Strengthening International Collaboration through a Dynamic Initiative of the Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes in Southeast Asia (SALSA) Platform

The internationalisation of higher education has been an important strategy in leaping knowledge dissemination and broadening the impacts to a larger community to increase visibility regionally and globally. Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes in Southeast Asia (SALSA) is an international cooperation platform for building research and training among the researchers, students, and industrialists between the three key founding members, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia, Institut Pertanian STIPER (INSTIPER), Indonesia and University of Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines. SALSA is envisioned to champion the scope of transforming a new generation of survival smallholders into agro-preneur by employing digitalisation approaches in supporting the sustainability of the tropical agri-food sectors in Southeast Asia. SALSA platform aims to highlight the international agenda in shaping research and development (R&D) programs linking multiple stakeholders in a cooperation platform. It is also to work on complex scientific questions underlying global agricultural issues. The idea of partnership platforms for research and training is involving the circular process of higher education, research, and innovation. In working in a collaborative platform, partners are established in different sizes and natures. Partners need the ability to be flexible and adaptable to the differences. Strengthening communication, would nurture good teamwork and maintain trust and commitment.