To foster the sharing of expertise and best practices between the universities in the Philippines and Canada, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) partnered with Ryerson University, a publicly-funded research university in Toronto, Ontario.
The partnership, CHED said, is also expected to help in the development of higher education programs on innovation, science, and technology; faculty and student exchanges, and research and joint projects development.
CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera and Ryerson University President Mohamed Lachemi signed the Joint Statement on Higher Education Cooperation during the visit of the CHED Delegation to Ryerson University.
The signing of an agreement between CHED and Ryerson University was facilitated by the efforts of Consul General Orontes V. Castro who has been meeting with universities around the Toronto area upon his arrival at the Consulate during the pandemic to expand opportunities for students and faculty members in both countries.
The Embassy of Canada in the Philippines also assisted to push through the visit and signing at Ryerson University.
Under the leadership of the Philippine Ambassador to Canada Rodolfo Robles, the consulates in British Columbia, Alberta, Toronto, and the embassy in Ottawa have been aggressively assisting CHED in its internationalization initiatives.
With more than 45,000 students, Ryerson University is a prominent university in Canada with expertise in polytechnic courses and innovation and entrepreneurship programs.
Ryerson is ranked in Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities. Some of the highest subject rankings of Ryerson are Physical Sciences, Engineering, Nursing, and Arts and Design.
The 2022 World University Rankings by the Times Higher Education also includes Ryerson for having developed a culture of entrepreneurship, making it one of the largest experiential learning programs in the world.
Support from PH universities
“With the continuing efforts of Philippine HEIs to internationalize and the facilitating role of our consulates in Canada, I am confident that university-university linkages will immediately commence after this MoU signing,” De Vera said.
Meanwhile, leaders of Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) who joined the Canada trip all acknowledged the opportunities presented by the MOU signing.
“We are envisioning a partnership for satellite incubation centers in the Philippines with Ryerson University which is a leader in innovation and research,” said World Citi Colleges (WCC) and WCC Aeronautical and Technological College (WCC-ATC) President Raymond Patrick V. Guico.
“This will drastically expand access to resources such as information, field experts, and possible funding that can apply and accelerate solutions to local and international settings,” he added.
Likewise, Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) President Shirley Agrupis said that the partnership will also help their university since it is “moving to create a global teaching and learning environment by enhancing faculty and student mobility through research collaboration and global innovation, projects and capacity building in selected areas like nursing, medicines and allied health sciences; renewable energy and engineering.”
Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) President Prose Ivy Yepes also hoped to build a strong partnership with Ryerson University in Canada along with its strategic research themes in food innovations, alternative energies, technology, and intelligent systems saying that this collaboration will surely foster mutual interests in creating global solutions to pressing problems of both countries.