The Commission on Higher Education has been conducting various initiatives to promote the internationalization of Philippine higher education institutions, its chairperson Prospero de Vera III said during the launching of this year's European Higher Education Fair at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City on Friday.

"We engaged in international benchmarking activities and assessments by reputable international brands. We linked Philippine HEIs with international university networks through participation in training programs, summer schools, forums, cross-visits and faculty and student mobilities," De Vera said.

"We have forged educational partnerships with various foreign educational institutions to expand educational opportunities and enhance professional development," De Vera added.

De Vera said the EHEF helps in linking Philippine universities to the best higher education institutions from the European Union.

"It allows Filipino participants to have an opportunity to explore and master their chosen fields of study from the best universities and colleges in Europe proving that education knows no geographic bounds," he said.

"Through our collective action with our partners in Europe, we look forward to reengineering Philippine higher education for the better, learning more relevant innovations and helping reimagine higher education — here and abroad, working on the premise that the pursuit of higher education paves the way for a better future," the CHED chief added.

In 2021, around 9,710 students, academicians, researchers and university officials from across the country attended the virtual EHEF launch.

In 2022, in a hybrid setup, it gathered 1,900 on-site participants and 6,000 online participants.

"These figures show that EHEF and our pursuit of academic excellence for higher education in the Philippines can surmount the limitations of the pandemic," De Vera said.

"This year, our coming here together means that we continue to create a more diverse and more connected classroom of global citizens working together to redefine higher education under the new normal," he added.

According to De Vera, the EHEF 2023 indicates the European Union's continuing commitment to extending a trail or platform for Filipino students to explore diverse fields of study on a global scale.

"It reinforces the mission of the Commission on Higher Education to globalize and internationalize the higher educational institutions and students in the country," he said.

De Vera likewise said that CHED has already been implementing Transnational Higher Education or TNHE.

"Now this has become a declared national policy and priority since the TNHE Act was enacted," he said.

Under this law, higher education is eyed as a means to build the capacities of Philippine students, especially in underserved and niche areas.

"While it is seen as a means to introduce new technologies and knowledge into the country, TNHE can also be used as a tool to spur foreign investment in the Philippines. The law, even before the pandemic, also explores new modes of delivery," De Vera said.

"TNHE partnerships give Filipino students access to foreign credentials, even as they enter programs at Philippine universities," the CHED chief added.