The UP Mindanao team, led by Chancellor Lyre Anni E. Murao, and the UP Open University administration, led by Chancellor Joane V. Serrano, discovered a number of prospective collaboration opportunities in exploratory talks held on July 11, 2025, in UP Mindanao. The opportunities included the adoption of academic programs, collaboration through the Pahinungod volunteer service program, and networking with the Local Government Units of Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, to name a few. At the end of the talks, Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Maria Stella Salazar gave a recap of the discussion items, which the parties agreed to formalize through an exchange of letters.
UP Mindanao and UP Open University are sibling UP constituent universities, having been founded three days apart in 1995—on February 20 and 23, respectively. This year, they celebrate their 30th founding anniversaries, marking three decades of advancing education and public service.
Chancellor Serrano was accompanied by Faculty of Education Dean Charisse T. Reyes, Faculty of Information and Communication Studies Dean Roberto B. Figueroa, and UPOU Davao Office staff member Ms. Glenda del Socorro. Chancellor Murao was joined by Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Maria Stella R. Salazar, School of Management Dean Aurelia Luzviminda V. Gomez, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, Philippine Genome Center Mindanao Assistant to the Executive Director Prof. Aleyla E. de Cadiz, and UP Bangsa Development Initiative staff member John Carlo S. Evardo.
