The urn, a West Visayas State University symbol, oozes with life as it records the past, symbolizes the present, and inspires the future. As the era of today heads towards internationalization, the university courageously rejected the notion of getting left behind.
WVSU braves the arena of internationalization by conducting an impactful event termed as #ReSpACE: The Redesign of Specialized Access to Connectivity and Engagement – A Glocalized Delivery of Internationalization Programs and Partnerships. The university, through the International and Local Linkages Office (ILLO), with its dynamic Director Edel Carmela Subong-Csoka, incredibly materialized the international meeting of minds on December 20-22, 2021.
The entire WVSU community and its passionately driven University President, Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz unconditionally united to welcome with wide open arms both the perks and perils of internationalization.
The 3-day online event was full of messages of gratitude as expressed by the WVSU community. The resource persons effectively brought inspiration and motivation as they shared their expertise on internationalization.
The resource persons were:
Atty. Lily Freida Milla, CESO IV Deputy Executive Director, Director III, CHED-IAS, Philippines
H. E. Kreso Glavac, Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Croatia
Dr. Lily Nurlaili, Former Education and Cultural Attache, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Manila
Br. Manuel Pajarillo, FSC, Ph. D., Vice Chancellor for Research, De La Salle Lipa, Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines
Asso. Professor Dr. Yazrina Yahya, Deputy Director, Center for Leadership Sustainability, Higher Education Leadership Academy (Akept), Malaysia
Dr. Donludee Donnie Jaisut, Associate Dean, International Relations, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Thailand
Ms. Jenni Montero, Regional Manager, Camosun Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Dr. Christine Nabor-Ferrer, Tarlac Agricultural University, Philippines
Mr. Hector J. Gloria, Jr., Partner, CHED-International Affairs Staff, Faculty, Communication Department, IZN Lead, College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. La Salle, Philippines
Mr. Harfiz Rasul Mohamad, Senior Officer for Student Engagement, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Mr. Andre Kwok, Founder, Future City and Good City Foundation, Hong Kong and China, University of Hong Kong and Lee Kuan Yu School of Public Policy, Singapore
Dr. Daniel Cha, Professor, Chemistry Education, College of Education, Daegu University, South Korea
Ms. Rithika Susan Thomas, Project SHEA Lead, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Prof. Muhammad Wahyu Islami Pratama, Program Manager, Study Abroad and CommTech Camp, ITS International Office, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh (ITS) Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia
Mr. Anas Hasan, Young Professional and Innovator, Aspire to Innovate (A2I), Office of the Prime Minister, Bangladesh
Ms. Jenny Omadio, Director of the International Affairs, University of Antique, Philippines, and Ms. Saredith Sola, Coordinator and Adviser, UA Student Antbassadors, University of Antique, Philippines
Ms. Pichmonyka Chan, Investment Analyst, Knight Frank, City Partner, Good City Foundation Young Ambassador – United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Ms. Shalimar Ramirez-Dormitorio, Assistant Manager, Pre-professional Education Office (PPEO), Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
Mr. Bryan P. Foronda, Student Ambassador of the Philippines to Japan, College of Agro-biological Resource Science, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Mr. Yee Teng Low, Founder, RAKUN, Student Ambassador of Malaysia Faculty of Tropical Forestry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
Ms. Syazwin Fahzlin Binti Mohd Fahrughazi, ASEAN Poet, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Ms. Hershey Geline Sumpay, President, Supreme Student Government/ Student Regent, West Visayas State University, Philippines
The virtual activity had an excellent flow of talks as the objectives of learning different internationalization strategies and exposing the WVSU community to various prospective international partners were realized.
It had been proven beneficial and productive as the participants were able to gather inputs on internationalization policies and procedures that include students, faculty, and staff.
As the strengths and key niches of the university were identified, WVSU became prepared to launch and sustain its internationalization program.
The 3-day virtual activity was only the start of the promising future of the university as the WVSU became completely ready to conquer the world.