Taking a high leap towards fostering collaborations with other State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the country in advancing higher education, Biliran Province State University has officially entered into a partnership agreement with Sorsogon State University (SorSU) and Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa, Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMSCAT)-Masbate.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing between the three SUCs, represented by BiPSU President Dr. Victor C. Cañezo, Jr., SorSU President Dr. Geraldine F. De Jesus, and DEBESMSCAT-Masbate President Dr. Arnel B. Millesca, was held on August 16 at the Hyflex Audio Visual Center.

University key officials, including the Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Susan S. Bentor, VP for Students and External Affairs, Dr. Erwin Salvatierra, deans of the different schools, directors, and unit heads witnessed the ceremonial signing.

Towards knowledge co-creation

With the MOU, BiPSU will collaborate with other two institutions in students, staff, faculty members, and researchers exchange; as well as exchange of information and publications, joint research activities, lectures, seminars, workshops and training.

In his statement, BiPSU University President Dr. Victor C. Cañezo, Jr. expressed his enthusiasm for the event, underscoring that the activity is history.

“I hope this could be a good start between BiPSU, SorSU, and DEBESMSCAT-Masbate in our shared goals of providing better education to our respective clienteles,” Dr. Cañezo said. “Together, we are creating a historic moment for our institutions.”

A study visit was also conducted during the signing event, where Mr. Joedel Peñaranda, Executive Assistant to the University President, presented BiPSU’s accomplishments and best practices under Dr. Cañezo’s administration.

Competition no more

SorSU President Dr. De Jesus highlighted in her message of support that the signing of the MOU between BiPSU and the two SUCs signifies a new era of cooperation among all SUCs in the country, focusing on advancing education.

“Gone are the days when we competed with one another,” Dr. De Jesus said. “We are now entering a new era where collaboration and mutual support take precedence.”

On August 7-10 this year, BiPSU’s Presidential Management Team (PMT), led by Dr. Cañezo, visited SorSU to conduct a benchmarking activity on their Learning Management Systems (LMS), Quality Assurance, Instructional Materials, and the Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS).

This visit facilitated the decision for both institutions to enter into a formal partnership, ensuring that future collaborations are both binding and official.

In addition, Dr. Cañezo also emphasized in his message the importance of building inter-university linkages to advance shared goals.

“We’re not claiming that we have everything you’re looking for; there is still much to be done—‘malayo pa, pero malayo na’,” Dr. Cañezo said. “But your presence this afternoon actually somehow inspires and motivates us to continue doing the weaving of worthiness here in BiPSU, so that we can offer even more to our partner SUCs.”

Best Practices at Day 1

The two SUC presidents arrived at BiPSU in the morning, where they were welcomed with a military arrival of honors—a ceremonial practice observed at BiPSU that demonstrates the university’s respect and recognition for important visitors.

DEBESMSCAT-Masbate President Dr. Millesca expressed his admiration for this practice, which has become a tradition at BiPSU.

“I have gone to many SUCs in the Philippines, but this was my first time to actually experience being welcomed like that,” Dr. Millesca said. “This is a best practice of BiPSU that I would like to introduce at DEBESMSCAT; perhaps we could do something similar.”

In addition, Dr. Millesca commended BiPSU for implementing the shifting class modality to address the high number of students.

He noted that the shifting system BiPSU has innovated could be beneficial for DEBESMSCAT-Masbate in managing their student-to-classroom and teacher ratios.

“In our school, our challenge is our capability to accommodate all the students due to limitations in classrooms and teachers,” Dr. Millesca said. “Perhaps with your shifting modality, we could address this issue.”

He also added that the MOU signing will open a lot of opportunities for both SUCs.

“With this memorandum of understanding, I think we can already share our resources, we can share our expertise, our experts, and we can collaborate with each other,” he said.

Dr. Millesca also extended an invitation to Dr. Cañezo and the key officials to visit DEBESMSCAT-Masbate, which Dr. Cañezo gladly accepted.

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