Cebu Normal University, represented by Dr. Janet Mananay of the Office for Internationalization, attended the first-ever Cebu Higher Education Fair held at the Golden Prince Hotel in Cebu City on May 11, 2024.

The Cebu Higher Education Fair or CHEF is a new initiative of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, alongside the European Union in the Philippines, which facilitates access to comprehensive information of academic opportunities, funding options, as well as campus internationalization goals that the EU has to offer to young students, researchers, and academicians.

The CHEF brought together EU institutions, namely the DAAD-Lektorat Philippinen, Goethe-Institut Philippinen, the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia, Alliance Française de Cebu, Asesoría de Educación en Filipinas, The Philippine Italian Association, Campus France Manille, each with their own informative booths.

The fair consisted of different information sessions and featured three different talks. The morning session focused on Study in Europe, exploring the opportunities and chances to study abroad. The following session focused on Research in Europe, which delved into research trends and opportunities for future PhD students. The afternoon session commenced with the session on “Europe Career Impact in the Philippines – Filipino Alumni Tell Their Stories” — the roundtable which gave the spotlight to Filipinos who have had academic experiences in the aforementioned EU countries. CNU’s Dr. Crisanto Toledo, from the College of Culture, Arts, and Sports, was among the panel speakers.

The last talk was dedicated to Internationalization in Higher Education, moderated by Mr. Sylvain Lamourette from the Embassy of France, and featured speakers from the University of San Carlos, Cebu Doctors University, and Cebu Normal University, represented by the Officer-in-Charge of the Office for Internationalization, Dr. Janet A. Mananay. Here each speaker provided insights on the internationalization initiatives and achievements, shared best practices and hurdles, as well as their future plans on IZN for their respective institutions. Dr. Mananay talked about the Collaborative Online International Learning with partner-universities from Canada and Indonesia and highlighted the Whole University approach for the roadmap for IZN in CNU. The riveting discussions explored internationalization at home, faculty and student mobility, Erasmus+ funding, the possible initiation of a local consortium of HEIs in Cebu and becoming ambassadors for pathway programs with EU, and even the place of EU in the strategic IZN of the universities.

The first CHEF provided a rich platform for the Office for Internationalization to engage in meaningful conversations with these EU organizations on behalf of the University. It provided an opportunity for CNU to showcase its presence on a global platform, enhancing its visibility and positioning within the international higher education community.