UNAND and PhilCST Philippines Explore Collaboration in Digital Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Academic Mobility to Advance the SDGs

Padang — Universitas Andalas (UNAND) is expanding its international network in Southeast Asia through the exploration of academic collaboration with the Philippine College of Science and Technology (PhilCST), Philippines on August 19^th 2026. The initial meeting was held virtually via Zoom and brought together Mohammad Maki from Universitas Andalas and Jamaica Kimabanglo, or Kim, Director of the International Relations Office and Accreditation Officer at PhilCST. The meeting aimed to formally introduce both institutions and identify potential areas for concrete academic collaboration.

The meeting resulted in an initial agreement to prioritize collaboration in computing and digital innovation, as well as law and society/digital security. Both institutions also identified an international webinar series as the most practical first activity because it could immediately connect lecturers and researchers from both universities without requiring physical mobility or complex logistical arrangements. PhilCST will subsequently conduct internal consultations and submit two to three priority areas for collaboration to UNAND.

Connecting Academic Strengths in Indonesia and the Philippines

The discussion revealed several complementary academic areas between the two institutions. PhilCST's Computer Science and Information Technology programs can be linked with Informatics and Information Technology at UNAND. Its Engineering programs can be connected with UNAND's Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Industrial, and Environmental Engineering disciplines. Accountancy and Business can be linked with Economics and Business, while PhilCST's Criminology program has potential connections with Law and Social Sciences at UNAND.

One of the most promising opportunities identified was interdisciplinary research in cybercrime and digital security. Such collaboration could bring together PhilCST's Criminology and Information Technology programs with UNAND's Law and Informatics departments. This interdisciplinary approach is important because digital security is not solely a technological issue but also involves law, crime prevention, governance, and public protection.

Universitas Andalas also introduced several collaboration schemes that may be developed once the partnership enters the implementation stage, including credit-earning student mobility, international summer courses, international conferences, international team teaching, joint research, and an international Community Engagement or Technology to Society program.

Through the Community Engagement program, students, professors, and non-governmental organizations from different countries could work directly with local communities in areas such as disaster relief, livelihood improvement, health awareness, gender equality, and economic skills development.

UNAND also introduced opportunities for continuing education through the Fast Track Bachelor-to-Master Program and the PMDSU Master-to-Doctoral Acceleration Program. The latter is particularly relevant to PhilCST because the institution currently does not offer a doctoral program.

International Webinar Series as the First Step

As an initial implementation activity, both institutions agreed that an international webinar series could simultaneously serve as a researcher forum, researcher-matching platform, and guest lecture program.

Potential topics discussed include cybercrime, digital security, criminal justice, computing, digital innovation, and cybersecurity. Each session is expected to feature one speaker from Universitas Andalas and one speaker from PhilCST, allowing experts from both institutions to interact directly and identify shared research interests.

The webinar is expected to serve as more than a seminar. It could become an entry point for identifying prospective joint researchers, international teaching partners, student supervisors, and future coordinators of student mobility programs.

Universitas Andalas also highlighted opportunities for PhilCST to participate in multinational research consortia. UNAND has experience participating in international funding proposals involving institutions from multiple countries, creating opportunities for PhilCST to join future international grant consortia as a partner from the Philippines.

Supporting SDGs 4, 9, 16, and 17

The proposed UNAND–PhilCST collaboration has strong relevance to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The most direct contribution is to SDG 4 – Quality Education. International webinars, team teaching, student mobility, summer courses, Fast Track programs, PMDSU, and possible credit recognition between institutions would broaden opportunities for students and faculty members to gain international academic experience.

Collaboration in computing, digital innovation, engineering, applied technology, and joint research also supports SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Joint research may lead to new technologies, information systems, software, and digital solutions that can potentially be utilized by communities, government agencies, and industries.

The proposed focus on cybercrime, digital security, criminal justice, and law and society has a particularly strong connection to SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Research and educational collaboration in these fields can strengthen institutional and societal capacity to address cybercrime, improve information security, and develop legal and governance systems that are more responsive to rapid technological change.

