BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
LEADERS of 11 higher education institutions (HEIs) from the State Universities and Colleges-Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines (SUC-ACAP) have been undergoing an executive course to hone their skills.
The leadership program is led by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) in collaboration with the Singapore-based The HEAD Foundation (THF).
Dubbed “Up Your Game: Leadership Development Program for HEIs in the Philippines,” the executive course kicked off on April 21 and will run until June 7 this year.
Participating in the said leadership course are 29 vice presidents, campus executive directors, college deans and other academic executives.
The state universities are Cagayan State University, Capiz State University, Cavite State University, Cebu Technological University, Central Luzon State University, Central Mindanao University, Central Philippines State University, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, University of Eastern Philippines, University of the Philippines Los Baños and Visayas State University.
According to Searca Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio, the center’s current five-year strategic agenda focuses on accelerating transformation through agricultural innovation.
“Thus, capacity development of leaders of agricultural HEIs is one avenue through which Searca contributes to accelerating systemic transformation,” Gregorio said.
On the other hand, THF which is an international charitable organization supports capacity-building programs designed to equip leaders with practical skills to address pressing challenges.
Vignesh Naidu, THF Director for Operations, has expressed hope that through this program and discussions between the trainers, participants and guest speakers, it will inspire the participant to think about new ways to envision their institutions.
Dr. Natarajan Varaprasad, THF Program Director, also enjoined the university leaders to engage in the program’s peer learning process.
“Leadership in the future is about supporting bottom-up initiatives. Therefore, through a process of peer learning for each of the modules, everyone can come to conclusions about the way forward,” Varaprasad said.
Searca said the participating higher education leaders in the program are challenged to level up in the key areas of leadership, graduate preparedness, technology as well as faculty readiness to face the growing number of HEI challenges.
Gregorio explained that among these challenges are massification, diversification, internationalization and marketization of higher education.
He also noted that the Philippines as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) needs to keep in step with the Asean International Mobility for Students initiative, gain recognition through the Asean University Rankings system, and prepare themselves for the unique local and regional challenges that come with the Asean Economic Community agenda.
Meanwhile, Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chairman Dr. J. Prospero de Vera 3rd commended Searca for continuing its mandate to provide capacity and institutional strengthening.
“Education plays a vital part in a country’s competitive edge. Regardless of differences across the globe, education continues to be a very important and long-term intervention in ensuring sustainable development. It is not only a public good but also a strategy for social cohesiveness,” de Vera said.
He expressed hope that the program will be filled with interesting discussions, thought-provoking questions, and innovative ideas.
“[This] as we plan to make our instruction, extension, research and administration accessible to all and deliver in ways that encourage our stakeholders to develop higher order thinking, work in cross-cultural contexts, come up with innovative solutions to changing problems, use technology to work together effectively, and become more responsible Filipinos and Asean citizens,” he added.
Gregorio affirmed that in support of capacitating HEIs, Searca can provide great opportunities enabling an environment for the HEIs where learning can serve as a safe space for fresh and crazy ideas, strategic outcomes and critical perspectives from different institutions.
Dr. Nova Ramos, Searca Training for Development lead, said “Up Your Game” is the third installment of the Searca-THF initiative “Leadership Development Program for HEIs in Southeast Asia” that aims to equip Southeast Asian HEI leaders with the relevant skills and knowledge to effectively lead thriving and resilient universities in the region.
“In its two runs in January 2019 and January 2020, the program has so far enhanced the capacities of 36 higher education leaders from eight Southeast Asian countries,” Ramos said.
She said the program also includes coaching calls to discuss the progress and challenges that participants will encounter in implementing their re-entry action plans from June 28 to July 16, 2021.