Futures Forward: IPIL conducts 2nd Youth Leadership Training

The MSU-IIT Institute for Policy Innovation and Leadership (IPIL), through its Executive Education Unit, held the second installment of its Youth Leadership Training series, Futures Forward: Innovative Leadership for the Next Generation, from March 23 to 25, 2026.


Anchored on the theme “Shaping Better University Life Through Conversation,” the three-day workshop brought together 40 student leaders from various organizations across MSU-IIT, equipping them with the skills and perspectives needed to help shape the future of the university and beyond.


MSU-IIT Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, Prof. Nancy Echavez, PhD, opened the first day with a message reminding participants that leadership is less about volume and more about intention.


“Real conversation is a revolutionary act… speak the truth, and have the humility to actually listen,” she emphasized.


Chancellor Atty. Prof. Alizedney Ditucalan, LLD, also addressed the participants with an inspirational message, urging student leaders to reflect critically on the social issues of their time while pointing out that violence has no place in genuine leadership.


The keynote address was delivered by Assoc. Prof. Atty. Datu Esma Mikee Maruhom, Vice Chancellor for International Affairs of MSU Tawi-Tawi and a faculty member of its College of Technology and Oceanography.


Drawing from his own experience as a former Kataas-taasang Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral (KASAMA) president of MSU-IIT, he offered a grounding challenge to the young leaders in the room: “Leadership is not about feeling right; it is about feeling responsible.”


Vice Chancellor Maruhom also spoke on the weight of this particular moment in history, stressing that “…even in uncertainty, students’ voices matter.”


Bainorah Amate, MPA, Head of IPIL’s Executive Education Unit, outlined the workshop’s purpose and objectives, while also adding the reminder that “…a dream without a moral author is just a fantasy.”


A panel discussion featuring Nimfa Bracamonte, PhD, former Director of the WE CARE Office of MSU-IIT; Prof. Mylene Uy, Ph.D., Dean of the MSU-IIT College of Science and Mathematics; Prof. Adrian Galido, Ph.D., Director of IPIL; and Atty. Yaslani Bantuas, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance of MSU-IIT took the majority of the morning session.


Meanwhile, the afternoon session introduced student leaders to Causal Layered Analysis (CLA), which they later applied through output presentations on the second day, followed by a backcasting exercise.


The final day of the workshop reflected on the realities of various student-related issues within the university and closed with a symbolic “Hand Manifesto”—a reminder of the student leaders’ commitment to translate their workshop learnings into concrete actions.


As Radj Jeffrey Malalis, an officer of the Political Science Society, reflected, “YLT 2026 has taught me many things that I can truly impart not just to myself but to others as well, to the community I am in service of.”



Written by Maan Deuda