Ten Philippine private and public higher education institutions, the University of Alicante in Spain, the University of Montpellier in France, and the European Foundation for Management Development based in Belgium have formally signed the Letter of Cooperation (LOC) establishing the Philippine Internationalization Network (PHL IN-NET), a key output of the ANTENA Project.

PHL IN-NET, which aims to promote dialogue on the internationalization of higher education at the national level, is a “culminating output, the result of years of hard work of the members of the ANTENA Project,” said Gabriela Castillo, ANTENA Project coordinator.

The ANTENA Project, an internationalization capacity-building cooperation project partly funded by the European Union, brought together 13 higher education institutions from the Philippines and Europe to sign the PHL IN-NET LOC as the network’s pioneer member institutions and associate members. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was present to witness the signing.

The Ateneo de Manila University, Benguet State University, Central Luzon State University, De La Salle University, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, University of the Philippines, University of San Carlos, Xavier University, and Saint Louis University signed the agreement as member institutions. UA, UM, and EFMD joined the network as associate members.

“We are hoping that the PHL IN-NET grows to be the foremost organization of IROs in the Philippines and a prominent internationalization partner in the global stage,” said Atty. Lily Freida M. Milla, Commission on Higher Education’s OIC-Deputy Executive Director and Director for International Affairs. “It is a good step in the direction of building people-to-people connectivity and promoting cooperation at all levels: local, regional, and international.,” she added.

The PHL IN-NET LOC signing ceremony, held on 12 July 2022 at Saint Louis University (SLU) in Baguio City, was the highlight of the internationalization conference and roundtable dialogue that discussed the role of the network in the internationalization of Philippine higher education.

The roundtable discussion, moderated by former Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Baguio Dr. Raymundo D. Rovillos, featured distinguished guests and experts from the Philippine higher education sector.

These include Dr. Roger Chao Jr, Assistant Director and Head of Education, Youth, and Sports at the Association of Southeast Asia Nation (ASEAN) Secretariat; Dr. Carolina Guina, an independent consultant for Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects, CHED for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Higher Education Strategy and Action Plan (HESAP) and the Policy Framework on the Internationalization of Philippine Higher Education, and the Department of Education (DepEd) for basic education sector reform agenda and public-private partnerships in education; Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mapua University and President of iPeople, which has as subsidiaries the Malayan Colleges Laguna, Malayan Colleges Mindanao, University of Nueva Caceres, National Teachers College, the Malayan High School of Science, and the APEC schools; and Susan Carandang, Division Chief officer-in-charge of the Education and Skills Development Division of NEDA’s Social Development Staff. 

The signing ceremony was part of the week-long Training of Trainers Conference 2 co-organized by CHED-IAS, CHED Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), BSU, and SLU.