Caraga State University’s School of Medicine (SOM) earned the Most Transformative Impact among member institutions during the recent Leading Alliances for Knowledge Advancement and Social Accountability (LAKAS) workshop held at Mapúa University in Makati City.
SOM reconvened with fellow member medical schools of LAKAS from July 29–31, 2026, at Mapúa University for their second major workshop, which aimed to evaluate initial results, incorporate community feedback, and lay out long-term strategies for socially accountable medical education across the country.
The Dean of SOM, Dr. Teresita S. Cadiz-Brion, and Associate Dean, Dr. Caridad Burdeos-Plete attended the three-day workshop and co-authored CSU-SOM’s “Transitioning from CBME to CEME through Optimization of Stakeholder Participation and Implementation of the Social Accountability Mandate and Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Policy”, an institutional change project initiated, conceptualized, and implemented by SOM and for which they were recognized as having the Most Transformative Impact among the members of the LAKAS.
Hosted and launched at the Mapúa University School of Medicine on July 10, 2026, the LAKAS initiative is internationally backed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and is implemented under the Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies (DIES) National Multiplication Training Program. Currently, 12 medical schools from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are working together to redefine how future doctors are trained in the Philippines. The medical school members included Batangas State University, Isabela State University, Mariano Marcos State University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, San Beda College Alabang, and San Beda University for Luzon; Cebu Normal University for Visayas; and Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Bukidnon State University, Caraga State University, University of Southeastern Philippines, and University of Southern Mindanao for Mindanao.
In a message given by LAKAS Project Leader Dr. Malaya P. Santos during the launch of the LAKAS initiative, she highlighted, “Medical schools have a responsibility not only to educate future physicians but also to contribute meaningfully to addressing the health priorities of the communities they serve.” She added that LAKAS aims to turn institutional social accountability from a mere aspiration into a measurable and sustainable standard of educational quality.
Photos via LAKAS
