The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) virtually conducted its 33rd Executive Board Meeting on 24-25 November 2020 hosted by Kasetsart University (KU) of Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was attended by representatives from its regular members, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and Universitas Brawijaya (UB). Also invited to the board meeting are UC’s associate members, Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI) and National Taiwan University (NTU), and affiliate member, University of British Columbia (UBC) of Canada. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) likewise attended the meeting as Secretariat of the UC.
The consortium welcomed the newly appointed officials of the member institutions, namely, Dr. Agus Buono, Academic Vice Dean of IPB Graduate School; Dr. Zalilah Mohd Shariff, Dean, and Dr. Firdaus Mukhtar, Deputy Dean (Admission and International), School of Graduate Studies, UPM; Dr. Jose Camacho, Jr., UPLB Chancellor, and Dr. Jomar Rabajante, OIC - Office of the Dean, Graduate School, UPLB; and Dr. Je-Ruei Liu, Director, Center for International Agricultural Education and Academic Exchanges, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, NTU.
One of the main objectives of the UC since its establishment in 1989 is to share resources and collaborate on student and faculty exchanges among leading agricultural universities. During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State Universities and Colleges - Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines, Inc. (SUC-ACAP) was presented to the board members. SUC-ACAP is an association of 74 higher education institutions, both public and private, offering agriculture programs in the Philippines. The MOU will enable SUC-ACAP members to participate in UC activities, as well as send students and staff to the UC members on mobility, with funding from the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) through SEARCA.
Besides the new partnership, three Southeast Asian universities also expressed their intent to join the UC. Maejo University in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Visayas State University and Central Luzon State University, both from the Philippines, introduced their universities and the unique value proposition that they could bring to the consortium. Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA Director and UC Secretariat, expressed that this is a good opportunity to expand membership of the UC.
Part of the meeting was a discussion on the offering of competitive student and faculty grants and activities hosted by the different member institutions for 2021. UC member constituents may anticipate the conduct of the 2021 UC Summer School to be hosted by Universitas Brawijaya in Malang, Indonesia in partnership with Montpellier Sup-Agro of France. The 2021 Graduate Forum shall be organized by National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. The 2021 Faculty Forum shall be conducted at Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo-NODAI) in Japan. Lastly, the 34th UC Executive Board Meeting shall be led by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Selangor, Malaysia.
For more information about the UC and its annual activities, grants, and scholarships visit https://uc.searca.org/.
