The Office of the Vice President for Research, Publications, and Linkages (OVPRPL) hosted its three-day 5th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Research Innovations (ICIRI 5.0) on December 1 to 3, 2023. The conference upheld the purpose to provide an avenue for researchers to exchange innovative strategies amid the rapidly changing world, but this time, in the light of fostering a culture of inquiry.

University President Sr. Niceta M. Vargas, OSA, PhD expressed her greetings to all the participants through a Welcome Address followed by an Inspirational Message from the Superior General of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (ASOLC) Sr. Eden Gicana, OSA. The Vice President for Research, Publications, and Linkages, Dr. Mark Rey C. Santos, officially declared the opening of the ICIRI 5.0. At the same time, the LCUP Research Officer, Ms. Mariefe B. Cruz, facilitated the virtual stage as the conference host.

The first day of the conference was merely allotted for the plenary sessions, which featured a line-up of speakers worldwide. Among the Keynote Speakers, Dr. Elizabeth Dawes Duraisingh, Principal Investigator & Co-Director (Project Zero) and Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The second Keynote Speaker was Dr. Delia Rarela-Barcelona, Former Dean and Faculty of the College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines.

Three Plenary Speakers graced the virtual stage with their respective talks anchored on the theme: Dr. Marella Ada V. Mancenido-Bolaños, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Letters and Researcher at the Research Center for Culture, Arts, and the Humanities, University of Santo Tomas (UST), Manila, Philippines, Dr. Alejandro S. Bernardo, Full Professor at the UST Department of English, and Dr. Feorillo Petronilo A. Demeterio III, Full Professor at the Department of Filipino, College of Liberal Arts and Executive Director of the Research and Grants Management Office, De La Salle University.

For the Round Table Discussion, five experts from different institutions partook and provided in-depth answers to questions relevant to the conference theme. Participants were Dr. Jove Jim S. Aguas, Executive Governor of the Philippine National Philosophical Research Society, Full Professor at the UST Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Letters, and Researcher at the Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics, Mr. Taher Magdy Gharib, Director of Al Salam Education, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dr. Rico Paulo Tolentino, School Principal II of Masagana High School, Pandi, Bulacan, Philippines and Graduate School Professor at LCUP, Prof.

Isanka P. Gamage, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM), Sri Lanka, and Dr. Mark Rey C. Santos.

The second day of the conference featured four parallel sessions consisting of morning and afternoon sessions. For each session, 17 research presentations from diverse disciplines were witnessed. On the same day, the Awarding Ceremony happened, where four Best Presenters and an overall Best Paper emerged as winners. The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Divina Ann M. Eusebio, bestowed Certificates of Recognition to the awardees of this year's conference. Officially concluding the conference, the Dean of the College of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Accountancy, Dr. Maria Corazon Segimundo, delivered her Closing Remarks.