Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC)

Change of Guard at Four UC Member Universities

New leadership takes the helm at four members of the University Consortium (UC), namely: University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in the Philippines, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Malaysia, University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, and Kasetsart University (KU) in Thailand.

Dr. Luis Rey I. Velasco became UPLB’s 7th Chancellor effective 1 November 2005. He replaced Dr. Wilfredo P. David. An Associate Professor of Entomology and former dean of the College of Agriculture, Dr. Velasco’s professional career spans more than two-and-a-half decades of college teaching, conducting research and extension, and rendering technical services to various government agencies mostly in the agricultural sector.

The following year, Prof. Dr. Nik Mustapha Raja Abdullah took over as Vice Chancellor of UPM on 1 January 2006. He replaced Prof. Dr. Mohd. Zohadie Bardaie. Prior to his appointment as Vice Chancellor, Dr. Abdullah was Deputy Vice Chancellor from June 2004 to December 2005.

Three months later, on 22 March 2006, Dr. Stephen Toope took his oath of office as UBC’s 12th President. His five-year term as UBC President and Vice Chancellor began on 1 July 2006. He succeeded Dr. Martha C. Piper, who completed her nine-year service to UBC on 30 June 2006. A scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations, Dr. Toope had served as Dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill University, the youngest person to hold the position, and is currently President of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, a non-partisan Canadian education foundation. Dr. Toope has also served on the boards of numerous nongovernment organizations promoting human rights and international development and consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

On 8 June 2006, Dr. Wattana Swanyatiputi assumed office as the new President of KU. He replaced Dr. Viroch Impithuksa. Dr. Wattana has served as Vice President of KU and Director of the university’s Office of Extension and Training. (LLDDomingo)

IPB Co-organizes International Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture in Asia

An International Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture in Asia is jointly organized by Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) and Ibaraki University, Japan. The symposium will be held on 18-21 September 2006 at IPB in Bogor, Indonesia.

A sequel to a workshop held at Ibaraki University in 2005, the symposium will focus on the Challenges for Agricultural Sciences on Environmental Problems under Global Changes. The symposium aims to discuss the challenges and contributions of agricultural science to solutions to global environmental problems in Asia. Moreover, it seeks to provide the impetus for the establishment of a research consortium between the participating institutions.

The symposium will be keynoted by Prof. Dr. Hiroyuki Ohta of Ibaraki University and representative of the Ministry of Environment of Japan, and Prof. Dr. Iswandi Anas of IPB.

The topics to be tackled at the symposium are: biotechnological challenges (a review of new approaches in agriculture and environmental issues); soil and water management (a review of environmental problems related to soil-water management and some new approaches in related issue); cultivation technique update (going toward sustainable agriculture); 
and environmental education (agriculture as a tool for education). The symposium includes a field visit to a wetland paddy field and an upland horticultural field so that participants can have a look at agriculture in Java.

Registration for participation in the symposium is until 31 August 2006. For inquiries, please contact the organizers atyulin_at_telkom.net or msfyuaib_at_yahoo.com. (LLDDomingo)

German Center for Tropical Forestry Invites Applications for MSc Scholarship

 The Center for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Forestry (CeTSAF) of the Georg-August University of Goettingen, Germany is inviting applications from qualified Southeast Asians to pursue two-year MSc scholarships in Tropical and International Forestry at CeTSAF.

Applicants must submit the following requirements: (1) Filled out CeTSAF application form (may be downloaded from SEARCA’s website, www.searca.org); (2) certified or original copy of transcript of records for BSc in Forestry or related fields; (3) two letters of reference; (4) certification of employment (minimum of 2 years); (5) letter from home institution (preferably not a university) stating that the applicant will be able to resume his/her service upon completion of the MSc program at CeTSAF; (6) curriculum vitae; and (7) certification of English proficiency. 
The age limit for applicants is 36 years.

Applicants are requested to send their applications and original documents to SEARCA c/o The Manager, Graduate Scholarship Department, SEARCA, Los Baños, Laguna 4031, Philippines via courier or any fastest mail service. To facilitate evaluation, applicants may fax in advance their application and supporting documents to (63-49) 536-7164 before mailing.

