Makati City, Philippines — May 21, 2025 — Dr. Lynette A. Bontia, President of the Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST), actively participated in the 9th AUAP Forum & Networking event held at Dusit Thani Manila, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. The forum carried the theme “Advancing Excellence for Global Sustainability by Aligning Institutions to World Rankings and Ratings,” with a focus on “Global Networks: Paving the Way for Innovative, Diverse, and Sustainable Academic Landscapes in Asia and the Pacific.”
The prestigious international gathering brought together leaders in higher education from across the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen academic collaboration, innovation, and sustainability initiatives.
As part of SPAMAST’s commitment to global engagement and academic excellence, Dr. Bontia formalized two significant Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) during the forum: (1) SPAMAST – CCN University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh
This agreement aims to deepen cooperative relations between the two institutions. It emphasizes academic and cultural exchange, joint research initiatives, technology development, and the commercialization and localization of science and technology; (2) SPAMAST – Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP). This MoU reinforces the existing collaboration between SPAMAST and AUAP, targeting increased academic cooperation, research development, and the mutual exchange of innovations in technology and education across member institutions.
The 9th AUAP Forum served as a vital platform for building global academic networks and fostering institutional alignment with international benchmarks — a direction that SPAMAST actively pursues under Dr. Bontia’s leadership.
