Lemery Colleges in Batangas province embarked on an international benchmarking tour of Malaysia and Singapore in response to the call by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the globalization of Philippine education.
Lemery Colleges joined an exclusive program developed by PortsWorld Malaysia (PWA), in partnership with Philippines Learning Edge Services Incorp. (PLESI).
The tour, the first engagement with foreign higher education institutions (HEIs) for Lemery Colleges, culminated in the execution of memorandum of understanding with two leading HEIs in Malaysia.
Lemery Colleges president Dr. Lyra Crizelle Hernandez, who led the 15-member delegation, said the tour helped gain valuable insights and knowledge from educational institutions and systems in different countries.
She said they gained a clearer understanding on the direction of micro-credentialing programs and accreditation processes adopted by Malaysian HEIs in ensuring globally-accepted programs.
“We are excited with the vast opportunities open to us to collaborate with Asia e-University Malaysia [AeU], a privately-owned university and the state-owned University Malaysia Sawarak [UNIMAS],” she said.
Hernandez said initiatives are underway to roll-out collaboration, facilitated by PWA, with the two universities on specific programs, including adopting the Malaysian government-accredited micro credentialling courses and “capacity” development of faculty members.
PWA managing director Durairaj Govindasamy said the international academic benchmarking tour would have a positive outcome for Lemery Colleges as it seeks to move up the accreditation process and integrates with the transforming global educational landscape.
“As with Lemery Colleges, we have had tremendous response from several HEIs in the Philippines to participate in the international academe benchmarking tour and seeking to foster international collaboration in education,” he said.