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          TAU, SUC partners embark on comprehensive academic partnership with Canada’s York U

By Mr. Jerome L. Duque (TAU-ELIA)

Tarlac Agricultural University and other Philippine State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) have reached an agreement with York University in Canada to integrate collaborative activities in special projects, joint lectures, and high-level discussions through the Globally Networked Learning (GNL) platform.

Dr. Christine N. Ferrer, Director of External Linkages and International Affairs, made the announcement following a series of trilateral consultations with York U’s leadership and key officials from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on 1 April.

“All of TAU’s colleges and our partner HEIs in the CHED Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Bayanihan Program will now have access and opportunity to connect with York U’s GNL/joint classes,” Dr. Ferrer reported.

This came after Dr. Ferrer shared the CHED COIL Bayanihan Program and iLab Consortium to the officials and faculty of York U. The former is TAU’s pre-pandemic virtual academic model which is similar to York U’s and State University of New York (SUNY) COIL Design which has now been adapted by several SUCs in the Philippines.

“CHED hopes that we can take advantage of this opportunity as it might open a lot of doors in Canada for TAU students and alumni,” she noted. GNL at York U champions developing competencies necessary to achieve seamless interaction and interoperability among scholars and researchers across borders.

Meanwhile, York U has 55,000 students enrolled in 200 academic programs. It currently leads in  COVID-19 research and mathematical modeling in Canada. Its sustainability initiatives are some of the best in the world according to the recent report from the Times Higher Education global Impact Rankings.

York U is also the chair of UNESCO’s Chair in Reorienting Education Towards Sustainability and the seat of the International Network of Teacher Education Institutions in which TAU is an institutional member.