PILI, Camarines Sur (PIA)—Forty-eight students will be part of this year’s South Intensive Program (SIP) 2023 in the Philippines, with the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA) located here, as the main host.
In 2019, the North Intensive Program was held in Belgium.
In an interview with CBSUA Public Information Officer (PIO) Cristia Amparo-Tubale, she explained that the SIP is a short and intensive study programme that brings together students and educators from West Flanders and Philippine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to work together on topics with impact.
Twenty-four (24) Belgium students from VIVES University of Applied Sciences and Howest University of Applied Sciences took part in the student exchange program together with 24 students coming from four colleges in the Philippines; 6 students from each learning institution; Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Isabela State University, St. Mary’s University and Nueva Viscaya State University.
This year’s SIP commenced on January 30 and will end on Feb. 10.
“This partnership between the Philippines and Belgium endeavours to promote world citizenship and strengthen international and sustainable competencies among students and teachers. It also aims to strengthen sustainable cooperation between the higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines and the Synergy partners of the Province of West Flanders, Belgium,” CBSUA Extension Division Services Director, Dr. Vladimir Foronda said.
In a press statement, CBSUA expressed that the activities during the SIP include field tours in selected farms and development organizations or cooperatives in the provinces of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, to perform case studies.
“These organizations are partners of CBSUA and some are directly assisted by Synergy-Pilipinas through the support of the Province of West Flanders, Belgium and other funding agencies. This is a good opportunity for the cooperatives/organizations to share their concerns and challenges in their implementation of projects along with entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, and climate change, and be able to seek mitigating solutions and appropriate actions,” CBSUA President Dr. Alberto N. Naperi stated.
Belgian SIP Coaches pay a visit to President Alberto Naperi. [Far left: CBSUA Extension Division Services Director, Dr. Vladimir Foronda. |Photo credits: CTubale-CBSUA
After immersing the participants in the diverse context of the cases, through community visits and actual fieldwork, students shall work in their interdisciplinary and cross-cultural teams to develop innovative solutions to the proposed challenges.
Case study topics
Since the central aim of the partnership is ‘Adaptation to climate change through entrepreneurship in sustainable agriculture seeking mitigation benefits’, with sustainable agriculture, climate change and entrepreneurship as main themes, students were given case studies where they will focus their presentation.
Some of these cases should find a solution to the question such as “What to do with the surplus vegetables that the farmers cannot sell? How can the operation of the Agripreneur Trading Centre be optimised?”; “What products can still be made from cocoa and honey? How can I typhoon-proof the hives? and in what ways can plastic waste be reduced?”
This aims to help students find solutions to 21st-century challenges rooted in the local communities of the Philippines and West Flanders in international and interdisciplinary teams.
These are also among the pressing challenges that the participants should address in their presentations, with the help of their partner organizations.
Lies Verstraete, the Belgian Coordinator for Global Engagement of VIVES University of Applied Sciences, as she gives an overview of the SIP 2023 | Photo credits: CBSUA
Getting to know each other | SIP 2023 participants | Photo credits: CBSUA
The press release also cited that “all partners in this collaboration are expected to be willing to identify common challenges and objectives; to learn from each other and share their knowledge, expertise and partners with each other; to seek realistic and feasible projects and joint initiatives between partners; to propose actions for the network and/or its members that may lead to studies, workshops and symposia; and to contribute to the common objectives of the network.”
Participating partner organizations include LPMPC in Labo Camarines Norte and Baao Organic Agriculture Cooperative (BOAC). In Pili, participating partners are CBSUA, Bicol Federation of Dairy Cooperatives (BFDC), Pecuaria, and CBSUA Organic Garden.
“The participants will also be involved in mangrove planting and coastal clean-up at Barangay Balogo, Pasacao, Camarines Sur. This will be initiated in partnership with the Municipal Government of Pasacao, Camarines Sur with the cooperation of the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, Barangay Local Government Unit of Balogo, and the Daruanac Corporation of Pasacao,” CBSUA Vice President for Business and External Affairs Prof. Cezar Armando S. Camba added.
Under the SIP 2023 activities are the participants’ visit in the national museums, nature sites, and historical places in Camarines Sur, Albay, and Manila. This is to deepen the participants’ understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage and nature of the Philippines.
Aside from the province of West Flanders of Belgium, the SIP2023 initiatives are also supported by Global Minds, Vlaamse Hogescholenraad, VLIR-UOS, and Enabel Belgium. (With reports from CTubale,CBSUA-PIA5/Camarines Sur)
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