Press Release
November 10, 2009

KOREAN GOV'T SUPPORTS S&T SCHOLARSHIPS, R.E. RESEARCH IN RP

Seoul, Korea - Upon the representation of Senator Edgardo J. Angara, the Korean government through Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan is supporting a government-to-government scholarship program between Korea and the Philippines which will enable Filipino engineers and scientists to pursue advanced studies in Korea, with special focus on renewable energy (RE) technologies.

Angara, together with NEDA Deputy Director General Rolly Tungpalan, Senator Migz Zubiri and Philippine Ambassador to Korea HE Luis Cruz, have also secured Korea's support for the Philippine's research and development (R&D) efforts on RE and green technologies.

Details of this partnership will be discussed further by Korean Ambassador Choi Joong-Kyung with Angara and the RP counterpart.

"This is a breakthrough development," said Angara. "Currently, Filipino students who study in Korea are only able to do so with their own individual efforts. Until now, our government has not provided this opportunity. With this partnership, we can give our scientists and engineers the chance to study and train in RE technologies."

There are about 300 Filipino students in Korean universities taking up mostly S&T courses. Angara, who keynoted the Korea-Philippines Economic Cooperation Forum for Green Growth highlighted the need for deeper regional cooperation and stronger partnerships with the Korean government, universities and private firms in order to promote clean energy and green innovation.

The Korea fellowship program is part of the overall thrust of the Angara-formed Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) to create fellowships, scholarships, apprenticeships and training grants in Japan, Taiwan and Korea for Filipinos in highly-specialized S&T fields.

"These countries are very strong in S&T, and have used their technological capacity to build their economies. Given the limited absorptive capacity of our universities in handling graduate programs and the dearth of experts in the emerging field of RE, we need to collaborate with technologically-advanced countries to generate new ideas and complement available local scholarships," he said.

Angara stressed the need to institutionalize an advanced studies development program in centers of excellence, especially in the area of science and technology and clean energy, which are seen to become very important in the coming years.

He added, "With the present challenge of climate change, it is incumbent on us to build a sustainable future based on green industries. The knowledge and training our scientists and engineers will gain from these scholarships will be valuable towards achieving this goal."

Angara said the Philippine government's goal is to give RE the biggest share in the country's power mix, reaching as much as 50% by 2020. Under the Renewable Energy Policy Framework adopted in 2003, the country will double RE capacity in 10 years. Renewable energy in the Philippines has reached US$71 billion investments in new capacity.

The proposed scholarship program has five (5) major components, namely: (1) A four-year Baccalaureate Scholarship Program in Science, Technology and Engineering (STE), (2) A two-year MS and three-year PhD scholarship program, (3) A one year research fellowship program, (4) Apprenticeship/Assistantship Programs in R&D institutions, and (5) Short-term training programs in S&T for professionals.

There will be 100 BS Scholarships, 20 MS and PhD Scholarships, 20 Research Fellowships, 20 Research Apprenticeships, and 100 Short-term trainings made available for Filipinos over the six-year project duration.

News Latest News Feed