The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) ties up with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), one of Malaysia’s premier universities based in Serdang, Selangor, to implement a joint scholarship project for graduate students. The three-year project, which commences Academic Year 2012-2013 is expected to benefit Southeast Asians who wish to pursue Master’s and PhD degrees in agriculture and related sciences at UPM.

Under the UPM-SEARCA scholarship, the university is expected to award one matching scholarship for every one full scholarship given by SEARCA. The number of scholarship grantees from UPM can increase to a maximum of four graduate students per academic year, as agreed upon by both parties. 

The memorandum of agreement signing, led by SEARCA Director Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr. and UPM’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Prof. Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohd Saleh Jaafar coincides with the opening ceremonies of the 25th Executive Board Meeting of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) on 19 November 2012, which UPM is also hosting. The UC is a consortium of the five leading agricultural universities in Southeast Asia, and also includes agricultural universities from Canada, Australia, Japan, and Germany as associate members.

Through the Center’s “Operation Spread” Program, which was launched in Academic Year 1981-82, SEARCA expanded its graduate scholarship offering to include UPM, among other leading universities in Southeast Asia. As of date, SEARCA has awarded a total of 77 scholarship grants to various Southeast Asian nationals to complete their study program at UPM.