Assoc. Prof. Salazar, Prof. Novero, Exec. Dir. Sebastian and PM Babaran, after the MOA-signing

UP Mindanao (UPMin) and the Move To Change (M2C) Foundation Inc. entered into a memorandum of agreement to implement the M2C's Changemakers Scholarship Program at UPMin. UPMin Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Prof. Annabelle U. Novero and Office of Student Affairs Director Assoc. Prof. Maria Stella Salazar received M2C Executive Director Asuncion Sebastian and Prime Mover Mark Lee Babaran for the June 13, 2024, signing ceremony.

M2C Foundation, the scholarship provider, is a non-stock, non-profit organization based in San Juan City, Metro Manila, which aims to create a learning community of change-makers among the youth, bringing about positive change and sustainable development. 

Seven scholarship slots are available and renewable for qualified first-year students from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences or the School of Management, namely, in the degree programs of BS Anthropology, BS Architecture, BA Communication and Media Arts, BA English (Creative Writing), or BS Agribusiness Economics.

The interested applicant must have obtained a qualifying average in college or high school, in the case of incoming first-year students, and are willing to attend change-making activities of the Changemakers scholarship program. Qualified scholarship applicants will be granted a monthly dormitory and living allowance per semester, which will commence in the first semester of Academic Year 2024-2025.  

Chancellor Murao, in her message read by VC Novero, said, "The agreement that we are signing today resonates with the 29th-anniversary theme of 'Duyog sa pag-alagad,' which is a Visayan term which means sustainable partnership in the service of the people. As we strive to maintain honor and excellence in our programs, we recognize that we need partners to achieve them, and this signing ceremony formalizes our agreement to provide quality education to the marginalized sector of Mindanao."

The Changemakers scholarship program aligns with the UP plan to provide deserving students from geographically isolated and deprived areas with access to UP education. It also aligns with UPMin's "Road to 5k," the enrollment target of 5,000 students to contribute to Mindanao's development. It also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education.