Dr. Rachel J. Rui, Director of Asia Engagement and Communications Director for Center for Global Engagement at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville (UTK) visited and conducted a series of partnership and management visit to DMMMSU on June 20, 2022– as part of UTK’s three-week Asian tour in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines to discuss future collaborations.
With the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two academic institutions in May 2022, DMMMSU is the only Philippine university that has become a member of the UTK’s world university network, joining the top world universities to implement collaborative programs.
While the visit ramps up DMMMSU’s internationalization endeavors, it will also significantly impact on the university’s capacity to respond to the higher education’s call for students, staff and faculty mobility.
Taking a new tack, Dr. Rui was welcomed in DMMMSU’s Central Administration (CA), Sericulture and Research Development Institute (SRDI), Mid La Union Campus (MLUC) and Open University System (OUS).
The DMMMSU- UTK initiative, which has been in the works for almost a year, had the first formal and onsite meeting with the four Vice Presidents in attendance in welcoming UTK’s director. The VP for Academic Affairs, Dr. Elsie M. Pacho; VP for Administration, Dr. Estrella N. Perez; VP for Research and Extension, Dr. Angelina T. Gonzales; and VP for Planning and Resource Development, Dr. Dr. Priscilo P. Fontanilla, Jr. discussed potential points of collaboration such as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), faculty/administrators professional development programs, research and service collaborations, and student service learning opportunities.
The visit also gave the UTK representative a chance to tour the SRDI’s facilities in silk production. She had a quick hands-on immersion on reeling and weaving process of silk production to making a quality silk products.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Dr. Eduardo C. Corpuz, together with the Deans from the College of Information Technology, College of Technology and College of Engineering, presented an overview of the engineering and technology programs. Dr. Rui was also amazed at the start-ups and innovation projects such as the disinfection robot developed by a group of MLUC students.
The collaborative conversations continued through a brown bag sessions at the OUS— with the SLUC Chancellor, Dr. Joanne C. Rivera and OUS Executive Director, Dr. Cristita Guerra. The discussions expanded on and delved deeper into other areas of collaboration such as on adult education/ life-long learning, agri-tourism and management and educational media technology.
She also had an interview at the Kapihan sa DMMMSU with Dr. Manilyn Cacanindin as host (article to follow).
This global management engagement is part of the aggressive and competitive internationalization initiatives by the Office of Internationalization, Linkages and ETEEAP (OILE) led by its director Dr. Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, under the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Next in line is the renewal of partnership and MOU signing between DMMMSU with the University of Eastern Finland next month (article to follow).
During a short, informal interview, DMMMSU president Dr. Jaime I. Manuel, Jr. hopes that this new partnership with UTK can also help DMMMSU in advancing its academic excellence, research and global engagements, thereby achieving its vision to become a globally competitive university.
Upon her arrival in La Union on June 19, she was hosted for a welcome dinner in San Juan— the VPAA and campus coordinators namely Dr. Rhoda M. Lilan (NLUC), Dr. Mark Kristian C. Ledda (NLUC), and Dr. Ronald B. Bustos (SLUC). (jrbj)
