LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Nagoya University (NU) forged an agreement on Oct. 13, 2025 to launch the NU-SEARCA Joint Transnational PhD Scholarship for Philippine Nationals.
At the signing, NU was represented by Yamauchi Akira, director of the Asian Satellite Campuses Institute (ASCI) and Asia Collaborative Development Department (ACDD), Global Multi-Campus Institute, while SEARCA was represented by Director Mercedita Sombilla.
Reviving ties established in 1986, the partnership empowers Filipino working professionals to pursue doctoral studies in critical fields like engineering, agriculture, international development, and environmental studies — all without leaving their jobs or countries.
This innovative initiative blends face-to-face supervision with online engagement and provides Filipino students with the opportunity to visit Japan during their studies.
Sombilla underscored SEARCA and NU's shared commitment to advancing agricultural education and research for sustainable development.
She noted that over the past 40 years, their joint PhD scholarship program has produced outstanding agricultural leaders from the Philippines and Cambodia, who continue to contribute significantly to their countries and Southeast Asia.
"This initiative will facilitate the empowerment of the next generation of leaders who will catalyze agricultural transformation," Sombilla said.
She added that the initiative aligns with SEARCA's 12th Five-Year Development Plan focused on the Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (Sustain Southeast Asia), aiming to build a climate-resilient, inclusive, and future-ready agricultural sector.
She also thanked NU's enduring trust in SEARCA and recognized the university as one of the Center's most active and reliable partners.
Sombilla proposed the expansion of the program to include Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste, as well as the potential offer of MS scholarships. She also highlighted ongoing discussions with the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to secure additional funding and increase scholarship availability for Filipino scholars.