Thirty participants from 20 members of the State Universities and Colleges - Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines (SUC-ACAP) convened during the Culminating Forum of the Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources or LevelUPHEI-AFAR on 15–16 November 2023. This project of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is funded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The attendees, comprising project alumni who undertook mobilities at the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) host member universities, gathered to discuss the trajectory of internationalization in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). They showcased the best practices of international mobility programs and highlighted the key learnings that the grantees had successfully integrated into their respective institutions following their participation in SEARCA's co-organized activities.
In addition to the 30 delegates, representatives from SUC-ACAP, including Dr. Noli Gerona, dean, College of Agriculture and faculty representative on the ISUFST Board of Regents, Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology - Dingle Campus; Dr. Cesar Ortinero, dean of Admissions and professor of environmental science and UC coordinator, Central Luzon State University; and Dr. Armando Diga, dean, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Engineering, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic College, contributed their expertise to the forum.
Assoc. Prof. Joselito G. Florendo, Deputy Director for Administration of SEARCA, welcomed the delegates to the Culminating Forum of the LevelUPHEI AFAR project.Assoc. Prof. Joselito G. Florendo, deputy director for Administration of SEARCA, expressed gratitude to SUC-ACAP and CHED for their pivotal role in propelling faculty members toward enhanced relevance and competitiveness in the 21st century through international programs. He also extended SEARCA's profound appreciation to the UC members for their gracious hosting of all grantees. Their hospitality has enriched the grantees' experiences and became a bridge for cultural exchange.
The forum welcomed Atty. Lily Freida M. Milla, OIC, Office of the Deputy Executive Director, and director-in-charge of the International Affairs Service of CHED, who discussed the journey of Internationalization in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Dr. Buncha Chinnasri, assistant to the president for quality development, deputy director of the International College, and UC executive officer of the Kasetsart University, discussed the best practices in improving external relations of higher education institutions from the experience of the UC. Dr. Edgardo Tulin, SUC-ACAP president, shared insights into internationalization strategies implemented at Visayas State University.
Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior program head, the Education and Collective Learning Department, provided the project overview and synthesis of the presentations.Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior program head, Education and Collective Learning Department of SEARCA, provided an overview of the project and recapped its activities for the past two years while the mobility grantees shared their experiences, learnings, challenges, and plans for their university.
SEARCA is looking forward to the promising opportunities reported by the attendees, such as a memorandum of understanding with the UC member universities they visited, a proposed revision in the curriculum to incorporate what they have learned, journal articles submitted for publication, new extension programs established, curricular revisions, and inclusion of a chapter or a module in existing courses, which are all results of their mobilities. Some grantees shared success stories, such as mentors from the mobility program appointed as adjunct faculty members and overseas webinars conducted for their universities. The delegates also candidly addressed challenges, particularly language barriers faced during community-based fieldwork, in which they needed to rely on translators.
Mr. Ventura Chinaman, a grantee from Nueva Vizcaya State University, shares his experiences during his one-semester mobility at Kasetsart University in Thailand.The LevelUPHEI-AFAR Project of SEARCA was proposed in 2019 and was granted in 2020, with the funds released in 2021. As the two-year project concludes in 2023, SUC-ACAP beneficiaries expressed eagerness for phase two to further enhance their university's capacity. SEARCA, as the project proponent, expressed hope that the knowledge and experiences gained by the grantees during their mobility would be seamlessly integrated into the fabric of their respective institutions and teaching.