To help higher education institutions (HEIs) level up in their courses in agriculture, fisheries and natural resources, 23 members of the State Universities and Colleges-Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines Inc. are undergoing online training that will run until March 11, 2022. This 10-week Online Training on Research Designs and Methods for Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines is being implemented by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). An intergovernmental treaty organization, Searca is hosted by the Philippine government with headquarters at the UPLB campus here. Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Searca director, said the training is conducted under the auspices of a Searca-Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) project called "Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources." Gregorio said the Searca-CHEd partnership is in line with Searca's push for the government to tap the intellectual capital of HEIs to boost food security and economic recovery by fostering a "knowledge economy" amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
