The Philippine Embassy in London recently welcomed to Sentro Rizal London officials of Philippine state universities, namely, Batangas State University, Central Mindanao University, Mariano Marcos University, Philippine Normal University-Manila and University of the Philippines-Manila, and representatives of British Council in the Philippines.

The group provided updates on the flagship Access and Competitiveness through Internationalisation of Higher Education (ACT-IHE) program of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the British Council, which aims at further developing the local transnational education (TNE) ecosystem in the country, supporting the implementation of the Transnational Higher Education Law (R.A. 11448) and increasing the number of TNE partnerships.

During their visit to the UK, the PH state university-officials met with various UK universities and organizations as part of the ongoing Philippines-UK TNE project. This program commenced in 2021 through a series of virtual meetings between the abovementioned state universities and potential UK universities. Based on their TNE priority areas, they conducted face-to-face discussions with prospective UK partner-universities, such as Coventry University, Edinburgh Napier University, Edge Hill University, Leeds Beckett University, Liverpool Hope University, University of Dundee, University of East London, University of Leeds and University of Portsmouth.

The TNE program paves the way for dual degrees for Filipino students who will receive qualifications from both a Philippine university and its UK partner-institution. The Philippine universities and their UK counterparts are expected to offer the new TNE programs by the end of 2024.