opportunities to immerse themselves in applied resilience work. A number of students joined the NOAH Center – Planning Component, where they were guided by For. Rysch Nae Subijano, Planning Component, with additional mentorship from the rest of the Planning team.
The Planning Component welcomed two batches of students from diverse academic backgrounds. Batch 1, which ran from May 26 to June 20, included eleven interns: six students from BS Geography (UP Diliman), two from BS Human Ecology (UP Los Baños), one from BA Political Science (UP Tacloban), and two from Bachelor of Public Administration (UP Diliman). Batch 2, held from June 23 to July 18 (with some extending until early August), also had eleven interns. This group consisted of students from BS Environmental Science (Tarlac State University), BS Architecture (Technological Institute of the Philippines – Quezon City), BS Applied Mathematics (UP Visayas), BS Chemical Engineering (UP Diliman), and Bachelor of Public Administration (UP Diliman).
Figure 1. Two out of 11 interns from Batch 1, with some members of the Planning Component
Figure 2. Interns from Batch 2 with some members of the Planning Component
The Planning Component adopted a peer-to-peer knowledge sharing approach, pairing each intern with a staff member to foster continuous learning and collaboration. This setup allowed interns to actively contribute to ongoing initiatives while receiving guidance tailored to their skills and interests. Throughout the internship, the students were assigned to projects that matched their academic backgrounds and professional aspirations. Their tasks ranged from conducting literature reviews, analyzing policy frameworks, and preparing research materials, to assisting in data processing, risk profiling, and the development of communication outputs such as reports, infographics, and presentations. Some interns also explored specialized tools and methods, enabling them to apply innovative approaches to real-world resilience challenges.
The interns’ experiences not only nurtured their technical knowledge and research capacity but also strengthened their ability to collaborate in a professional setting. By engaging directly with practitioners and contributing to active projects, the interns were able to bridge academic learning with practical applications, gaining valuable exposure that will support their future careers while also advancing the mission of the UP RI. Something worth highlighting from the interns’ final presentation was a memorable statement they shared in their skit: “Ang buhay ay planning planning lang, lalo na sa panahong hindi mo alam kung saan ka susunod na maninirahan.” This reflection captures the essence of planning amid uncertainty, an insight that resonates not only with their internship experience but also with the broader realities of resilience and adaptation.