Four higher education institutions from the Philippines and two from West Flanders, Belgium, are proud to announce the launch of an intensive exchange program to promote world citizenship, international and sustainable competencies among students and teachers. The program, which will take place at Central Bicol State University in Pili, Camarines Sur, will also strengthen sustainable cooperation between the higher education institutions and, more broadly, the Synergy partners of the Province of West Flanders.
The Central Bicol State University of Agriculture will serve as the main host of this year’s South Intensive Program (SIP). The SIP 2023 is an intensive exchange program that will be participated by 48 students from Belgium (24) and the Philippines HEIs (24). Four (4) higher education institutions (HEIs) from the Philippines are involved in this gathering, namely: CBSUA, Saint Mary’s University (SMU), Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU), Isabela State University (ISU), and 2 institutions from the Province of West Flanders, Belgium, namely: VIVES University of Applied Science and the Howest University of Applied Science. The whole process will be managed by trained international coaches and technical panels from different foreign and Philippine Universities – who are well-experienced in various technical expertise and learning processes.
This initiative happens in the framework of the Synergy Program of the Province of West Flanders, a multi-stakeholder network that brings together some 30 partners from academia, local government, NGOs, cooperatives, and people organizations, both in the Philippines and West Flanders, Belgium. This intensive gathering between two nations aims to: 1) promote world citizenship and strengthen international and sustainable competencies among students and teachers; 2) strengthen sustainable cooperation between the higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines and the Synergy partners of the Province of West Flanders, Belgium.
The activities during the SIP include Field tours to selected farms and development organizations or cooperatives in the provinces of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, to perform case studies. These organizations are partners of CBSUA, and some are directly assisted by Synergy-Pilipinas through the support of the Province of West Flanders, Belgium, and other funding agencies. This is a good opportunity for the cooperatives/organizations to share their concerns and challenges in their implementation of projects along with entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, and climate change, and be able to seek mitigating solutions and appropriate actions. After immersing the participants in the diverse context of the cases, through community visits and actual fieldwork, students will work in their interdisciplinary and cross-cultural teams to develop innovative solutions to the proposed challenges.
The participants will also be involved in mangrove planting and coastal clean-up at Barangay Balogo, Pasacao, Camarines Sur. This will be initiated in partnership with the Municipal Government of Pasacao, Camarines Sur with the cooperation of the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, Barangay Local Government Unit of Balogo, and the Daruanac Corporation of Pasacao. Visits to National Museums, nature sites, and historical places in Camarines Sur, Albay, and Manila are also integrated into the SIP2023 activities, for the participants to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage and nature of the Philippines.
Aside from the province of West Flanders of Belgium, the SIP2023 initiatives are also supported by Global Minds, Vlaamse Hogescholenraad, VLIR-UOS, and Enabel Belgium. The SIP2023 program will commence on January 30, 2023, and will end on February 11, 2023 at Central Bicol State University of Agriculture-Pili Campus. CBSUA-ESD/PIO.