Participants and resource persons on the first day of the boot camp
In celebration of SEARCA's 50th Anniversary and the 12th National Biotechnology Week, senior high school students and their science teachers from various schools in the Philippines took part in the Agri-biotech Boot Camp held at SEARCA Headquarters and the University of the Philippines Los Baños - Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB) on 16-18 November 2016.
Participants from UP Rural High School, Regional Science High School for Region 2, West Visayas State University - Integrated Laboratory School, and Mindanao State University - College of Education Training Department took part in the event.
Study visit at UPLB-BIOTECH
Biotech interactive games for students
The boot camp exposed the students to issues and trends in agricultural biotechnology, and involved lectures on the agriculture landscape in Southeast Asia, agriculture offerings in UPLB, and biotechnology applications in crops, livestock, and fisheries. It also included hands-on exercises on DNA extraction and edible landscaping. The participants also visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and UPLB's National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), where they learned about Golden Rice in the Philippines and UPLB-BIOTECH's local research initiatives. The last day of the activity involved interactive games on biotech facilitated by student organizations --- the UP League of Agricultural Biotechnology Students (UP LABS) and UP Genetic Researchers and Agricultural Innovators society (UP GRAINS).
The activity was spearheaded by SEARCA's Biotechnology Information Center (BIC) under the Knowledge Management Department, in partnership with UPLB-IPB, the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), UP Rural High School, UP LABS, and UP GRAINS.
