Davao Occ. school inks intl exchange program with Turkey’s universities

DAVAO CITY—THE state-run marine and fisheries college in Davao Occidental recently forged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six universities in Ankara, Turkey for an international academic-exchange program.

The Southern Philippines Agribusiness and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) of Malita was the lone school in the Philippines to enter into an academic partnership with Ankara University, EGE University, Kastamonu University, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, and Karadeniz Technical University.

According to its social-media post, SPAMAST’S tie-up with the Turkish higher education institutions would propel it to global exposure and opportunities.

The school’s president Dr. Ruth S. Lucero said: “This event will not only internationalize SPAMAST, but will also create a big leap for us, as this will pave [the] way to programs such as faculty exchange, student mobility, international conferences, collaborations, sharing of library and research facilities, dual/double degree [programs]...and capacitybuilding of faculty-researchers.”

Dr. Lucero represented the state college in the signing of the MOU at the office of the Turkish Council of Higher Education. The exchange program materialized through the initiative of the Commission on Higher Education, dubbed as “Development of Academic Exchange Programs among Universities in the Philippines and Turkey,” the socialmedia post revealed.

“The project aims to foster academic-exchange programs with disciplines related to fisheries and marine sciences, capacitate faculty-researchers, and push for collaborative research projects including joint, dual, or by-research degree programs between SPAMAST and the Turkish universities,” the university imparted.

Dr. Lucero signed the MOU together with Prof. Dr. Necdet Ünüvar, rector of Ankara University, and was witnessed by Turkish Council of Higher Education Vice President Dr. Haldun Goktaş, and the Philippines’s ambassador to Turkey Maria Elena P. Algabre. Prof. Michelle M. Elemino, SPAMAST director for International Affairs and Linkages, was also present.