A South Korean university and a Philippine-hosted intergovernmental treaty organization are offering research scholarships to Filipinos and other Southeast Asians to earn master’s and doctoral degrees.
The Sejong University-Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) joint graduate scholarship for Southeast Asian countries is open to Filipinos and nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Sejong University is in the capital city of Seoul.
The scholars under the joint scholarship program will be conferred their master’s or Doctor of Engineering degree by Sejong University, according to SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio.
He said the Sejong University-SEARCA joint scholarship aims to strengthen the capacities of Southeast Asian scientists and researchers by enabling them to obtain master’s and doctoral degrees by research in the fields of agricultural biotechnology, aquaculture, food science and international development.
“The scholarship is for junior and mid-level executives, managers, researchers or technical staff of government or non-governmental agencies and universities,” Gregorio said.
He also explained that applicants to whom preference is given are those who hold key core positions in implementing plans of action, policies and good business or management programs affecting biological sciences and agriculture, horticulture, and animal sciences at the national, regional and international levels.
Dr. Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, SEARCA program head for Education and Collective Learning, said the applicant’s planned research must be aligned with SEARCA’s priority areas until 2025 which include agri-business models for increased productivity and income, sustainable farming systems and natural resource management, and food and nutrition security.
She added that the other priority areas are transformational leadership for agricultural and rural development (ARD), gender and youth engagement in ARD, enhanced ARD towards climate resilience, and EcoHealth/One Health applications to ARD.
“The provisions of the Sejong University-SEARCA research scholarship include tuition and other school fees and stipend for food, lodging and incidental expenses. Research budget, travel allowance to cover international airfare and health insurance will also be provided,” Cuaresma informed.
Deadline for application for the Sejong University-SEARCA research scholarships is on March 19, 2021.