More innovative and high-impact programs in the country’s higher education are expected with the launching of the Higher Education Innovation Leaders Fellowship Program by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The fellowship program, which was launched on Monday, is part of USAID’s five-year, PHP1.6-billion United States-Philippines Partnership for Skills, Innovation, and Life-long Learning (UPSKILL) initiative.

According to the CHED, 16 senior academic officials from Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University Manila, De La Salle University Laguna, Far Eastern University, Mapua University, Mariano Marcos State University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Saint Louis University, University of the Philippines, and the University of San Carlos have been selected to participate on the program.

“These fellows will be bringing contributions and cultivating advocacies of transformation through the fellowship program,” CHED Chairperson J. Prospero de Vera said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 16 senior officials will have a week-long immersion at Arizona State University, which tops the most innovative HEIs in the US.

They will then engage in an eight-month learning drive, which will cover lessons on global trends in higher education, organizational reforms, and solution crafting to boost the impact of HEI programs.

“We look forward to seeing (them) working collectively toward a goal of a strengthened higher education system leading to inclusive growth in the Philippines,” de Vera said. (PNA)