The deadline for application is 1 November 2006. Applications beyond this date will not be processed.

CeTSAF, University of Goettingen is an associate member of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC), which aims to promote mutually beneficial cooperation among agricultural universities in the region. SEARCA has served as UC partner and Consortium Secretariat since the UC was founded in 1989. 

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UC Offers Thesis Grants for SY 2006/2007

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources is offering thesis grants for school year 2006-2007.

The Consortium provides a limited amount of funds to assist ongoing graduate students of any of the Consortium members and associate members in the preparation and production of the thesis/dissertation manuscript. Each grant is up to a maximum of US$500.

The Consortium members are Institut Pertanian Bogor and Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia, Universiti Putra Malaysia in Malaysia, Kasetsart University in Thailand, and University of the Philippines Los Baños in the Philippines. The Consortium associate members are University of Queensland in Australia, University of British Columbia in Canada, and Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany.

To qualify for the grant, the thesis/dissertation of the applicant must be in line with the Consortium's strategic priorities, namely: sustainable management of natural resource systems; food and agriculture policy; biotechnology in agriculture; food and health; information and communication technology, bioinformatics; and data management in agriculture.

To date, 173 Consortium students have availed of thesis grants. (LLDDomingo)

Seven Southeast Asians Get UC Thesis Grants

The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) awarded thesis grants for School Year 2006-2007 to seven Southeast Asian nationals pursuing their graduate programs at Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Indonesia; Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malyasia; Kasetsart University (KU), Thailand; and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Philippines.

The UC thesis grant provides a limited amount of funds to assist ongoing graduate students of any of the Consortium members and associate members in the preparation and production of the thesis/dissertation manuscript.

The UC thesis grantees from IPB are Ms. Nor Sholekhah Damayanti, MS in Biotechnology, and Mr. Lalu Solihin, MS in Tropical Marine Resources. Ms. Damayanti’s thesis is titled “Determination of Minimal Allergenic-Pollen Concentration for Injection Immunotherapy Application,” while Mr. Lalu’s thesis is on “Economic Vulnerability of Resources Uses in Small Island Region (Case Study in Tourism Area of Gili Indah, West Nusa Tenggara Province).”

Pursuing their graduate programs at UPM are Ms. Sri Rahayu, PhD on Tree Improvement, and Ms. Tunung Robin, MS in Food Safety and Microbiology. UC thesis grants were awarded to Ms. Rahayu for her dissertation titled “Effect of Genetic Variation on Growth and Gall Rust Disease Resistance in Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby & J.W. Grimes in Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia,” and Ms. Robin for her thesis titled “Isolation and Characterization of Salmonella Species from Street Foods and Clinical Samples.”

The lone UC thesis grantee from KU is Ms. Sureeporn Khemmook, MS in Watershed Management. Her thesis is titled “Differences in Soil Moisture Content and Water Availability in Various Water Systems under Different Land Use Types in Andaman Sea Coast: A Case Study of Ban Tung Soong Village in Krabi Province, Thailand.”

The thesis grantees from UPLB are Ms. Joy Elaine P. Kaligayahan, MS in Chemistry, for her thesis titled “Extraction and Characterization of Inulin and Fructooligasaccharides from Yacon [Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. & Endl.) H. Rob] and Arrowroot (Maranta arundunacea L.)” and Mr. Rico C. Ancog, MS in Environmental Science, for his thesis titled “Expansion of Environmental Users’ Fee System to Households for Enhanced Water Pollution Control in Laguna de Bay.”

To qualify for the grant, the thesis/dissertation of the applicant must be in line with the UC's strategic priorities, namely: sustainable management of natural resource systems; food and agriculture policy; biotechnology in agriculture; food and health; information and communication technology, bioinformatics; and data management in agriculture.

To date, 180 students of UC members have availed of thesis grants. (LLDDomingo)

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  • UC Secretariat
  • Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
  • College, Los Baños, Laguna 4031 Philippines
  • Email: mcnc@searca.org, gsid@searca.org
  • Tel:
    • Manila Line: +63 2 8657 1300 to 02
    • Laguna Line: +63 49 554 9330 to 39
      +63 49 536 2290 local 2200 to 2203
  • Fax: +63 49 536 7097