CHSI-DFST Faculty Completes SEARCA's Program for Leaders in Asian Agriculture and Development
Dr. Joel G. Juvinal, faculty and current head of the Department of Food Science and Technology (DFST), College of Home Science and Industry (CHSI), has successfully completed the rigorous Executive Program for Leaders in Asian Agriculture and Development (LAAD): Focus on Southeast Asia, which ran from May to June 2025 and was organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Dr. Juvinal was one of the few selected participants awarded with a training grant from SEARCA to support his participation. The LAAD program is designed to equip agricultural leaders with up-to-date insights on regional agricultural and food systems. It also sharpens skills in strategic thinking, innovation, and institutional transformation. A key component of the course involved the development of a futuring project based on the theory of change, with each project specifically tailored to the participant’s home institution. The program successfully brought together 26 participants from various Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, fostering a collaborative environment for regional agricultural advancement.