Despite the restrictions of the lockdown and the continuous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, PhilDev continues to provide support to our scholars under the Philippines Science and Engineering Scholarship (PSES) program.
One of the unique things we provide are the one-on-one sessions and regular check-ins with our scholars all over the country. With travel restrictions in place, we had to resort to alternative ways and platforms to make sure we reach our scholars wherever they may be.
The one-on-one sessions focused on checking in with the current situation not only of our scholars but their families during this time of crisis. The scholarship program aims to promote holistic development in our scholars. Through these activities, we aspire to provide them the much needed emotional and moral support and reassure them that we are with them despite the current challenges we all face.
We also took this opportunity to check on them on how they cope with the recent shift to online classes and delivery of instruction. Two of the major concerns included problems in connectivity and having their own laptop. This has been especially challenging for scholars who had to come home to their provinces and still in the process of completing their academic requirements.
The sessions with the scholars started last June 10 and will continue until mid-July. At present, the PhilDev team has already met up with a total of 68 scholars from eight (8) universities.