At the institutional level, the entire UNAND–PhilCST partnership represents a direct contribution to SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals, particularly through international university networking, joint research, faculty and student exchange, and the possible establishment of multinational research consortia.

If the Community Engagement program is implemented in the future, the partnership could also contribute to SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being through health-awareness initiatives, SDG 5 – Gender Equality through gender-related community programs, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth through economic skills and entrepreneurship development, and SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities through disaster resilience and community development activities.

Potential Social, Economic, Environmental, and Community Impact

From a social perspective, the collaboration has the potential to improve digital-security literacy and awareness of cybercrime among students and wider communities. Academic interaction between Indonesian and Philippine students and faculty members may also strengthen intercultural understanding, professional networks, and people-to-people relations within Southeast Asia.

From an economic perspective, collaboration in digital technology, engineering, business, and entrepreneurship may enhance students' employability and support the development of applied research and innovations with commercial or economic value. Joint research and multinational funding consortia could also attract external research funding to both institutions.

The reciprocal-benefit framework discussed during the meeting, including possible reciprocal tuition waivers for student mobility, may further reduce financial barriers to international academic experiences.

From a community perspective, the Technology to Society program creates an opportunity to ensure that international academic collaboration does not end with publications and seminars. Research outcomes and academic expertise could instead be applied directly to communities through livelihood development, health awareness, gender equality, disaster preparedness, and economic capacity-building programs.

Regarding the environmental dimension, the meeting minutes do not yet provide evidence of direct environmental impact because the partnership remains at the planning stage. However, the inclusion of Environmental Engineering, applied technology, sustainable engineering, and disaster-related activities creates opportunities for future projects related to environmental sustainability and community resilience.

Environmental indicators should therefore be defined more specifically once joint projects have been formally selected and implemented.

Contribution to the Universitas Andalas Strategic Plan

The collaboration is particularly relevant to Universitas Andalas' strategic objective of strengthening its international academic environment.

International webinars, international team teaching, student mobility, summer programs, researcher matching, Fast Track and PMDSU pathways, as well as faculty-to-faculty collaboration can all strengthen the internationalization of teaching, learning, and research at UNAND.

The partnership also contributes to the university's research and innovation agenda through potential joint research in computing, digital innovation, cybersecurity, engineering, applied technology, law, and social sciences.

The computing and digital innovation component is also relevant to UNAND's digitalization agenda, although at this early stage the partnership is better described as strengthening digital capability and international academic collaboration rather than directly delivering internal institutional digital transformation.

Similarly, its contribution to student and institutional welfare remains indirect but could emerge through tuition waivers, scholarship pathways, international exposure, competency development, and greater access to global academic networks.

Accordingly, the strongest strategic contributions of the UNAND–PhilCST initiative are expected to be in internationalization of the academic environment, international research networking, and innovation-oriented collaboration. Its contribution to digitalization, graduate quality, international reputation, and societal impact may become more measurable once specific programs are implemented.

Moving Toward Implementation Within the Current Semester

As a follow-up, PhilCST will consult its College of Criminal Justice Education and other relevant units to determine two or three priority areas for collaboration. Universitas Andalas will subsequently submit PhilCST's proposal for institutional review and alignment.

Future meetings may also involve Deans from Information Technology, Engineering, Economics and Business, and other relevant academic units to discuss curriculum alignment and the technical implementation of proposed activities.

Both institutions expressed their intention to initiate at least one collaborative activity within the current semester. Once the priority topics have been confirmed, both parties will identify speakers for the inaugural webinar series as an initial step toward broader cooperation in education, research, innovation, and community engagement.

The UNAND–PhilCST partnership is expected to become a gateway for stronger Indonesia–Philippines academic cooperation, with the potential to generate benefits not only for universities and researchers but also for students, industries, institutions, and communities in both countries.