Skip to main content
Home   ›   Programs   ›   Grants   ›   Regional Professorial Chair Grants

SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair Grants

Call for Nominations for Academic Year 2026-2027

  • Nominees must be outstanding experts in the academe whose achievements have made great impact towards agricultural innovation
  • Nominees must be endorsed by the Head of the University

Deadline: 28 February 2026

Submit Now

Contents

  1. Rationale
  2. Objectives and Priority Focus
  3. Guidelines
    1. List of Grantees
      1. Featured Profiles
  4. Timetable
  5. Contact Information

Rationale

The SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair Grants uniquely empower top Southeast Asian scholars to spearhead transformational change in agriculture and rural development. By recognizing exceptional academics, these grants elevate teaching, research, innovation, and extension work across the region and widen the impact of outstanding subject matter experts who tackle critical challenges in food security, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods, especially among agricultural communities.

Objectives and Priority Focus

The objective of the grant is to acknowledge outstanding Southeast Asian experts in the academe who demonstrated excellence and measurable impact in their respective disciplines toward increased farmers’ income; improved food security and nutrition; greater climate resilience of agricultural systems; and empowered farmers, farmer groups, agricultural stakeholders and their institutions. These disciplines encompass, but are not limited to, agriculture, social sciences, marine and fishery sciences, environmental sciences, economics, and rural development-oriented fields.

 

Guidelines

  1. The grant is open to outstanding Southeast Asian experts in the academe whose achievements have made great impact or contributions toward increased farmers’ income; improved food security and nutrition; greater climate resilience of agricultural systems; and empowered farmers, farmer groups, and agricultural stakeholders and their institutions.
  2. Each year, the call for candidates to the Regional SEARCA Professorial Chair will be sent to universities in Southeast Asia. The nominating university will submit to SEARCA the following documents on or before the deadline:
    1. Letter from the Chief Executive/Head of the Institution endorsing one nominee;
    2. An accomplished Form 1 (see attached file) providing a summary of the credentials of the nominee;
    3. Curriculum vitae of the endorsed faculty member; and
    4. A summary of not more than three pages for the proposed Professorial Chair Lecture of the nominee highlighting the results of previous research studies and describing its relevance and impact in terms of regional development issues and as they relate to SEARCA’s thrusts in its current Five-Year Development Plan.
  3. The awardee must meet the following requirements:
    1. Be a Southeast Asian academic with tenure position and holding a rank of not lower than Assistant Professor;
    2. Holder of a PhD in fields related to the advancement of agriculture and development of rural households/communities;
    3. With proven track record and excellence in academic and/or research in his/her chosen field of specialization within the broad priority thrusts of SEARCA as indicated in its Five-Year Development Plan;
    4. Have not received a SEARCA Professorial Chair award in the past; and
    5. Must have the official endorsement of the Chief Executive/Head of his/her institution not only on the applicant’s academic qualification but also on his/her good moral character.
  4. The awardee must comply with all of the following responsibilities:
    1. Teach at least one graduate course in his/her area of specialization at the university during the year of award;
    2. Deliver a public lecture during the period of award on the topic submitted;
    3. Submit electronic copy of his/her public lecture upon culmination of his/her professorial chair award; and
    4. Submit a monograph version of his/her paper for publication in the SEARCA Professorial Chair Lecture Series. Note that publication of the monograph, previously optional, is now a requirement for the award.
  5. The awardee will receive a grant of USD 5,000.00.

Since AY 2012-2013, the SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair grant has been awarded to 72 individuals as follows:

Timetable

The SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair will be guided by the following schedule:

Call for applications December/January of every year
Deadline of submission of nominations to SEARCA February 28
Deadline of Evaluation of nominees March 31
Awarding of Professorial Chair Grants April 30

Contact Information

For inquiries, please contact:

Education and Collective Learning - Graduate Scholarship and Institutional Development (ECL-GSID)

Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
UPLB Campus, College, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna, Philippines
Tel:
  • +63 49 554-9330 to 39
  • +63 49 536-2290
  • +63 2 8657-1300 to 02 (local 2200 to 2203)
Email: