Officer-In-Charge and Deputy Director, Office of International Linkages
For Dr. Gino Angelo M. Velasco, internationalization works best when it is grounded—anchored in the everyday academic life of the University and connected to the public purpose UP serves.
Stepping into his role as Deputy Director of the Office of International Linkages (OIL), Dr. Velasco brings a perspective shaped by years of teaching and research. He sees international engagement not as a parallel track to UP’s academic mission, but as something that should reinforce it. Whether through teaching, research, or scholarly exchange, international partnerships matter most when they contribute meaningfully to academic work and remain attentive to local and national contexts.
This grounding informs how he looks at OIL’s role in 2026. Rather than focusing on the sheer number of collaborations, Dr. Velasco points to the importance of depth and continuity. For him, effective internationalization is built through long-term institutional partnerships, clearer and more accessible mobility pathways, and collaborations that support knowledge generation across disciplines. Over time, these efforts help strengthen academic capacity across the UP System and ensure that global engagement produces both scholarly and public value.
As UP’s international activities continue to expand, Dr. Velasco is equally attentive to how these engagements are coordinated. He sees OIL as a space where system-wide coherence can take shape—through shared policies, common frameworks, and processes that help ensure accountability and consistency. At the same time, he is mindful that internationalization does not look the same across all campuses. Supporting academic units means allowing them to pursue initiatives that align with their strengths, while still situating these efforts within a broader institutional direction.
This balance, between coordination and diversity, is central to how OIL supports international engagement across the UP System.
Dr. Velasco’s way of thinking about leadership is closely tied to his background in mathematics. The discipline, he reflects, trains one to value structure, clarity, and internal consistency. These habits, while rooted in academic inquiry, are just as relevant in administrative work—especially within a complex institution like UP, where clarity often depends on close coordination and shared understanding.
At OIL, this translates into a steady focus on clear policies and processes, thoughtful evaluation of international initiatives, and sustained engagement with colleagues and external partners. It is an approach that favors coherence over haste, and substance over form—supporting international work that is carefully assessed, well-coordinated, and aligned with UP’s broader academic mission.
In this way, Dr. Velasco’s leadership reflects a quiet but deliberate vision for internationalization: one that strengthens the University from within, builds capacity over time, and ensures that UP’s global engagements continue to serve both scholarship and society.
Dr. Velasco is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Mathematics, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman. He teaches and mentors undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, and his research work is in harmonic analysis, particularly time-frequency analysis, with applications to audio signal processing, through which he has engaged in international research collaborations. He is also a volunteer with the UP Diliman Ugnayan ng Pahinungód, supporting the University’s extension and public service initiatives.