MANILA - Transnational education, where students can receive tertiary degrees from institutions in different countries, can flourish in Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, one of its advocates said Tuesday.

Filipinos are proficient in English and the country is home to the youngest tertiary level students in the region, said Education Insight founder and director Janet Ilieva.

"I think that what we’re starting to see more and more is growing brain circulation across the regions and through transnational education, what the Philippines stands excellent job to do is attract international students to its own universities," she told ANC's Market Edge.

Aside from the double-degree program, the partnership between Philippine and United Kingdom-based universities may also result to more research collaborations and joint publications and papers among professors, said Ilieva.

"I have no doubt that Philippine institutions have risen up to the challenge to accept that [what] they offer is much beyond Philippine borders and they have something to offer students in the wider ASEAN region," she said.

Ilieva is heading to Legazpi City later this week to speak at the Bicol University, which has partnered with the University of Liverpool for agricultural studies.