Nagoya University conducts Virtual Entrance Ceremony; welcomes two new graduate students at Philippines satellite campus

Los Banos, Laguna— Two new doctoral students from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) who will pursue their respective programs at Nagoya University (NU), Japan this Fall Semester were officially welcomed at the NU Virtual Entrance Ceremony held on 4 October 2021.  The ceremony was hosted by the NU Asian Satellite Campus-Philippines based at UPLB Graduate School and co-hosted by the Office of the UPLB Chancellor. 

The two new students are Mr. Hadji C. Jalotjot, University Researcher III of the UPLB College of Public Affairs and Development; and Mr. Angelo M. Tapia, Assistant Professor of the UPLB Institute of Animal Science.  Both are scholars under the NU-University of the Philippines Joint Scholarship Project and will be pursuing the hybrid research-based Doctor of Agricultural Science at the NU Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences as one of the offerings of the NU Transnational Doctoral Programs for Leading Professionals in Asian Countries.

In his welcome remarks, Prof. Kazuhito Kawakita, NU Vice President for International Affairs, Planning, Evaluation and Institutional Research, thanked UP President Danilo Concepcion, and UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr., for hosting the NU satellite campus and for providing support through the NU-UP Joint Scholarship Project.  He also thanked the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), for providing scholarships and research grants to the scholars. He announced that since the establishment of the transnational doctoral program in 2014 in six countries, 91 students have so far enrolled in the program, of which 16 of those who enrolled in 2016 at the NU Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences (GSBS) and the Graduate School of International Development (GSID) are from the Philippines. He said that with the provision of equipment and upgrading of facilities at the central station located at UPLB and sub-stations in Visayas State University (VSU), Central Philippines and Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia, he hopes that more joint projects will soon be implemented. He congratulated the two new students and wished them the best in their graduate studies.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jose V. Camacho, Jr. Chancellor of UPLB, warmly welcomed all officials of international and national agencies, guests, students, faculty and alumni and expressed that UPLB is very much delighted with its partnership with Nagoya University.  He thanked UP Systems President Danilo L. Concepcion for the strong support to continue the efforts towards internationalization and the opportunity to be part of the Nagoya University Asian Satellite campus. He stressed that the continuous upgrading of the UPLB laboratories of crop sciences, animal and dairy sciences, as well as forestry sciences is a very much appreciated development resulting from the collaboration between the two universities and that it is “proof that in today’s increasingly interconnected world, collaboration and cooperation remain as the best way of promoting institutional growth and development”

Chancellor Camacho congratulated the two new students, as well as the new graduate and looked forward to even stronger future-proof partnership between UP and Nagoya University as well as all the institutions and agencies represented in the ceremony.

Ms. Junko Sato, Director of Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) at the Embassy of Japan in Manila, congratulated the two new students and expressed her gladness and excitement on the new journey they have started to take.   She congratulated Nagoya University and UPLB for the continued success of the collaboration despite challenging times and noted that such “partnership has proven itself as a true testament to the power of the human spirit and innovation—features that will help us navigate towards a future-proof society” She said that Covid-19 may have slowed everyone down but it did not stop everyone from doing what has to be done.  She said that the entrance ceremony was a “fitting commemoration of the Japan-Philippine friendship” which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year.

Ms. Sato said that academic scholars and alumni “have to rise as modern-day agents of diplomacy” and that academic exchanges between the two countries will surely boost friendship and “fortify each nation’s work towards a more meaningful world.”  She said she is eager to see the accomplishments of the students as they move towards becoming leaders in their own fields.

Dr. Akira Yamauchi, Director of the NU Asian Satellite Campuses Institute, greeted the officials, guests, students and alumni attending the ceremony and informed that he took over the position of Institute Director upon the retirement of Professor Fumio Isoda last March. He expressed special thanks to officials of the JICC-Japan Embassy in Manila, UP System, UPLB, SEARCA, IRRI, JICA, VSU, NUAL-PH and all those who attended the ceremony.  He gladly announced that the transnational doctoral program is also being supported by several private companies and banks in Japan.  He mentioned that NU will soon be signing an agreement with the Philippine Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) for a number of joint scholarships for PhD and will also soon submit a proposal for scholarship co-funding to the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Dr. Yamauchi also announced that while NU continues to look for funds to allocate budget for the central and substations of the International Station for Tropical Agricultural Sciences (ISTAS), NU also continues to connect with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for government-sponsored scholarships for full-time study in Japan.  The ISTAS is intended to be a platform for collaborative research projects to be participated by partners, students, alumni and professors. He looked forward to the continued support of the partners for activities at the satellite campus in the Philippines.