Sixty-six faculty members from eight member universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) converged at the SEARCA Headquarters for the First UC Faculty Forum on 23 – 24 July 2019. The forum was co-hosted by SEARCA and the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Researchers from eight member universities comprising Institut Pertanian Bogor, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universiti Putra Malaysia, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Kasetsart University, Tokyo University of Agriculture, National Taiwan University and Universitas Brawijaya of Indonesia come together to exchange research ideas and develop strategic partnerships for collaborations.

With the theme of Responding to the Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there were four plenary speakers and 43 papers presented in parallel sessions under 4 sub-themes. Researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia are Dr. Juwaidah Sharifuddin (FP), Dr. Siti Izera Ismail (FP), Dr. Ahmad Suhaizi Mat Su (FP), Dr. Muhammad Heikal Ismail (FK), Dr. Siti Fatimah Mohamad (FSTM) and Dr. Noris Mohd. Norowi (FSKTM). Dr. Juwaidah Sharifuddin (FP) and Dr. Muhammad Heikal Ismail (FK) were invited for the roundtable sessions that discussed possible key areas of strategic collaboration among the UC members. Among those proposed were cross visits, co-supervision of thesis, co-authorship of papers, research collaboration on topics that transcend boundaries such as on studies involving the Mekong River or the South China Sea, and the extension of the current UC project on the Joint Master of Science in Food Security and Climate Change (MSFSCC) to a Doctor of Science in Food Security and Climate Change (DSFSCC) program.

Date of Input: 01/08/2019 | Updated: 01/08/2019 | shuhada_md