Catbalogan City, Samar — Samar Colleges, Inc. (SC) has joined the 311 institutions worldwide to serve as an evaluator for the 2026 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI 2026), marking a significant step in its expanding global engagement.

A total of fifty SC personnel and student-leaders have been designated as evaluation staff and helped in the assessment of innovative programs and practices among participating universities.

Samar Colleges’ participation in WURI 2026 is an outgrowth of its involvement in the CHED Filipino Leaders in Advancing International Reputation (FLAIR) Masterclass held on October 21–23, 2025, at Ironwood Hotel in Tacloban City, where three SC faculty members—Ms. Cherylou D. Bacalan (CoEd), Mr. Donald P. Oliveros (SHS), and Mr. Eldrian D. Jaba (SHS)—underwent training on strategies to strengthen global visibility through innovation, internationalization, and rankings.

Building on this initiative, SC conducted a CHED FLAIR Masterclass Re-Echo cum Writeshop on December 1-2, 2025, aimed at cascading key learnings and enhancing the institution’s capacity for innovation-driven research and program development, where the three representatives served as resource speakers and presented key insights gained from the training.

Mr. Jaba discussed “Innovation Targets: For Whom to Innovate?” to which he emphasized the need to identify stakeholders and beneficiaries in developing responsive and impactful programs. Mr. Oliveros then presented “Innovation Means: How to Innovate?”, where he outlined strategies for implementing innovation within academic institutions. Finally, Ms. Bacalan tackled “Innovation Targets: What to Innovate?” which focuses on determining priority areas for innovation aligned with institutional goals and global standards.

In her talk about WURI Best Practices, Dr. Marilyn D. Cardoso, Senior Vice President for Programs Development and Quality Assurance (PDQA), emphasized that the initiative goes beyond recognition and centers on sustainable institutional development.

“We submit for WURI not because we are chasing awards, but because we are developing the culture of innovation in SC,” she said.

As an outcome of these efforts, SC submitted 17 entries to WURI in December, with 15 entries advancing to the shortlist.

This inclusion of Samar Colleges among global evaluators highlights its commitment to advancing innovation, research, and quality education, while strengthening its presence in the international academic community.