Belgium: During his visit to Leyte, Ambassador Michel Parys saw one of the Belgian University of Ghent’s local partner institutions, Southern Leyte State University (SLSU), which carries a program sponsored by the Belgian International Academic Development Cooperation. He met SLSU President Dr Prose Ivy Guasa Yepes and Vice President for Research Dr Frances Ann Sy.
This year, University of Gent Professor Peter Bossier’s (Flemish Promoter) 2022 proposal, “Interventions for Sustainable Development of Aquafeeds” (ISDA) in Southern Leyte, has been selected by the Selection Commission Asia of VLIR-UOS, the official Flemish Interuniversity Council who grants student scholarships to those who would like to pursue higher education in Flemish-speaking Belgium.
According to the official website of Ghent University, the university was founded in 1817 and has been mentioned as a top-ranking university. Moreover, the university is located in Belgium around the city Ghent, Courtrai, Bruges and Ostend. They have noted that they are the first European university in Songdo, South Korea.
Along with this, the Belgian Directorate General funds VLIR for Development Cooperation. Currently ongoing, ISDA aims to produce local aquafeed from agricultural waste for small-scale fish farmers.
Ambassador Parys also met Dr Gladys Ludevese-Pascual, a PhilABUS member and a UGent Alumna (VLIR scholarship recipient), who is now an Assistant Professor at Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) and the local partner promoter for ISDA.
Moreover, in October 2021, Dr Gladys Ludevese-Pascual joined in promoting the call for proposals of DOST NRCP NSTEP Visayas.
And Ludevese-Pascual currently directed the ongoing NRCP Science and Technology Experts Pool (NSTEP)-funded project on the evaluation of the in vitro activity of crown-of-thorns starfish extracts against various infectious agents causing significant diseases in the fishery and aquaculture industries.
Furthermore, the crown-of-thorns starfish is a naturally occurring corallivore. The project is a collaboration of BioProTec Southern Leyte State University and the College of Veterinary Medicine – at Visayas State University.
 in Southern Leyte, has been selected by the Selection Commission Asia of VLIR-UOS.){kind=link}