Ateneo de Manila University now holds the distinction of being the very first Philippine university to join the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Virtual Institute (UNCTAD Vi).
UNCTAD Vi welcomed Ateneo in March to its circle of 54 core member universities.
Members of the Vi academic network include world-renowned educational institutions with strong trade and development programs such as the World Trade Institute in Switzerland, France’s Pierre Mendès France University, Canada’s Carleton University Centre for Trade Policy and Law, and China’s University of International Business and Economics, among others.
The United Nations Vi will work together with the Department of Economics of Ateneo‘s School of Social Sciences to help the university educate future policymakers and business leaders, and to offer empirical research required for informed policymaking and negotiation.
In its members’ profile, the Vi referred to the Ateneo department as “producing economists and leaders who make sound analyses of socio-economic phenomena.”
Ateneo offers academic programmes in economics, including Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees. These programmes feature many courses related to trade and development, such as international economics, development economics and international monetary economics.
Other courses includes economics of multinational enterprises, economics of agricultural development, as well as economics of natural resources and environment, economics of technology and technological change, and transportation economics.
Faculty members of the department are also involved in research on trade policy, international financial flows, international migration, regional economics, environmental economics, and monetary and exchange rate policy.
The UNCTAD Vi website emphasized the Ateneo’s interest in joint research and training seminars on trade and development with Southeast Asian universities, as well as other developing countries.
As a core member of the UNCTAD Vi, the Ateneo can help facilitate exchanges with faculty members and graduate students interested in the Philippines. The core university status also allows the Ateneo to endorse participation of additional members in the country to be subsequently given the title “affiliate members.”
Ateneo professor and director of European Studies Programme Marissa Maricosa Paderon will serve as the university’s Vi coordinator, supported by Ateneo lecturer Philip Arnold Tuaño.
