The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Tuesday said the Philippines advanced its collaboration with Australia for transnational education in line with the internationalization efforts of higher education institutions (HEI) under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration.

“This is a milestone in advancing the Philippines’ role in the global education sector, strengthening ties with Australia, and paving the way for future collaborations in higher education that will help both nations meet the evolving demands of the global workforce,” CHED Chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III said in a statement.

De Vera made the remark after the Transnational Education (TNE) Opportunity Forum, which discussed potential partnerships between the Philippine and Australian HEIs, alongside the country’s higher education mission in Sydney and Adelaide, Australia.

In a separate speech, De Vera urged Australian universities to tie up with the Philippines HEIs to “expand” their footprints in Asia, citing potential areas to be maximized as key strengths of the Philippines.

“We are actually performing better than most ASEAN countries in terms of the graduate rate from the first degree. This means that we have a young population who are upwardly mobile, proficient in English, and looking for educational opportunities in many areas and in various modes,” he said.

De Vera said these cover fields of medicine and allied health, science and technology, aviation, animation, game development, maritime, Information Technology, and tourism management.

He mentioned potential partnerships on academic and student exchanges, as well as research cooperation.

Australia’s leading universities, including Charles Sturt University, University of the Sunshine Coast, University of Technology Sydney, University of Canberra, Victoria University, University of New South Wales, Australian Catholic University, and University of Western Sydney joined the TNE Opportunity Forum.

For the PH delegation, presidents and heads of five Philippine HEIs including Chancellor Michael Tee of University of the Philippines (UP)- Manila; Maria Teresita Medado, president of Asia Pacific College (APC); Renato Carlos Ermita Jr., president of National University (NU); Erwin Cadorna, president of University of Northern Philippines (UNP); and Jaime Manuel, president of Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) joined the CHED.

Besides the Philippines HEIs leaders, the CHED also collaborated with the Philippine Board of Investments and Clark Development Corporation to push for international education partnerships during the higher education mission. (PNA)