Nagoya University and University of the Philippines sign Agreement; UPLB hosts NU Asian Satellite Campus-Philippines

Los Baños, Philippines - Nagoya University and the University of the Philippines signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to host a new Nagoya University Asian Satellite Campus at the University of the Philippines Los Baños campus. This momentous event was held on 2 December 2015 at the Chancellor’s Executive Conference Room at the Los Baños campus, which is in Laguna, Philippines.
The presidents of the two universities Seiichi Matsuo and Alfredo E. Pascual signed the MOA with the consent of Los Baños campus Chancellor Fernando C. Sanchez, Jr. in the presence of Dr. Fumio Isoda, Director of the Nagoya University Asian Satellite Campuses Institute, and Dr. Jose V. Camacho Jr., Dean of the Los Baños campus Graduate School.


From left:  Dr. Fumio Isoda, President Seiichi Matsuo, President Alfredo E. Pascual, Chancellor Fernando C. Sanchez Jr., and Dean Jose V. Camacho

The Philippines is one of eight countries to host a Nagoya University Asian Satellite Campus through which Nagoya offers its doctorate program, the Transnational Doctoral Programs for Leading Professionals in Asian Countries.  Other Satellite Campuses have been established in countries including Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, and there are plans to establish new campuses in Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar in the near future. 

In his opening and welcome remarks, Chancellor Sanchez said that the presence of the Asian Satellite Campus will further strengthen the partnership of the two institutions.  President Pascual expressed great pleasure for the fruition of the partnership and looked forward to more activities under this partnership in the future.  He applauded the efforts of Chancellor Sanchez and Dean Camacho for this new initiative that will boost goal of the University of the Philippines of truly becoming a “research-intensive” university.

President Matsuo expressed deep gratitude to the University of the Philippines and the Los Baños campus for making the collaboration possible. He said that with the Transnational Doctoral Program, Nagoya University hopes to contribute to the knowledge and expertise of Filipino government professionals. He hoped that the Philippines Satellite Campus will become a hub for Nagoya University in Asia, thus “ensuring the continuous exchange of students and researchers between Japan and the Philippines.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to officially open the Nagoya University ASCI-Philippines Satellite Campus Office located at the UPLB Graduate School building.



Dean Camacho then led the group to the groundbreaking ceremony for the Graduate School International Student and Cultural Center building, will host offices and other facilities for the graduate students, as well as Nagoya University ASCI.



Present during the series of activities starting with the MOA signing were Dr. Katsuya Ishihashi, NU Vice President/Trustee; Dr. Fumio Isoda, Director of the NUASCI; Dr. Kazuhito Kawakita, Dean of the NU Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences (GSBS); Dr. Akira Yamauchi, GSBS  Professor and Director of the International Cooperation Center for Agricultural Education (ICCAE); Dr. Sanae Ito, Dean of the Graduate School of International Development (GSID); Dr. Takeshi Higashimura, Professor of GSID; Dr. Editha C. Cedicol, Designated Professor and Director of the NUASC-Philippines campus; Ms. Sayuri Watanabe and Ms. Yuko Odake, both administrative staff of NUASCI; and Ms. Watanabe Haruka, administrative staff of the NUASC-Philippines.

Also present were Hon. Alexis Mejia, member of the UP Board of Regents; Atty. Hector Dany Uy, UP Vice President for Legal Affairs; Dr. Portia Lapitan, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; Atty. Florinida Blanca, officer in charge of the UPLB Legal Office; Dr. Raden Piadozo, Dr. Isabelita Pabuayon and Dr. Willie Abasolo, deans of the Colleges of Human Ecology, Economics and Management, and Forestry and Natural Resources, respectively.