In a pivotal effort to expand the University’s global reach and foster international collaboration toward producing globally competitive leaders and professionals by providing its students with opportunities and resources that transcend geographical boundaries, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) ceremonial signing between Sorsogon State University (SorSU) and Dagam Farm, South Korea took place on November 20, 2023, at SorSU Board Room, Sorsogon City Campus.
Under the leadership of SorSU International Relations Office (IRO) – Director, Dr. Vivien L. Chua, in coordination with SorSU-Castilla Campus, headed by Prof. Andrew F. Detera (Campus Director, SorSU-Castilla Campus), and through the initial efforts of Prof. Lelanie L. Berjuega (Head, Career and Job Placement Services/ILDO) and Prof. Saturnino C. Carranza (Director, SorSU DRMO) alongside Engr. Julian Martinez (Philippine Representative, Dagam Farm), the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signifies a significant partnership between SorSU and Dagam Farm on collaborative training and knowledge transfer; internship programs in the fields of agriculture, agricultural technology, engineering, or any other related fields; and other areas of collaboration.
During the ceremonial MOA signing program, Dr. Vivien L. Chua (Director, SorSU-IRO), in her welcome remarks, highlighted that the University is honored to have the Dagam Farm representatives with them in such a significant event, adding value to another important milestone in the internationalization activity of Castilla Campus and the internationalization program of the entire University.
“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙢 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚.
𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴.”
Meanwhile, Engr. Annelin Paming (Consultant, Agri-Tech International Exchange) informatively discussed the overview, operations, and other activities of the Dagam Farm before the attendees, which was established in 1936. Dagam Farm, which means abundant supply of sweet persimmon, employed friendly and efficient people, is a private rural agricultural educational institution duly recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea.
Moreover, Mr. Kang Chang Goog (Chief Executive Officer, Dagam Farm), in his message (translated by Engr. Annelin Paming), expressed his appreciation for the warm hospitality of the University, emphasizing that the core of the partnership lies in a shared goal to enhance the development of the agricultural industry.
“𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 21𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴. 𝘛𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 6𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦-𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵.
𝙏𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤, 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩… 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨.”
Similarly, SUC President III, Dr. Geraldine F. De Jesus, also conveyed her profound gratitude to Dagam Farm for engaging in a commitment with SorSU, asserting that such partnership is helping not only the institution achieve its internationalization goals but, more importantly, Dagam Farm will be offering internship venues to agricultural students and much-needed employment opportunities to graduates of SorSU.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴.”
President De Jesus added that the offer of the Dagam Farm of South Korea to facilitate the placement of SorSU agricultural students for internship is a notable opportunity to improve the University’s agricultural curricula since such overseas experience offers exposure to advanced technology and techniques that surpass the opportunities available in the local setting.
“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚, 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖.”
Likewise, Prof. Andrew F. Detera (Campus Director, SorSU – Castilla Campus), in his 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦, also shared his heartfelt appreciation to Dagam Farm and earnestly affirmed that Sorsogon State University-Castilla Campus commits to fully optimizing the opportunity for the academic community and students.
SUC President III, Dr. Geraldine F. De Jesus, represented Sorsogon State University, while Mr. Kang Chang Goong (Chief Executive Officer, Dagam Farm) represented Dagam Farm, South Korea, together with Engr. Julian Matinez (Philippine Representative, Dagam Farm and Ms. Jung Myeong Seo & Mr. Kim Seung Hyun (South Korea Representatives, Dagam Farm). Present also during this undertaking were Dr. Ryan V. Dio (Vice President for Research, Extension, and Training), Dr. Telesforo D. Escoto (Campus Director, SorSU – Sorsogon City Campus), Prof. Lelanie L. Berjuega (Head, Career and Job Placement Services/ILDO), Prof. Saturnino C. Carranza (Director, SorSU DRRMO); SorSU-Castilla Campus officials: Prof. Achilles G. Honasan (DRRM Coordinator & Faculty Association President), Ms. Mari Anne B. Gojar (IRO Coordinator), Ms. Melody L. Llabres (ILDO Coordinator), Mr. Jerome M. Llabres (Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Program Chairperson), Mr. Jobert C. Arcilla (Bachelor in Agricultural Technology Program Chairperson), Ms. Mary Ann P. Caro (GAD Coordinator), Dr. Rose Anne Cleotilde I. Sambo; Ms. Caryl L. Gamis (IRO Staff); and other SorSU officials & personnel.
The MOU signing was witnessed by Prof. Andrew F. Detera (Campus Director, SorSU – Castilla Campus) and Mr. Kim Jong Haek (Director of Agriculture, Changwon City, South Korea), who was represented by Engr. Annelin Paming (Consultant, Agri-Tech International Exchange).
The ceremony not only demonstrates the establishment of the collaboration between SorSU and Dagam Farm but also reflects a progressive approach by SorSU to align its educational pursuits with global standards. Through forging partnerships with entities like Dagam Farm, the University commits to continually raising the bar on education and providing avenues for its students to become adept and competitive on a global scale. (SorSU PIO)
