#GoingGlobal: VSU, UGent open new international exchanges for students, scientists

For a student in Eastern Visayas, the chance to study, conduct research, or train in another country can feel like a distant possibility. A new agreement between Visayas State University (VSU) and Ghent University (UGent) is set to bring that opportunity closer.

VSU and Ghent University’s Faculty of Bioscience Engineering agreed to establish a seven-year Student/Staff Exchange Agreement covering academic years 2027–2028 to 2033–2034. The partnership will create opportunities for students and faculty members to learn, teach, conduct research, and build professional connections across the Philippines and Belgium.

More than simply sending people from one campus to another, the agreement creates a structured exchange where learning can happen in both directions.

“This partnership with Ghent University gives our students and faculty more opportunities to learn beyond our campus, engage with researchers abroad, and bring those experiences home to VSU. After more than a decade of partnership, it is encouraging to see this relationship open new doors for our people and our work,” VSU President Prose Ivy G. Yepes stressed.  

Under the arrangement, VSU and UGent may each send up to two undergraduate or graduate students every academic year. VSU students may participate in study, internship, or research activities connected to a graduate thesis, while students from UGent’s MSc in Aquaculture program may undertake internships and master’s research at VSU. 

The agreement also opens opportunities for VSU students from bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs to engage in internship and graduate research activities at UGent.

For students, the experience goes beyond earning academic credits.

They will have the chance to work in a different academic environment, interact with researchers from another country, experience another culture, and see how science and technology are applied in a different setting. 

Courses and research activities will be planned jointly with academic advisers from both institutions, ensuring that the work undertaken abroad remains connected to the student’s academic program at home.

The agreement also provides an important practical benefit: exchange students will be exempted from tuition and academic fees at the host institution. Credits earned during the exchange, when covered by the approved Learning Agreement, will also be recognized and counted toward the student’s degree.

But the exchange is not limited to students.

Two professors from each institution may participate in staff exchanges during an academic year. Faculty members can use the opportunity for teaching, training, research, and professional engagement. For VSU, this can mean bringing home new ideas, research approaches, teaching practices, and international connections that can benefit colleagues and students.

The partnership is particularly relevant to the agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources fields. Ghent University’s participating program is MSc in Aquaculture, while VSU’s participation covers students from its BSc, MSc, and PhD programs for internship and graduate research. This creates room for collaboration in areas where both institutions have strong academic interests and where scientific knowledge can directly contribute to communities and industries.

The new exchange agreement also builds on a relationship that has been growing for more than a decade. VSU and UGent first formalized their academic and research partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015, which provided for advanced student exchanges, joint research activities, information and publication exchange, and the exploration of opportunities for joint graduate programs. Since then, the relationship has grown into broader scientific and developmental cooperation, including research on aquatic and aquatic-ecosystem ecology, environmental assessment, biodiversity conservation, and mangrove ecosystems. 

Their collaboration has also been connected to wider VLIR-UOS-supported initiatives with Belgian partner universities, advancing work on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, multi-hazard management, and other development concerns in Eastern Visayas. For VSU graduate students and faculty members, this continuing partnership has opened pathways to collaborate with international researchers, share scientific knowledge and data, and engage with experts whose work extends the university’s research horizons.

The agreement also recognizes that international exchange comes with responsibilities. Both universities commit to assisting visiting students and staff with matters such as documentation, visa requirements, accommodation support, insurance, and other arrangements related to mobility. It also establishes provisions on human rights, intellectual property, confidentiality, and the protection of personal data.

The partnership is anchored on a simple idea: universities become stronger when their people are given opportunities to learn from others.

For VSU, the connection with Ghent University adds another international link to its academic and research network. For students and faculty members, it offers a chance to step outside familiar surroundings and bring new experiences back to Baybay.

A semester spent abroad can begin with a research question, an internship, a laboratory assignment, or a thesis project. It can end with something much bigger, a new research collaboration, a professional network, a different perspective on science, or a renewed understanding of how knowledge can respond to real-world needs.

The first exchanges under the agreement are scheduled for academic year 2027–2028. With the partnership set to run for seven years, the relationship has room to grow beyond individual exchanges and develop into sustained academic and research collaboration.

For a university in Eastern Visayas, the message is encouraging. Global academic opportunities do not have to remain far from home. Sometimes, they begin with an agreement that connects two universities, and with students and researchers willing to cross the distance.

For Dr. Jade Dahpnee Compendio, Director of International Affairs and Relations, the collaboration marks an important step in strengthening the ties between VSU and UGent. 

“The newly signed agreement gives our students and faculty greater access to global exposure, academic and research exchanges, and international collaborations that strengthen VSU’s global presence,” she added.  

Together, these connections place the VSU–Ghent University exchange not only within the realm of international academic mobility, but also within a broader effort to develop people, strengthen research cooperation, and use knowledge to address development challenges.

This article aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 4: Quality Education; SDG No. 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,  and SDG No. 17: Partnership for the Goals.  

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