Dr. Rhodora G. Magan, Director of the Internationalization and ASEAN Integration (IAI) Office of Cebu Technological University (CTU), called for more purposeful collaboration in higher education in her keynote address, “From Isolated Nodes to Global Corridors: Redefining University Partnerships Beyond Traditional Borders.”
Dr. Magan stressed that the burden of global recognition rests on institutions willing to embrace transformation.
In her keynote, Dr. Magan posed a compelling question of who should carry the responsibility for achieving global recognition. She framed CTU as a 17-year-old university striving to hurdle international rankings and establish its presence on the world stage, acknowledging both the drama and the weight of such responsibility.
“The seventeen-year-old CebuTech University [is] trying to hurdle and attain all the rankings in the world and [be] known to the globe. Dramatic? Yes. Burdensome? Yes,” Magan said.
“But the seventeen-year-old is told, ‘Do as you’re told, you have no choice.’ So, we carry the responsibility… wonderfully, because the seventeen-year-old is right to face the world,” she added.
Dr. Magan further discussed how university linkages can evolve into global corridors of collaboration. She said partnerships should extend beyond formal agreements to include industry, academia, institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), with mobility serving as an important mechanism for addressing challenges across borders.
CTU’s active participation in HEPCON 2026 affirms its growing relevance in expanding international ties, strengthening the Philippines’ role in global higher education, and positioning the university as a key player in advancing meaningful academic collaboration.
