LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – Fourteen universities and two research institutions in Southeast Asia and Europe, two of them Philippine state tertiary institutions, have joined hands to develop a master of science degree program in climate change and related fields.
The Master of Science in Food Security and Climate Change (MS FSCC) is an initiative of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The consortium is an academic body organized in 1989 through the initiative of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to harness institutions of higher learning in selected Southeast Asian countries to push farther the frontiers of agriculture and natural resources in the region.
Hosted by the Philippine government in the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), SEARCA is one of 21 regional centers of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), an inter-government treaty body founded in 1965 to promote cooperation in science, education and culture among Southeast Asian nations.
Aside from UPLB, the other consortium members are the Kasetsart University in Thailand, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Institut Pertanian Bogor and Universitas Gadjah Mada, both in Indonesia.