#GoingGlobal: Grad School Dean keynotes international confab at Czech Republic

Multi-awarded researcher and University Professor Dr. Anabella B. Tulin, who is also the concurrent dean of the VSU Graduate School, served as one of the keynote speakers at an international conference held at the Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) in Europe.

Dean Tulin through support from the VSU Internationalization Program attended the 2nd Agrinatura Conference 2023 and presented a talk on the livelihood opportunities for women in disaster-prone areas through micronutrient biofortification.

She is the lone Filipino and Asian who joined the conference organized by the European Alliance on Agricultural Knowledge for Development.

Agrinatura is a research organization with 33 active members from agricultural universities in Europe with a prime focus on sustainable agricultural development to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

The said group builds a network of researchers to collaborate with the latest knowledge and trends in agriculture research and innovation to solve global issues related to food security, poverty, and economic growth.

The Agrinatura Conference is a two-day event held on May 11 to 12, 2023 that featured the different research works of its members.

VSU has been in partnership with CZU for quite some time now. Because of this partnership, VSU has been able to enjoy many opportunities, including but not limited to the establishment of a multi-million peso laboratory that was donated by the Czech Republic.

On top of that, exchange students from the Czech Republic were also welcomed by VSU for academic and research engagements. Last year, a professor from the CZU visited VSU during the inauguration of the laboratory at the Advanced Research and Innovation Center (ARIC).

Because of Dr. Tulin’s lecture during the conference, two master's students from the Czech Republic and Ukraine got interested in conducting their research at VSU. This news was first reported in a post from VSU Graduate School’s official Facebook page.

The 2nd Agrinatura Conference was anchored on the theme: “Global Research Collaboration: Harnessing Innovation for Food Systems Transition.”

Completing the delegation of the university in this international conference were VSU President Dr. Edgardo E. Tulin, International Affairs Office Head Dr. Ana Marquiza M. Quilicot, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Dr. Ma. Theresa P. Loreto, Director for Innovation Prof. Alan B. Loreto, Budget Office Head Ms. Alicia M. Flores, and Administrative Officer Ms. Elsa P. Umpad.

While in Prague, the university officials also toured CZU where they met their counterparts including University Rector Prof. Ing. Petr Sklenička, CSC, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ) Dean Prof. Dr. Ir. Patrick Van Damme, and FTZ International Office Head Prof. Dr. Petra Chaloupkova. 

Prof. Dr. Ladislav Kokoska who is currently leading the FTZ Laboratory of Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology and one of the foreign collaborators of VSU also brought the university officials to the new campus of CZU where they continued their discussion on expanding the international linkage between the two institutions.

Continuing the partnership with Masaryk University

Another important stop of the university delegation in the Czech Republic is the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the VSU and the Masaryk University, which is the second largest university in the Czech Republic and a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network of European universities.

Masaryk University has been partnering with VSU for several years since the inclusion of the university in the EXPERTS ASIA program, a European Union (EU) funded project that aims to enhance the capacity for international cooperation among its participating countries in South and Southeast Asia.

Since 2010, this program has enabled VSU faculty members, staff, and students to study in Europe for the advancement of academic and cultural exchange. The same program brought in several batches of European exchange students who took specializations here at VSU.

Recently, Masaryk University was also the first foreign institution to send in a foreign exchange professor to VSU after the COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted by the national government. Dr. Michal Struk becomes the first foreign professor to be allowed entry to VSU after 2 long years of community quarantine.

More professors and even exchange students from both the CZU and Masaryk University are expected to visit VSU within the next few months as VSU continues its aggressive push for continued internationalization through collaborative research undertakings.

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