THE ATENEO de Manila University recently expanded its partnership with Boston College in a bid to boost educational and research opportunities of the students of the two academic institutions.

To deepen their academic and scientific development through alliances, Fr. Roberto Yap, ADMU president, signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Fr. William Leahy, BC president.

“Both Ateneo de Manila and Boston College are grounded in a Jesuit upbringing and it is this shared thread that connects us and through the years, has allowed us to help mold the lives of our students for service and meaning,” Yap said.

“We are honored to have an enduring partnership with Boston College, and I am confident that we will continue to succeed in our shared mission of shepherding Ateneans and BC students in becoming global citizens who can set the world aflame with the warmth and light of God’s love,” he added.

The new agreement enriches the collaboration between the Loyola Schools of Theology and the BC School of Theology and Ministry, with an emphasis on offering online courses between the schools.

“Opportunities for partnership in the schools’ respective Environmental Science departments as well as Ateneo’s Science and Art of Learning and Teaching and BC’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development’s Learning Engineering Program are also in the pipeline. Joint programs in Global Public Health and Entrepreneurship are likewise envisioned,” ADMU said.

The partnership between Ateneo and BC began with a student and faculty exchange program.

In the past, Vice President for the Loyola Schools Dr. Maria Luz Vilches gave a lecture at BC’s Institute for the Liberal Arts and partnered with Candace Hertzner, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the Graduate School of Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences for Interdisciplinary in Higher Education.