On March 4, 2026, Nagoya University and the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) renewed their scholarship agreement in a signing ceremony held at Nagoya University’s Higashiyama Campus.
The memorandum of agreement was signed by President Naoshi Sugiyama on behalf of Nagoya University, and Director Jayeel S. Cornelio representing DOST’s Science Education Institute (SEI), and Executive Director Reynaldo V. Ebora representing DOST’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).
The signing was part of a visit to Nagoya University by a delegation of representatives from DOST-SEI, DOST-PCAARRD, and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Alongside the ceremony, the visit included a discussion for future cooperation in education and research, and a campus tour. Nagoya University and the UPLB also held a session of the Nagoya University-University of the Philippines Joint Working Group, where representatives from both sides met to advance discussions on dual degree programs, curriculum development, and collaborative research.
The renewed agreement extends a scholarship program that has supported Filipino doctoral researchers at Nagoya University since 2021. Under the updated terms, the program expands its scope beyond the original focus on bioagricultural sciences to include graduate students from the fields of engineering, agriculture, and environmental studies.
Nagoya University’s engagement with the Philippines has developed steadily over the past decade. The university holds university-wide partnership agreements with the University of the Philippines Los Baños and the Visayas State University, as well as department-level agreements with institutions including UP Manila and De La Salle University. Between 2020 and 2024, more than 200 researchers, faculty, staff, and students traveled between Nagoya and the Philippines under these partnerships.
The relationship with UPLB has been particularly active in recent years. In May 2025, Nagoya University hosted the first Nagoya University-University of the Philippines Academic Leaders’ Forum on the Internationalization of Higher Education, welcoming senior leaders from across the University of the Philippines system. The forum, attended by UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr., produced a partnership roadmap extending through 2030 and formally launched the NU-UP Joint Working Group that convened for the first time during this visit.
