THE Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) celebrated 35 years of partnership in advancing global agricultural education during its 37th Executive Board Meeting on Sept. 23 and 24, 2024.
The UC executive board meeting was hosted by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), which marked UC's 35th anniversary, commemorating three-and-a-half decades of collaborative leadership in advancing agricultural and natural resources education across Southeast Asia and beyond.
Attending the meeting were representatives from regular member institutions, including Kasetsart University (KU) and Maejo University from Thailand; Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), IPB University and Universitas Brawijaya from Indonesia; Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM); and Central Luzon State University, Visayas State University and UPLB from the Philippines.
Also present were associate members from Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI) from Japan and National Taiwan University and affiliate members from Central Mindanao University from the Philippines and the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Serving as the UC Secretariat was the Laguna-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), represented by key officials led by Glenn Gregorio, center director and UC CEO; Nur Azura Binti Adam, deputy director for programs and UC executive officer; and Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, senior program head of the Education and Collective Learning Department and UC coordinator.
Gregorio said UC also launched its website, and the executive board accepted two new affiliate members — Dalhousie University and the University of Alberta, both of Canada — as part of its growth and global outreach.
He said this expansion elevated the UC to 17 premier universities worldwide, underscoring the consortium's increasing prominence in the international academic community.
The UC was established on Sept. 19, 1989 in response to a meeting convened by SEARCA with the deans of the graduate schools of five leading agricultural universities in Southeast Asia: KU, IPB, UGM, UPM and UPLB.
The founding group laid the groundwork for a partnership based on strength in diversity. The UC has since grown, accepting new regular, associate and affiliate members, further extending its reach and impact.
Over the years, Gregorio noted that the UC has remained dedicated to developing highly trained professionals in agriculture, environment and natural resources, promoting collaborative research and facilitating faculty and student exchange programs.
He said UC members have collaborated on numerous impactful projects, highlighting their commitment to cross-border academic initiatives addressing pressing global challenges.
Gregorio said the Erasmus+ funded projects, including the Joint Master's Program in Food Security and Climate Change from 2016 to 2019 and the Postgraduate Micro-Credentials for Food Security and Climate Change from 2023 to 2026, are among the notable projects.
From 2021 to 2023, other significant initiatives were the Leveling Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources or LevelUPHEI AFAR project, funded by the Commission on Higher Education, and the five collaborative projects under the umbrella program on Food and Nutrition Security for Southeast Asia, among others.
Gregorio said these projects "demonstrate the capability of UC members to deliver high-impact capacity-building programs, which led to the board's consensus to further pursue collaborative projects in the coming years."
Meanwhile, in its outlined key activities for 2025-2027, the UC executive board said CLSU would host a Summer School on Precision Agriculture. UB in Malang, Indonesia, will merge its Graduate Forum with an international conference in 2025.
It said CMU would organize the Faculty Forum, focusing on green economy research studies, and Tokyo NODAI will host the next executive board meeting in Japan. Hosts for UC activities will be confirmed in upcoming meetings.
Visit https://uc.searca.org for more information. Membership inquiries may be sent to