8 September 2021, Calgary – Through the introduction of the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary, officials of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) held their first virtual meeting on 30 August 2021 (Calgary time) to explore academic and research cooperation and partnership.

UPLB Chancellor Jose Camacho, Jr., and Dr. Meghna Ramaswamy, USask Director for International Office, led their respective institutions during the meeting.

Consul General Zaldy Patron was invited at the meeting in recognition of the role he played in introducing the two institutions to each other. “We are pleased to connect these two top agriculture and research-oriented universities in the Philippines and Canada, and we are hopeful that their initial meeting will lead to a fruitful cooperation in the future,” he said.

The meeting allowed UPLB and USask to exchange information on their respective academic programs, core research areas, and centers of excellence.

With both sides recognizing the alignment and synergy in their academic and research programs, they expressed commitment to collaborate with each other. They agreed to initially explore opportunities for partnership in the two areas of Agriculture and Food Security, and Environmental Sciences and Climate Change.

“The roll out of this new and exciting partnership between the University of Saskatchewan and the University of the Philippines Los Baños will strengthen innovation, solidarity, and coherence between Canada and the Philippines by jointly addressing and seeking solutions for national and global challenges confronting food security, agriculture, environment and climate change, and sustainable development. We hope this partnership will lead to an extensive exchange of knowledge and help our institutions and countries pursue a more sustainable path forward,” Dr. Ramaswamy said after the meeting.

As a next step, UPLB and USask will jointly organize a webinar involving their respective faculties that will be involved in a potential partnership program.