The Philippines is pushing to broaden higher education cooperation across Southeast Asia, with the expansion of a regional scholarship platform to cover research and innovation emerging as a key initiative during the 4th Association of Southeast Asian Nations‑European Union (ASEAN‑EU) Policy Dialogue on Higher Education in Manila.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and Malaysia’s Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) on Oct. 27 to pursue the expansion of the ASEAN Global Exchange for Mobility and Scholarship (ASEAN GEMS) platform, which has offered more than US$25 million in scholarships and university incentives as of July 2026.
The proposed ASEAN GEMS Plus aims to go beyond student mobility by including research grants, researcher exchanges, innovation partnerships, and joint research projects addressing sustainable development challenges.
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