In line with the celebration of the UP Praefects' 11th anniversary, the UP Guild of United Minds - UP Praefects visited the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) as part of their SciTech Tour on June 11, 2024. 

The UP Praefects is a duly recognized university-based socio-civic organization at the University of the Philippines - Los Baños. The purpose of their tour to DOST-PTRI, one of the Research and Development Institutions (RDIs) they visited, was to seek knowledge for scientific ideas, discover research, and learn through experience. 

To provide the participants with a deeper understanding of natural textile production, they observed the production process of yarns at the yarn-spinning facility and the weaving facility, where various handloom weaving machines are utilized for training and processing services at the DOST-PTRI Innovation Center for Yarns & Textiles (ICYT). 

Moreover, the students also witnessed the actual dyeing of fabrics using DOST-PTRI's Natural Dyes technology. They were also introduced to the sustainable textile dyeing technologies using microbial-based colorants from 𝘚. 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴, an application as natural colorant for textile dyeing. 

Furthermore, this tour serves as a fundamental component of the Textile Academy at the Institute, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and fostering collaboration in education, skill enhancement, and capacity building.