By Anna May Zerrudo, EdD

Dr. Anna May Y. Zerrudo (right) with fellow delegates from Philippine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) at the GSDC 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Central Philippine University (CPU) was one of the 68 Philippine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) invited by the Commission on Higher Education to take part in the Global Sustainable Development Congress 2025 held at the Istanbul Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkiye from June 16-19, 2025.

Times Higher Education (THE), which is based in London, England has been conducting the Global Sustainable Development Congress annually since 2022, the first of which was held in Glasgow, Scotland; Thuwal, Saudi Arabia in 2023; and Bangkok, Thailand in 2024.

On the third day of the Congress, Phil Baty, CEO of THE, announced that the university won per SDG.

Dr. Anna May Y. Zerrudo (right) with CHED Executive Director Atty. Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro (left) during the Global Sustainable Development Congress 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Attended by higher education leaders, trailblazers and innovators in achieving sustainability, the GSD Congress has become a venue not only for academic conversations, and information sharing but also an opportunity for HEIs to network with other academic institutions and showcase their strengths in internationalization.

The Philippine delegation was headed by CHED Executive Director, Atty. Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro. CPU was represented by Dr. Anna May Y. Zerrudo, Director of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Center (QAAC). It is expected that CPU’s participation will yield additional partnership to CPU’s portfolio of academic partners from around the world.