Text and Photos by Charmaine Lingdas
The University of the Philippines Manila and Japan’s Nagasaki University discussed the renewal of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Dec. 12, 2025, and explored expanded collaboration in public health and tropical medicine. The meeting focused on reviewing the scope of cooperation and identifying priority programs for the new partnership.
UPM and Nagasaki University identified several areas for expanded cooperation including faculty and student exchanges, joint and transnational degree programs, research collaboration, short courses and professional training, and community- and hospital-based field practice.
In its website, Nagasaki University says it is aiming to become “a world-leading university committed to realizing Planetary Health. It listed the following focus areas to achieve this vision: Global Health, Global Risk (Analyzing risks from multiple perspectives to gain insight into problem-solving processes), and Global Ecology. In line with this vision, Nagasaki University takes pride in its English programs in tropical medicine, public health, and global health catering to students from 59 countries.
UP Manila highlighted opportunities to align their curricula and share best practices in some programs, such as in the Doctor of Public Health program. Research collaboration through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was also discussed, with NIH open to accepting research adjunct professors and supporting joint research and internships. Both universities expressed interest in expanding short courses, including in infectious disease epidemiology, modeling, and vaccinology, while exploring selected training in the Philippines. Field training and hospital-based exchanges, including potential collaboration between the Philippine General Hospital and Nagasaki University Hospital, were likewise discussed.
Both universities expressed optimism about sustaining and strengthening their partnership and are targeting the completion of the renewed MOU by early next year.
The Nagasaki University delegation included Chris Smith, director of the collaborating center and professor, Su Myat Han; deputy director and assistant professor Jun Yoshino; chief administrative officer and academic coordinator; and Dr. Mark John Girasol, research physician.
The meeting was led by Dr. Viviene Fadrilan-Camacho, director of the Office of International and Local Linkages; Dr. Geraldine Dayrit, linkages coordinator of the College of Public Health; and Dr. Jose Ma. Angeles, professor and chair of the Department of Parasitology. It was also attended by Dr. Evalyn Roxas, chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology, Dr. Patrick Sylim, assistant professor from the Department of Health Policy and Administration; and Mr. John Mark Velasco, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health.
Since 2017, the two institutions have embarked on faculty exchanges and collaborative research; student internships, research opportunities in the Philippines including laboratory placements and short-term projects with UP Manila faculty, the creation of the International Research Ethics Course and, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, field practicums and training activities through San Lazaro Hospital. In the meeting, Nagasaki University also shared new scholarship opportunities for Southeast Asian students through an MOU with the Asian Development Bank.
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