The Philippines connection

The Thomas More Law School signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of San Carlos, in the Philippines that will facilitate student exchanges and information sharing.

The Thomas More Law School in Melbourne played host to four delegates from the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, the Philippines this month.

Attorneys Joan S Largo, the Dean of the School of Law and Governance, Corazon (‘Cora’) Evangelista-Valencia, the former Dean, College of Law, Renato Galeon and Bernadino (‘Berns’) Amago IV came for a series of presentations and discussions on both the legal profession in Australia and how ACU prepares students for the practice of law at both a local and global level.

There were a few surprises on both sides as the similarities and differences in both teaching and practice were explored. There was particular interest in our Learning and Teaching resources, which provide a range of methodologies to enrich and engage in the learning process, as well as the Core Units – a timely reminder that ACU really does offer a globally-focused education which is informed, modern, and rich in content.

By coincidence, the Sydney Morning Herald named ACU as the Victorian university offering the best student experience, job opportunities and potential future career income on the second day of the visit. If this weren’t enough, a campus tour conducted by the Associate Vice-Chancellor Dr John Ballard resulted in more than a little swooning as we toured the extensive ACU Melbourne campus with its newly-renovated spaces, brand  new media facilities and beautiful old buildings.

Excursions included a guided tour of Parliament House, a visit to the County Court and a seminar at the Victorian Institute of Law.

It wasn’t all hard work - discussions were had about the relative merits of Sydney and Melbourne as well as our justification for believing that Australian coffee was the best in the world (they agreed with us by the end of the visit). The Selfie stick was kept out almost permanently and the [delicious] mystery meat in the catering identified (they thought beef, I thought pork, it turned out to be duck).

The delegation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ACU that will facilitate student exchanges and information sharing.