2 Japanese universities, Los Baños center to pursue joint programs

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – Two Japanese universities and a Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian center  have agreed to pursue joint programs in various scientific and academic fields.

Set to collaborate are the Nagoya University (NU) and Kyoto University (KU) and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO SEARCA) based in the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB).

A 14-man Japanese delegation led by NU vice president Yoshihito Watanabe visited SEARCA recently and expressed interest in further collaborating with the center on food security, value chain analysis of high-value commodities, and climate change.

Also with the Japanese group of university officials, professors, and staff members were Japan-supported personnel of the Nagoya University-Asian Satellite Campus (ASC) based in UPLB.

Launched this month, the NU ASC-Philippines offers programs on bio-agricultural sciences and international development to qualified senior and middle-level executives from the country’s government agencies.

The Kyoto University-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Center and Graduate School of Economics has also informed SEARCA that KU is keen on joining the SEARCA-initiated Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC).

 The UC was initiated by SEARCA in 1989 to link strong universities in Southeast Asia and developed countries. Through the consortium, SEARCA helps in enhancing graduate education and cross-cultural understanding as well as promoting regional and global cooperation.

The five founding UC members are UPLB; Universitas Gadjah Mada and Institut Pertanian Bogor, both in Indonesia; Universiti Putra Malaysia in Malaysia, and Kasetsart University in Thailand.

Affiliate members are the Tokyo University of Agriculture in Japan, University of British Columbia in Canada, and Georg-August University in Germany. The University of Queensland in Australia was an associate member from 1993 to 2012.

SEARCA and the UC are currently implementing six research projects, encompassing such concerns as regional food and nutrition security, human resource development in agriculture, implications of the ASEAN Economic Community, safeguarding the integrity of halal food, best practices in chili production, and indigenous crops.