5th International Research Symposium (5thIRS) Webinar
On July 03, 2021, the Graduate School of Business (GSB) Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Unit, Philippine School of Business Administration – Manila (PSBA-Manila) under the leadership of Dr. Jose F. Peralta, President and Dean, and Dr. Tabassam Raza, Associate Dean and Director DRM Unit, held its 5th International Research Symposium Webinar entitled “Business Continuity Models and Disaster Risk Management Trends in the New Normal” with the theme of Challenges and Opportunities for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises During the COVID-19 Pandemic: New Normal. The event was held virtually via Zoom and it was attended by more than 100 attendees among them the Hon. Mayor Josefina “Joy” Belmonte-Alimurung, Mayor of Quezon City, Prof. Dr. Fidel R. Nemenzo, Chancellor, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, and Prof. Dr. Indrajit Pal, Chair, Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM), Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, just to mention but a few. The event started at 12:45 P.M. and ended at 7:30 P.M. The webinar was also live-streamed on PSBA Facebook Page to accommodate those who could not join via Zoom due to the maximum number of attendees.
The school’s research fellowship, students and experts from both local and international institutions, and its local and international public and private organizations and partners, contributed to the event by sharing and disseminating their knowledge with focus on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises’ challenges and opportunities amidst COVID-19 Pandemic. Several interesting topics were discussed during the event. The GSB students had an opportunity to share their ongoing researches on business continuity and resiliency planning towards sustainable development. A number of thought-provoking questions were asked during the event. However, due to time constraints, some of these questions were noted down to be answered later on through email.
The Symposium provided a platform to share thoughts and exchange ideas on how business organizations and their members can contribute more meaningfully to resolve disaster-related challenges faced as well as the opportunities gained by MSMEs globally. The Symposium served to encourage businesses to adopt sustainable Inclusive Business models by integrating the poor at the core of their business operations.