On August 28, 2025, Cebu Technological University (CTU) of Cebu City, Philippines, welcomed Professor (Dr.) Arup K. Chatterjee of O.P. Jindal Global University, as a distinguished speaker for ASEAN Week 2025. Prof. Chatterjee delivered a keynote lecture, “Maritime Pasts: Recentring Indo-Philippine Ties through a ‘Chola Network’,” as part of the week-long program themed “Culture as Diplomacy: ASEAN Identities in a Global Age.” CTU’s Internationalization & ASEAN Integration office publicly acknowledged his contribution with a Certificate of Appreciation and a warm campus reception.
The University hosted Prof. Chatterjee on its Main Campus, where students, faculty and visiting delegates gathered to hear his research on historical maritime linkages between India and the Philippines. CTU’s event materials and stage presentation highlighted Prof. Chatterjee’s standing as a world-renowned scholar and author, creating a ceremonial welcome befitting the visiting academic. As part of the program, Prof. Chatterjee engaged with CTU students and faculty in a Q&A session, and the University presented him with an official certificate signed by Rhodora G. Magan, D.A. LitComm, University Director, Internationalization and ASEAN Integration.
CTU’s hosting of Prof. Chatterjee is significant on several fronts. First, it exemplifies CTU’s commitment to intellectual exchange within the ASEAN academic community, using cultural history as an instrument of diplomacy and curricular enrichment. Second, the visit foregrounds maritime history as a productive field for joint research and teaching between Philippine and South Asian institutions. Third, the public nature of the event — including visible campus branding and the formal certificate of appreciation — amplifies people-to-people academic ties and offers students direct access to internationally recognized scholarship.
Implications of the visit include practical opportunities for collaboration: faculty exchanges, joint seminars on maritime and cultural history, student research projects, and possible curriculum development that integrates regional maritime networks into broader Southeast Asian studies. The lecture and campus engagement also help foster a richer regional conversation about shared historical legacies and their contemporary diplomatic and cultural resonances.
Professor Chatterjee’s participation in ASEAN Week reinforces CTU’s efforts to build a transregional research and teaching network anchored in cultural diplomacy. By inviting established scholars to present campus public lectures and meet with students, CTU signals the growing role that universities in the Philippines can play as conveners of global and regional intellectual exchange.
About the Event: ASEAN Week 2025 at Cebu Technological University took place August 28–29 under the theme “Culture as Diplomacy: ASEAN Identities in a Global Age.” The event brought together scholars, students, and practitioners to discuss regional identity, cultural exchange, and the role of higher education in ASEAN integration.
Arup K. Chatterjee 