Manila, – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Philippines, represented by Director Atty Lily Freida Milla and the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, represented by First Secretary Jérôme Rivière, today opened a two-day workshop on the European Union’s support to Higher Education in ASEAN Region (SHARE) programme.
The workshop focuses on improving higher education institutions’ general knowledge and preparation of the ASEAN-EU Credit Transfer System (AECTS) for those institutions participating in SHARE.
The AECTS capacity-building workshop is a unique chance given to SHARE Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to further develop institutional capacity in credit transfer with the support of mobility processes and an online platform developed by SHARE. The AECTS processes and tools will be reviewed and illustrated through case studies.
According to Atty Milla, “I am delighted to see ASEAN and the EU’s effort through SHARE enabling student mobility in ASEAN and building an ASEAN identity in higher education. In terms of academic credit transfer, experts suggest to focus on the individual needs of the learner so that institutions should not put unnecessary burden in the way of learning. Above all, SHARE programme complements the substantial support of the education sector in Philippines.”
"From the EU experience, credit transfer plays a crucial role in instilling student mobility. In this case, the AECTS is compatible with ASEAN national and European systems, and fosters comparability as well as inclusiveness. Based on the lessons learnt in the pilot stage, the AECTS is now ready for further dissemination and participation from more universities and students. It is now an opportunity for the SHARE programme to gradually transfer the system to an institution in ASEAN who will operate the system in the long run.", said Mr. Rivière.
This workshop is addressed to all 32 higher education institutions currently participating in SHARE. It brings together 60 representatives from their International Relations (IRO) and Academic Affairs Offices who are already familiar with this tool.
The AECTS has been piloted through the implementation of the SHARE Scholarships.
Since 2016, SHARE has awarded over 550 scholarships for ASEAN undergraduate students from eight ASEAN countries* to undertake a short-term study in ASEAN and Europe. Of this number, 75 inbound students and five outbound students are from the Philippines.