More PH-Japan collaboration underway

MANILA -- Filipinos may look forward to continuous partnerships in the field of science and technology (S&T) between Japan and the Philippines, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said Wednesday.

Dela Peña said his Japanese counterpart, Information Technology Science Minister Naokazu Takemoto, visited the country earlier this month and expressed interest in expanding S&T collaborations with the DOST.

“It was Minister Takemoto who decided to come to the Philippines and meet with me,” dela Peña told the Philippine News Agency (PNA), adding that they visited the University of the Philippines-Diliman Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE).

“He was very happy to note that the faculty members and researchers manning the ULYSSES (University Laboratory for Small Satellites and Space Engineering Systems) in IEEE got their training and advanced degrees in Space Engineering in Japan, specifically from Tohoku University. They studied through the DOST scholarship program,” dela Peña shared.

The other scholars studied Space Science at Hokkaido University, and Space Physics at Kyushu University, he added.

There will be more exchange of scholars, dela Peña confirmed.