Reported by JBLCF-Bacolod
October 27, 2021, had been a challenging day for Dr. Emeliza T. Estimo, Research Coordinator, and Engr. Roberto Neal S. Sobrejuanite, Administrator of JBLCF-Bacolod, as they braced themselves for their virtual paper presentation at the 21 Annual General Assembly and Conference. Their paper entitled “Remote Instruction: Challenges, Initiatives, and Future Directions for Maritime Institutions in a Developing Country” was one of the few papers selected for oral presentation at the conference. Like the rest of the aspiring researchers who sent their manuscripts for screening, Dr. Estimo and Engr. Sobrejuanite went through a stringent process. On August 18, 2021, they were informed that their contribution to the IAMUC 21 had been accepted for oral presentation. However, due to travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic, they could not join the rest of the participants in Alexandria, Egypt. In consideration to all participants who could not be physically present at the venue, arrangements had been made possible by the host university to allow them to present virtually, on live telecon thru Zoom, following the Cairo, Egypt time zone. The audience was composed of participants from the actual venue and those who were attending the conference online. Dr. Estimo, who presented on behalf of their tandem, presented their paper at 8:30 in the evening, Philippine Time. The 21 IAMU Annual General Assembly and Conference was hosted by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT). JBLFMU was the first maritime university in the Philippines that had become a member of the IAMU.
