MORE opportunities for academic exchange and collaboration are expected between the Philippines and Canada’s province of Saskatchewan.
Education officials from both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) which seeks to strengthen ties between post-secondary institutions by creating opportunities for information and knowledge exchange, innovation and research collaboration, as well as mobility for academics and students.
“Canada welcomes the signing of the MOU as a testament to our strong cooperation with the Philippines in higher education…founded on joint collaboration achieved through the years,” Canada’s ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur said. “The MOU between CHED and the Ministry of Advanced Education [MAE of Saskatchewan adds another building block on the already-strong foundation from which people-to-people ties of] our countries can further flourish in the years to come.”
“We are proud to bring recognition to [our province] on a global platform and build further opportunities for students, faculty and researchers,” Saskatchewan’s minister of Advanced Education Gene Makowsky said at the virtual signing ceremony.
The MOU is a key component of Saskatchewan’s new global education strategy that can contribute to the province’s plans for economic recovery and population growth.
Meanwhile, the MOU aligns with CHED’s efforts for stronger globalization of Philippine higher education in areas of cooperation such as mobility, training, professional development, capacity-building, development of potential credit-transfer instruments, and research collaboration opportunities, among others.
“This important MOU will provide the framework for the new programs of academic cooperation with Saskatchewan’s MAE in areas such as information and education exchange, and research collaboration,” CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III said.
According to the Embassy of Canada, Saskatchewan is the first provincial government to enter an academic partnership with the government of the Philippines.
Image credits: Embassy of Canada