To further drive strategic alignment across units, the UP Diliman Quality Assurance Office (UPD QAO) successfully conducted the INSPIRE Series with the theme “Aligning Purpose. Strengthening Systems. Advancing Quality” from May to September 2026.
2026 INSPIRE Program Design
Launched on May 11 and 12, 2026 at the Institute of Biology Auditorium, UP Diliman, its first installment, dubbed INSPIRE Part 1: Aligning Purpose, gathered about 200 delegates from the academic and administrative units. The session centered on Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan III’s Vision for UP Diliman: “A dynamic university that leads in sustainable community and nation-building through education and research”, with three (3) Strategic Directions: Fix our House, Pursue Sustainability, and UPD as a Cultural Haven.
Chancellor Vistan’s message highlighted re-centering plans on a single idea of the student journey: not outcomes alone, but the whole experience UP Diliman students live through while they are with the University.
Chancellor Vistan underscored the importance of the student journey as an anchor in the INSPIRE planning exercise, “I believe our students will bring what they experience in the classroom, in our colleges, in the university, to their homes, to their communities, and their organizations. That’s why the student journey that we create, build, and implement for them is important.”
“Aligning Purpose. Strengthening Systems. Advancing Quality. This is the sequence of the work that we will do together across the three parts,” QAO Director Prof. Evangeline C. Amor shared in her speech. “This year, we redesigned INSPIRE in three distinct phases with its own focus and own deliverables. There are three strategic functional questions to answer: Where do we want to go? Where are we now? How do we get there?,” Prof. Amor added.
During INSPIRE Part 2: Strengthening Systems on July 28-29, 2026, this brought together university leaders, resource persons, and unit representatives across UP Diliman and the UP System. Building on the foundation of Aligning Purpose, Part 2 is a two-day event focused on bridging strategic governance, public sector quality management, and competency-based performance systems into actionable workshop outputs – moving units directly from learning to strategic application. Plenary sessions were graced by executive officials from the UP System and UP Diliman.
As a culmination of the strategic planning workshop, INSPIRE Part 3: Advancing Quality was conducted on September 21, 2026, at the Atencio Libunao Hall, UP Diliman. The Closing Ceremonies highlighted the sharing of the INSPIRE Journey by the Campus Maintenance Office (CMO), Office of Scholarships and Grants (OSG), College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD), and the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), centering on each unit’s contribution towards the UPD student journey.
INSPIRE Lead Resource Person Acad. Maria Aura Teodora Matias further shared the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP)’s achievement of the Global Excellence Award, led by Dean Prof. Dina Magnaye, is a testament to the INSPIRE program effectiveness, turning vision into action verified with externally validated proof of quality excellence. SURP’s humility to be subjected to feedback and continuous improvement contextualized in it being part of the pilot batch of INSPIRE in 2022, come into fruition as its vision written in 2022 continuously pursued intentionally until it received its Philippine Quality Award in 2024, and later on, the Global Excellence Award in October 2026.
Chancellor honored the INSPIRE Series closing ceremonies on September 21st with a message leading the call to continuous quality improvement, “Thank you for your commitment and your care across these three gatherings. With deep gratitude for the work already done, and with great hope for the road ahead, I am pleased to formally close the 2026 INSPIRE Series.”
Serving as a capacity-building initiative that started with a pilot run in 2022 and then launched in 2023, INSPIRE is designed to empower university administrators and unit heads with the knowledge, tools, and strategic frameworks needed to advance operational excellence across academic and administrative units.
Photo Gallery:
Chancellor Edgardo Carlo C. Vistan II during his Open Remarks at INSPIRE Part 1: Aligning Purpose.
![[Photo series] Resource persons during the INSPIRE Part 1: Aligning Purpose: UPD QAO Director Prof. Evangeline C. Amor; UPD PMT-FIC Prof. Susan Pancho-Festin; and NAST Academician Maria Teodora Aura C. Matias.](https://qa.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/inspire-2026-article5.webp)
![[Photo series] Resource persons during the INSPIRE Part 1: Aligning Purpose: UPD QAO Director Prof. Evangeline C. Amor; UPD PMT-FIC Prof. Susan Pancho-Festin; and NAST Academician Maria Teodora Aura C. Matias.](https://qa.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/inspire-2026-article6.webp)
![[Photo series] Resource persons during the INSPIRE Part 1: Aligning Purpose: UPD QAO Director Prof. Evangeline C. Amor; UPD PMT-FIC Prof. Susan Pancho-Festin; and NAST Academician Maria Teodora Aura C. Matias.](https://qa.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/inspire-2026-article7.webp)
[Photo series] Resource persons during the INSPIRE Part 1: Aligning Purpose: UPD QAO Director Prof. Evangeline C. Amor; UPD PMT-FIC Prof. Susan Pancho-Festin; and NAST Academician Maria Teodora Aura C. Matias.
