Being new in this esteemed unit of the University of the
Philippines System is no joke. For one, I know that challenges are waiting for
me to surmount, given that I have long been out of the academic loop for more
than ten years now. But what made the difference in pursuing my graduate studies
through the Master in Development Communication Program of the University of the Philippines’ Open
University (UPOU) --- and what, I can say, was extremely unique with this online learning academic experience, was
to see a very supportive set of faculty and current UPOU students. For this, I will always be grateful.
It would be easy to relate and enumerate here all the things I have learned from my personal Development Communication experience --- from learning the definition of development, understanding the underdevelopment problematique, immersing myself with our societal problems, being familiar with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), knowing what memes are and its inherent power to influence and reach the various audiences we have, reviewing various communication models, concepts and approaches to knowing the definition of development communication, synthesizing development communication and related policies for its advancement, learning the ropes on how to become an effective development communication practitioner, and a lot more. But with all these learnings put together, only one thing struck a chord in me. And this is the definition Samonte had of development communication i.e. it is "communication with a social conscience."