CHED engages TAU in internationalization conference, awards TAU with UMAP Lifetime Membership

In an effort to explore more internationalization opportunities, the Tarlac Agricultural University represented by the Office of External Linkages and International Affairs (ELIA) and the Office of Admission and Registration Services (ARS) attended the Conference on Internationalization of Higher Education in the ASEAN Region: UMAP as a Platform for Academic Mobility on May 16-17 at CHED Auditorium, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City.

The two-day event was part of the CHED Higher Education Week as it celebrated its 23rd Anniversary having been established on May 18, 1994 by virtue of Republic Act No. 7722 or the Higher Education Act of 1994 which was authored by Senator Francisco Tatad.

On the other hand, UMAP is an association of government and non-government representatives of the higher education sector. The Philippines became a full member of UMAP in 2001 with which the country has been actively involved in UMAP Exchange Programs. TAU became a UMAP member-institution in 2015.

The event, co-hosted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP), was designed to engage HEIs in a participant-driven agenda with an open format to spark awareness that academic mobility is equated with internationalization. It was intended to strongly encourage participation of member-HEIs in UMAP student exchange with the goal of achieving and enhancing international exposure of Filipino students and to provide a platform for sharing of best practices and challenges of student exchange experiences.

The conference was attended by Dr. Christine N. Ferrer, ELIA Director; Ms. Sheila R. Lingaya, ELIA Assistant Director and Ms. Nita Salvador, ARS Assistant Director along with representatives of the public and private higher education institutions from all over the country.

Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan, CHED Chairperson, graced the opening program along with Dr. Lourdes T. Nepomuceno, President of the UMAP Philippines Council. The participants were also oriented on the “Policy Framework and Strategies on the Internationalization of the Philippine Higher Education” by Atty. L Milla, Director III of CHED’s International Affairs Office. Dr. Rhodora V. Azanza of the University of the Philippines also expounded on “Innovative Internationalization on Collaborative Arrangements”. The “Comparative Analysis of QS University Rankings in the ASEAN Region” was also detailed by Dr. Mary Sylvette Gunigundo, Chief Education Program Specialist of CHED’s Office Institutional Quality Assurance and Governance (OIQAG) – Quality Assurance Division.

Meanwhile, the programs of UMAP were also detailed in order to orient the HEI representatives. The UMAP Program A or Multilateral Exchanges and Program B or Bilateral Exchanges were discussed by Mr. Reynaldo C. Castro, Vice President for Mindanao of the UMAP Philippines Council. The UMAP Program C or Super Short Term Program was explained by Dr. Leon R. Ramos Jr., Vice President for Luzon. Dr. Ramos and Dr. Glenda E. Fortez, Secretary of the UMAP Philippines Council also presented their experiential accounts on their activities towards sending their students on the Super Short Term Programs representing Lyceum of the Philippines University – Batangas and Miriam College, respectively. Mr. Glenn F. De Leon, Director for International Relations of the Ateneo De Manila University also discussed the Practices on Credit Transfer.

The second day of the conference was filled with presentation of opportunities for collaboration and scholarship programs. Mr. Jules Leconte, Attache’ for Higher Education of the Embassy of France in the Philippines emphasized that in France, there is no discrimination in tuition fee (i.e. same tuition fee quotation is given to local or foreign students.) Ms. Hadass Nisan, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines presented the Agrostudies and MASHAV human resource capability programs. Scholarship opportunities were also presented by Mr. David Ambrus, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Hungary in the Philippines; Ms. Affrille Degoma, Advisor of Education USA & Cultural Affairs of the Embassy of the United States of America in the Philippines; Mr. Jerome Riviere, First Secretary, Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines; Ms. Angel Cachuela, Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada in the Philippines and Mr. Fernando Zapico, Education Adviser, Embassy of Spain in the Philippines.

CHED and British Council speakers together with representatives from the University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University and the Ateneo De Manila University, facilitated the sharing of experiences from Joint Development of Niche Programmes – Transnational Education in the Philippines. Prof. Grace Duka-Pante, Director of ASEAN Training Center for Preventive Drug Education (ATCPDE) also presented their initiatives.

CHED and UMAP awarded TAU with its Certificate of Lifetime Membership during the closing program. With this, the University shall sustain its involvement and commitment in support to UMAP’s endeavor in achieving its aim to converge its member-HEIs in the Asia- Pacific region achieve a better understanding of the cultural, economic and social systems of the other countries and territories in the region through enhanced academic cooperation and increased mobility of university students and staff.

(SRLingaya, Office of External Linkages and International Affairs, May 2017)