Director Oliver Penuliar and Mr. Minnelli Mempin during the Campus Maintenance Office’s INSPIRE Journey Sharing
Ms. Joyce Aberin of the Office of Scholarships and Grants shared their office’s INSPIRE Journey.
College of Social Work and Community Development Dean Prof. Justin Nicolas and Asst. Prof. Florence Pasos during the CSWCD’s INSPIRE Journey Sharing.
School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) Dean Asst. Prof. Rhea Rowena Apolinario and Asst. Prof. Yhna Therese Santos during the SLIS’ INSPIRE Journey Sharing.
2026 INSPIRE Series SDE Video
Other Photo Gallery:
INSPIRE Part 1:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAHJmiDKzHY/qN4KMW3E4X0dY3dWicm-Gw/edit
INSPIRE Part 2:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAHQ01zyoso/eYG0S-lJZ_FCWZWiHVlwrQ/edit
INSPIRE Part 3:
https://canva.link/350z44m4cqh413m
Another graduate program of the UP Population Institute (UPPI) successfully underwent the external quality review process on October 19-22, 2026, marking the completion of the first round of external quality assurance (EQA) of both graduate programs of the Institute. The Master in Population Studies (M PopStud) program engaged external quality reviewers from UP Diliman and foreign higher education institutions. Under the UP QA System, the visit is categorized as EQA Type D, and was partly funded through the Visiting Professor Program of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA). University and College administrators, External Quality Reviewers, and representatives of the Master in Population Studies program posed for a group photo during the opening session of the 6th External Quality Review Visit. From left to right: Associate Professor Apryl Mae C. Parcon, Graduate Program Coordinator; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Mary Ann G. Bacolod; Professor Emeritus Irene Villaseñor; Associate Professor Chalermpol Chamchan; Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Maria Vanessa Lusung-Oyzon; UP Population Institute Director Maria Paz Marquez; and Associate Professor Jake Rom D. Cadag, Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Office of the Associate Dean for Research, Extension, and Publications. The review was led by Professor Emeritus Irene Villaseñor from the UP
The Master of Science (Geography), Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), and Bachelor of Public Administration programs of the University of the Philippines Diliman successfully completed the 5th External Quality Review (EQR) Visit held from September 30 to October 2, 2026. The three degree programs serve distinct academic and professional purposes, from advancing geographical research and understanding complex ideas to preparing students for careers in education, private industries, and public service. Reviewing them presented an opportunity to examine how their curricula and learning experiences prepare graduates to apply their knowledge in their respective fields and respond to the needs of the communities and sectors they serve. The External Quality Reviewers, UPD Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II, UPD QAO Director Evangeline C. Amor, CSSP Dean Ruth R. Lusterio-Rico, and NCPAG Dean Kristoffer B. Berse posed for a group photo during the opening session. The review was conducted by an EQR Team composed of academic and quality assurance practitioners from UP Diliman and UP Manila. Professor Emeritus Irene M. Villaseñor of the Institute of Chemistry served as the Lead External Quality Reviewer (EQR) for the MS Geography program, as well as the Chief of the EQR team. She was assisted by Associate Professor
Culminating a week of collaborative learning and unit showcases, the inaugural UP Diliman QAhusayan Fair concluded on September 11, 2026 with a celebratory closing ceremony.
During the opening ceremony of the inaugural UP Diliman QAhusayan Fair 2026 held on September 7, 2026, Dean Dina C. Magnaye, presented the transformative journey of the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) as a world-class academic unit of the University of the Philippines.
The UPD QAO held the inaugural QAhusayan Fair from September 7 to 11, 2026, officially marking September as the University’s QA Month, with the theme “Empowering Excellence through a Culture of Quality.”
The UP Diliman College of Engineering, in partnership with UP Diliman Quality Assurance Office, successfully conducted the week-long CoE Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing Workshop on August 10-14, 2026, targeting the continuous quality improvement of their graduate degree programs.