News

The University of the Philippines, through the University of the Philippines-Open University (UPOU), in partnership with the Philippine National Police (PNP), launched the Police Open Academy (POA) last 12 September 2022. The Police Open Academy is an online learning platform that promotes open and distance education in law enforcement. Inspired by UPOU’s mode of instruction, POA aims to institutionalize open and distance education in law enforcement. This initiative is a response to the stringent COVID-19 protocols which limit face-to-face interaction in both academic and non-academic institutions. POA is PNP’s effort to incorporate and utilize open distance learning to improve knowledge [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) was hailed as the Most Colorful Delegation at the 2022 Bañamos Civic Parade for the third time. The first and second times were in the years 2017 and 2018. The Office of Public Affairs (OPA), headed by Dr. Myra C. Almodiel, Director, led the UPOU delegation consisting of faculty, REPS, administrative and COS staff members. The parade, held on 17 September 2022, was one of the major activities of the five-day long celebration (14-18 September 2022) of the 407th Founding Anniversary of Los Baños and the 21st Bañamos Hotspring Bath Festival. The [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) conducted a virtual orientation for its newly admitted students for the Academic Year 2022-2023. Students under the Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS), Diploma in Computer Science (DCS), Master of Information Systems (MIS), Master of Development Communication (MDC) and Doctor of Communication (DComm) programs participated in the FICS orientation program held through Zoom on 10 September 2022, 1PM.  The program started by introducing FICS to the students then the faculty members including the affiliates, adjunct, lecturers, and tutors. They [...]

The Board of Regents (BOR) of the University of the Philippines (UP) has opened nominations for the next UP President to succeed President Danilo L. Concepcion, whose term will end on February 09, 2023. This is according to a memorandum released by the UP Office of the Secretary of the University and the BOR on September 08, 2022. The UP BOR has constituted itself as the Search Committee for the next UP President. UP Presidents serve as the Chief Academic Officer, Head of the University Faculty, and Chief Executive Officer of the University for a fixed term of six years [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), led by Chancellor Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, was with the members of the ICDE Global Advocacy Campaign on OFDL Task Force Asia for the Working Group Meeting on 6 September 2022.  Task Force Asia includes five Working Groups which handle specific areas of the campaign. UPOU leads WG 2 (Capacity Building) with updates reported by Ms. Margaret Jarmin-Suarez, PDA for Institutional Linkages. She reported that the members of the WG2 was able to meet and was able to identify six activities, including (1) rapid capability building needs assessment and preferred implementation mechanics; [...]

Reimagine the future of open and distance e-learning by joining the 7th National Conference on Open and Distance e-Learning (NCODeL 2022)! The conference is still accepting submissions until 21 September 2022. For those interested, abstracts (maximum of 350 words) for paper and poster presentations should be research-based and in line with the theme “Reimagining Education Futures” with any of the following sub-themes (which can also be found on the NCODeL 2022 conference website, https://ncodel.org/. Flexible models in education Innovating technologies in eLearning Flexible learning pathways for lifelong learning Open educational resources Ensuring Quality in online and distance learning Reskilling and [...]

The University of the Philippines  Open University (UPOU)  welcomed visitors from the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) in a benchmarking activity on 7 September 2022. The AUF team led by Dr. Jarrent Tayag, Program Chair of the Graduate School of AUF, was welcomed by the Chancellor of UP Open University, Dr. Melinda dela Peña. Bandalaria; the Director of Office of Public Affairs, Dr. Myra C. Almodiel; and UPOU Program Development Associate for International Linkages, Ms. Margaret Jarmin-Suarez. Chancellor Bandalaria discussed UPOU’s practices in its implementation of distance education and management of online learning systems to the team of Deans and Professors [...]

Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), is lined up as one of the speakers for the Times Higher Education (THE) Digital Universities Middle East and North Africa (MENA) this September 2022.  The event will be held on 12-14 September 2022 in Abi Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Chancellor Bandalaria will be speaking on the topic “Designing a benchmarking framework for Online, Open, Smart and Technology-oriented Higher Education.” Along with her are acclaimed experts in the field of open education, distance education, and technology-enhanced learning. These include Torunn Gjelsvik, Secretary-General of the International [...]

On 6 September 2022, the University of the Philippines Open University spearheaded the first meeting of the Team involved in the Philippine Leg of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Global Advocacy Campaign (GAC) on Open and Flexible Distance Learning (OFDL). Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria warmly welcomed the members of the campaign and gave a chance for each of the participants to introduce themselves. Participants of the meeting are universities that responded to the call for volunteers. These include the University of Batangas, John B. Lacson Maritime University, University of Saint La Salle, Agusan del [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) conducted the Hands-on Workshop on Developing Immersive Learning Programs for Higher Education on  01 September 2022. The resource speaker of the activity is Professor Eric Hawkinson, a visiting professor under the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) and also a faculty of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies who specializes in teaching Learning Design and Technology. Professor Hawkinson defined immersive technology as a category of technology referring to augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, extended reality, diminished reality, and the metaverse. He further shared that we are slowly transitioning from the print [...]