DAAD-SEARCA Scholars recognized in handover ceremony

22 May 2014

MAKATI, Philippines – Fifteen Southeast Asian graduate scholars from Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand studying at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), received their scholarship certificates from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for AY 2013-2014 in a simple handover ceremony at the German Embassy on 20 May 2014.

Officiating the handover ceremony was His Excellency Thomas Ossowski, German Ambassador to the Philippines, who was accompanied by Mr. Michael Fuchs, German Cultural Attaché and Ms. Janina Brill, DAAD Lektorin. Meanwhile, the SEARCA delegation included Dr. Virginia R. Cardenas, Deputy Director – Administration, representing Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., Director; Dr. Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma, Program Head for Graduate Scholarship; and Ms. Zacyl R. Jalotjot, Program Specialist for Graduate Scholarship.

Ambassador Ossowski, in his welcome remarks reminded the scholars of how important education is in the development of a nation; and how Germany, through the DAAD scholarship has been able to contribute to the development of the Southeast Asian nations.

On the other hand, Ms. Brill noted that being a former DAAD scholar herself, she has learned a lot from the experience, including an appreciation of another culture. She hoped that the DAAD-SEARCA scholars will likewise gain much from this program, the way she did.

Meanwhile, Dr. Saguiguit said in his closing speech, as read by Dr. Cardenas, that SEARCA’s partnership with DAAD, which started 37 years ago, is a resounding proof of how the Center values partnership in the pursuit of its mandates. Moreover, he underlined the critical role that the DAAD-SEARCA scholars can take on, to move Southeast Asia past the challenges of extreme poverty, continuously growing population and dwindling natural resources.

“We need to continue buildïng the region's human resources to face these challenges. We expect the 15 scholars who will receive their SEARCA-DAAD scholarship grants today will keep this noble objective of making a difference in mind,” he added.

The 15 scholarship awardees are:

	Scholar	Degree/Program	Country
1.	Mr. Sambo Pheap	MS, Soil Science	Cambodia
2.	Ms. Myint Thu Thu Aung	MS, Agricultural Economics	Myanmar
3.	Mr. Myo Win Maung	MS, Environmental Science	Myanmar
4.	Ms. Myat Moe Hlaing	PhD, Botany	Myanmar
5.	Mr. Kyaw Min Htut	PhD, Entomology	Myanmar
6.	Ms. Than Htwe	MS, Agronomy	Myanmar
7.	Ms. Myint Myint Soe	PhD, Entomology	Myanmar
8.	Ms. Maria Anabelle Gerona	PhD, Development Communication	Philippines
9.	Ms. Maria Teresa R. Sawit	MS, Community Development	Philippines
10.	Ms. Queenie Ann Curayag	PhD, Food Science and Technology	Philippines
11.	Mr. Ulderico Alviola	Straight PhD, Development Communication	Philippines
12.	Ms. Edelweiss Sajise	PhD, Plant Breeding	Philippines
13.	Ms. Alisa Sahahirun	PhD, Extension Education	Thailand
14.	Mr. Le Phuong Nam	MS, Agricultural Economics	Vietnam
15.	Mr. Hoang Ha Anh	MS, Environmental Science	Vietnam

The DAAD or Deutscher Akademishcher Austausch Dienst and SEARCA partnership dates back to 1975 when DAAD awarded its first 15 scholarship grants to nationals of Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam to pursue graduate degree in agriculture and related sciences. To date, the DAAD-SEARCA scholarship grants have benefited 322 Southeast Asian scholars working towards the agriculture and rural development in the countries of Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam.