Quezon City, Philippines— In this year’s Philippine hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), higher education and science & technology plays a key role.

Led by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the 1st APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science and Technology in Higher Education will gather at least 40 foreign delegates from APEC member-economies and an estimated 500 participants including university presidents, leading scientists, educators and researchers, senior academicians and industry leaders at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila from August 13 to 14, 2015.

“With higher education institutions widely acknowledged as significant contributors of scientific and technological breakthroughs in the 21st century, …the Dialogue demonstrates the critical role of higher education as an important platform for the generation of new knowledge and the production of science and technology innovation, the producer of 21st century innovators, and the driver of innovations that propel inclusive regional growth,” emphasizes CHED Secretary Patricia B. Licuanan at the press briefing held at the Sulo Riviera Hotel on Friday.

“Our commitment to higher education stems from the constant need to develop skilled, highly-trained knowledge workers with graduate degrees, conducting research and development activities in the science and technology fields. Thus, our chances for boosting the country’s S&T base shall ultimately rest on the quality of our students and workforce,” adds DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo.

 

As host, the Philippines will have two presentations: first, on the theme of “Ensuring Relevance, Utilization and Contribution of Products of S&T in Higher Education to Economic Development in the APEC Region in the context of Environment, Climate Change Preparedness and Disaster Mitigation and Resiliency” and second, on the theme of “Technologies and S&T Concerns of the Future: Implications for Future Careers in the context of Smart Analytics and Engineering Innovations.” No less than the two esteemed Secretaries will deliver the presentations.

The Dialogue is expected to result in the formulation of a Joint Declaration that articulates various initiatives such as Cross Border Education & Inter-University Collaboration; S&T Mobility Card: Talent Mobility for Scientists and Expert Researchers; and Capacity Building through Twinning Programs (Joint and Double Programs for Ph.D. degrees in Science and Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Marine Sciences and Fisheries).

 

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Higher education and S&T take center stage in PH-hosted APEC meet