Text by Charmaine A. Lingdas
Photos by Sarah Hazel Moces Pulumbarit
The University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) and Bahria University (BU), one of Pakistan’s leading higher education institutions, agreed to explore academic and research collaborations in the health sciences during a visit held on October 9, 2025, at the UP Manila Board Room, Philippine General Hospital.
The Bahria University delegation was led by Major General (R) Prof. Dr. Shehla M. Baqai HI(M), Dean of Health Sciences, together with Ms. Abida Razzaq, Vice Principal of the Pakistan Navy Nursing College, and Dir. Mr. Fazal Wahab, Quality Assurance. Representing UP Manila were Dr. Vivien Fe F. Fadrilan-Camacho, Director of the Office of International and Local Linkages (OILL), along with linkages coordinators from the UP Colleges of Nursing, Allied Medical Professions, Medicine, and Dentistry who shared their respective programs and potential collaborative directions
Dr. Baqai shared an overview of Bahria University’s health sciences programs across its campuses in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. She emphasized the university’s strong commitment to health education and research, noting its international linkages and recognition by national and global accrediting bodies.
“Our objective in this visit is to learn from the Philippines, which is at the highest standard in nursing education,” Dr. Baqai said. “We wanted to learn from your university and colleges how you can guide us to establish a nursing college at the top level,” Dr. Baqai said, adding that they are particularly interested in the nursing program of UP Manila due to its strong international reputation.
She also presented areas of possible collaboration, including student mobility, faculty exchange, joint research and conferences, credit transfer and articulation, faculty training, community engagement, and joint grant writing.
Dr. Camacho welcomed the proposed partnership and expressed optimism about future collaborations.
“We’re very happy to learn that you are interested to partner with us,” she said. “All the things that you mentioned in the areas of potential collaboration—I think majority, if not all, are doable. We can start small, like invitations to classes or guest lectures, and then build up on the activities that we will establish or conduct.”
The University representatives agreed to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize collaboration across UP Manila’s health colleges, the Philippine General Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health.
The Bahria University delegates also toured the UP College of Nursing’s facilities, including its simulation laboratories and library, as part of a benchmarking visit.
