SEMRI
SCIENCE ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SEMRI)
About SEMRI
Established in December 2021, SEMRI is a collaboration between the School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE) and the School of Management (SMN) of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). Its vision is to be a leading trans- and multi- disciplinary research institute on the theme of societal innovation and sustainability in the Global South, using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. Its mission is to advance sustainable development goals in the Global South through research, technology and policies
Research agenda of SEMRI
Achievement of SEMRI
- Between July 2023 and June 2024, SEMRI-affiliated researchers produced two Scopus-indexed publications. In the previous period, from July 2022 to June 2023, they published five such articles, and from July 2021 to June 2022, they had four. No other research institute at UA&P matches SEMRI’s level of productivity in terms of research output.
- Transportation Engineering is the top 1 research topic in UA&P according to EduRank. The University of Asia and the Pacific ranked 13th in the Philippines, 4979th in the global 2023 rating, and scored in 12 research topics, based on EduRank’s 2023 global ratings. Of these 12 research topics, transportation engineering emerged as the #1. Transportation is one of SEMRI’s priority research areas. https://edurank.org/uni/university-of-asia-and-the-pacific/rankings/
- Research agreements and partnerships are also being processed between SEMRI and UP-NCTS and DOST-ASTI.
Previous Major Activities 2021-2024
- In March 2023, SEMRI conducted the 1st Policy Dialogue on Service Contracting for Efficient and Equitable Public Transport Systems: https://sites.google.com/uap.asia/servicecontractph/. This was attended by key stakeholders from the government, private sector, academe and consultancy firms.
- In November 2024, SEMRI, in partnership with the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), hosted the 2nd Forum on Service Contracting for Efficient and Equitable Public Transport Systems. This initiative was supported by a research grant from the Center for Research and Communications Foundation, Inc. (CRCFI). News here: https://uap.asia/news/forum-on-service-contracting-program-held-at-uap/
- SEMRI organized the 1st Physical Internet for Logistics Conference with the theme: “Meeting the Global Logistics Challenge in the Philippines through the Physical Internet”. For more details, here is the website: https://sites.google.com/uap.asia/physicalinternetph/conference
- SEMRI also organized webinars related to transportation: https://sites.google.com/uap.asia/transportsciph/
- SEMRI has also conducted several research studies related to transportation, logistics, clean water, renewable energy, etc.
- SEMRI, in cooperation with the Institute for Solidarity in Asia and the Institute for Corporate Directors, organized a Roundtable Discussion on Integrated Water Resource Management with the major players from Civil Society, Government, Industry, and International Financial Institutions.
Contact person for SEMRI
Dr. Varsolo C. Sunio – SEMRI Chief Research Fellow and SSE faculty. Email: varsolo.sunio@uap.asia
