The University of San Agustin (USA) through its College of Law and its College of Liberal Arts Sciences and Education is one of the four Philippine educational institutions that are members of the Capacity Building for Legal and Social Advancement in the Philippines (CALESA), a three-year curriculum development project funded by the European Commission through the Capacity Building Higher Education Programme (CBHE) as part of the Key Action 2 projects and spearheaded by the Universidad de Málaga (UMA), Spain.
The consortium aims to improve, develop, and modernize higher education systems and to support the cooperation of Partner Countries across different regions of the world such as Asia, mainly through university cooperation projects. Its focus is on the area of law in the Philippines.
CALESA will upgrade the USA College of Law’s Juris Doctor program as well as various programs of the College of Liberal Arts Sciences and Education. It will provide enhancements in the curricula of both colleges through the introduction of new courses and the enrichment of existing ones through seminars and exchanges with Spanish professors. Some of the courses that will be introduced in the College of Law are (1) Arbitration Law 2, (2) Cultural Properties, Heritage, and Tourism, and (3) Introduction to Legal Knowledge and Information Systems; among the existing courses that will be enriched are Public International Law, Law on Public Corporations, Persons and Family Relations, Succession Natural Law I and II, Obligations and Contracts, Property, Insurance, Conflict of Laws, Human Rights Law, Public International Law, Natural Resources and Environmental Laws, Agrarian Law and Social Legislation, Public International Law, Criminal Law I and II, Criminal Procedure, Special Penal Laws, Obligations and Contracts, Credit Transactions, Agency, Trusts, and Partnerships, Corporation Law, and Transportation.
On the part of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Education, the following programs will also be upgraded through CALESA: AB Communication, AB Literature, AB Political Science, BS Foreign Service, and Graduate programs in Education. Moreover, an enhancement benefitting all programs in the university will be done through its 3-unit general education course which is The Contemporary World.
Other than USA and UMA), the other members of CALESA are the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) in Portugal, the Universidad de Deusto (UD) in Bilbao, Spain, the University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland, University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA), and Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU).
The representatives of the University of San Agustin for the 3-year duration of the program are as follows: Dean Jose Mari Benjamin Francisco U. Tirol of the College of Law, Dean Nenelyn D. de la Fuente of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Education, Vice Dean Cirilo C. Yuro Jr. of the College of Law, and the following members of the faculty and staff of both Colleges and the University Administration: Mr. Cristian P. Arnaiz, Atty. Sharon B. Millan, Atty. Joenar D. Pueblo, Atty. Anfred P. Panes, Atty. Fitzgerald P. Macalalag, Atty. Kchyrziahshayne Dyñelle Dinopol, Atty. Jon Cerlan Bangoy, Dr. Edwin Samis, Dr. Pinky Jasmine Porral, Ms. Hyacinth B. Bangero, Ms. Maria Catherine V. Grabato, Mr. Ojay T. Gonzales and Ms. Jojelyn Reyes.
Despite delays and adjustments brought about by the Covid19 Pandemic, the first CALESA seminar on the Bologna Process (Work Package 2) was successfully accomplished online on March 1-4 and 8, 2021. The next seminar is scheduled for sometime in July 2021.
For more details about the CALESA Project, visit: https://calesaproject-cbhe.eu/?fbclid=IwAR3TktdRGaXM_lwrrQD52J762soXQFzrF53Ue3KtxP0d9MaXpWG1Di9Wdoo
