BSU and SLU Caps 10-year Partnership with Flemish Universities
02.05.10 -JSTabangcura

     The 10-year partnership between Benguet State University, Saint Louis University with Flemish universities was capped by a joint Steering Committee meeting at BSU on February 2 where Flemish and Filipino evaluators presented the final evaluation results of the partnership.

     The partnership is under the VLIR or Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (Flemish Interuniversity Council) and the Philippine Institutional University Cooperation Program. Within the 10-year program, SLU and BSU worked together in various projects covering Institutional Management, ICT, Library Services, Socio Economics and Health & Environment.

     For BSU, projects under the VLIR-PIUC includes ICT Development, Library Development, Strengthening of the Institute of Social Research and Development and the Establishment of the STVRDC (Semi-Temperate Vegetables Research and Development Center).

     Ad Boeren, the program’s Flemish evaluator generally commented that the projects has achieved almost if not all of their planned results. He also appreciated the BSU library in being a model for other SUCs and the communication between the BSU and SLU libraries.

     “The good intentions of the project are backed up by institutionalized policies,” he added.

     The meeting will be followed by an international conference on “Best Practices in University Development Through International Cooperation” at Hotel Elizabeth, Baguio City on February 2-4.

     “In this conference BSU and SLU would like to share best practices based on the VLIR-PIUC experiences,” said SLU President, Rev. Fr. Jessie Hechanova.