The German government has awarded scholarships to three Filipinos and six other Southeast Asians to enable them to pursue their doctorate and Master's degrees.
The scholarships of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) are administered by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) based in the Philippines.
The Filipino scholars are Hector Bryan Grama, Miko Mariz Castro and Jan Lorenzo Alegado.
The six others are Ong Quoc Cuong, Do Thi Thanh Nguyen, Lin Truong, all of Vietnam; Risal Ardika, Deasy Fitria, both of Indonesia; and Thu Zar of Myanmar.
German Ambassador Gordon Kricke and SEARCA director Gil Saguiguit Jr. handed the scholarship awards to the grantees in a program held at the German Club in Makati City last Nov. 20.
"It's a challenge to those succeeding batches of DAAD scholars to excel and do what they can to contribute to agricultural and rural development not only in their country but also in the region (Southeast Asia) as a whole," Kricke said in a speech.
Saguiguit also reiterated to the German government and DAAD SEARCA's profound gratitude for their continued support to the center in promoting inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia through human resource development and capacitybuilding.
Four SEARCA scholars studying outside the Philippines were also granted DAAD scholarships for schoolyear 2017-2018. The awarding of the scholarships to the nine brought to 20 the total number of scholars currently being supported by DAAD.
The new scholars will pursue their PhD and MS degrees at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), host institution of SEARCA, which in turn is hosted by the Philippine government through the Department of Education.
Present at the handover ceremony organized by the German embassy were Katharina McGrath, DAAD representative in Manila and a lecturer at UP Diliman; Thorsten Werne of the German embassy; and Maria Cristeta Cuaresma and Zacyl Jalotjot, both of SEARCA.