Train College Faculty on Agricultural Research Capabilities

Job Description
Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMSCAT) is in the province of Masbate, Philippines. As the lone state college in the province, it offers a diverse range of academic programs in the fields of Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Science, and Technology. As a higher education institution, DEBESMSCAT is committed to fulfilling its core mandates of instruction, research, extension, and production, serving as a vital hub for knowledge generation, innovation, and community development in the region.

In the College of Agriculture, only a few faculty members are involved in research, resulting in a low overall performance in this area. With numerous new developments in agricultural research emerging today, some faculty members may be left behind in trends and best practices, making it more challenging for them to contribute innovative ideas and solutions. This problem is made worse by limited access to updated research tools, inadequate training, and lack of opportunities to collaborate with other researchers. As a result, many faculty members are unable to fully maximize their potential in both their roles as educators and researchers.

To help address these issues, the college is requesting the support of one Virtual Service Pilot Participant (VSPP). This engagement will provide all faculty members in the College of Agriculture with the opportunity to enhance their research skills, learn about updated methods, and connect with mentors and collaborators. By doing so, the program will strengthen the research culture in the college and empower faculty to produce studies and solutions that can benefit agriculture, the environment, and local communities.

The organization has previously collaborated with the Peace Corps when they successfully hosted a VSPP from February to July 2025. They understand the roles of the host country partner along with its responsibilities to successfully accomplish the program.

Desired Qualifications
Experience:
● Virtual engagement and communication
● Conducting both experimental and non-experimental (qualitative/descriptive) research in the field of agriculture
● Conducting lectures on agricultural research-related topics

Required Skills
Education: Master's degree in an agriculture-related discipline

Experience:
● Two years of professional experience in academic or agricultural research
● Leading research project(s) funded through academic institution or through external resources
● Authored a minimum of two research publications in the field of agriculture

Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually

Host Country Partner's Mission and Goals
VISION: A globally competitive university in agriculture and technological innovations for socio-economic transformation.

MISSION
1) To provide quality, accessible, data-driven, and internationalized state education;
2) To produce academically prepared, skills-equipped, values-laden, and leadership-honed graduates that are lifelong learners; and
3) To sustain partnerships with multi-sectoral local and international institutions for academic, research, production, and community-based endeavors.

Virtual Service Engagement and Tasks
The VSPP will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their host country partners:

● Review the existing research capacity of College of Agriculture faculty members
● Co-develop academic and research development lesson plans for training faculty
● Conduct at least six (6) workshops for all College of Agriculture faculty members about the following academic areas:
a) research conceptualization, methodology, data collection;
b) publication in peer-reviewed journals;
c) writing/submitting project proposals to appropriate research grant agencies.

• Mentor faculty by reviewing and providing feedback on draft research methods, articles, and proposals

VSPPs are expected to engage in the tasks listed above for an estimated 4–5 hours per week. This engagement is estimated to be 5 hours per week.

Online collaboration will generally occur between 8:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Philippine time. Specific times will be determined during orientation as agreed both by the VSP Participant and DEBESMSCAT.

The host country counterpart will have access to Zoom, Facebook Messenger, and Gmail for regular communication and collaboration.

Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0–18), two adults must be present.

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