Manila, May 5, 2020 — EducationUSA, the U.S. government’s official source of information on U.S. higher education, in partnership with the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED), held the fourth installment of its year-long program, “Pathways to Opportunity: EdUSA-CHED Speaker Series on Internationalization,” on Wednesday, April 29. More than 90 CHED officials, university presidents, directors, and administrators from 76 Philippine universities participated in the virtual event.
Two-time Fulbright alumnus and CHED Chairman J. Prospero De Vera and U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Cultural Affairs Officer Matthew Keener kicked off the session by welcoming participants to the webinar, “Evolving Dynamics on Internationalization during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
“Today’s webinar is part of the CHED-U.S. Embassy agreement signed at the Diamond Hotel in Makati almost a year ago,” said De Vera. “Through this agreement, the Commission and the U.S.
Embassy confirmed their shared interest in promoting increased higher education cooperation and educational exchange between the Philippines and the United States by facilitating several areas of cooperation.”
During the virtual program, experts from Texas International Education Consortium and SUNY-COIL (State University of New York-Collaborative Online Learning Center) discussed how Philippine universities can respond to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to effectively sustain and pursue partnerships and continue their internationalization efforts. They also shared best practices about how continuity of education and flexible learning can be facilitated remotely through a pandemic-proof approach to higher education.
This program is one of the primary outputs of the U.S.-Philippine Joint Statement on Higher Education, signed by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim and CHED Chairman De Vera at the 2019 Bilateral Strategic Dialogue held in Manila.
“We are dedicated to continuing our partnership with CHED and with the Philippines as we deepen our international linkages between our higher education institutions,” said Keener.
In addition to assisting and advising Filipinos interested in studying in the United States, EducationUSA Philippines works closely with Philippine higher education institutions interested in collaborating with accredited U.S. higher education institutions. You can find more information about EducationUSA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/educationusa.philippines and on Twitter at @EducationUSA_PH.
