The 26th Anniversary of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) is an earmark in history, as the first anniversary to be held virtually, and the most heartfelt, perhaps. The event carried the theme “The University of the Future: Sustainability and Agility Amidst Disruption.”
Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, UPOU Chancellor, focused her welcome speech on inclusion in education that required the flexibility and agility of institutions “to make sure that learning continues even without coming to schools” and address barriers through sustainability in education. She thanked the strong support of the UP Board of Regents and UP Officials especially President Concepcion who pronounced that UPOU is the University of the Future. She also expressed gratitude to all institutions and organizations who partnered with UPOU. “UPOU stands tall banking on what it has been through in the past years, and continuing to be relevant amidst the various disruptions.”
University of the Philippines (UP) System President Danilo L. Concepcion hoped for the safety of all UPOU constituents along with his greetings for its 26th year. He reiterated the lead role UPOU performed in helping UP Constituent Units transition to using digital platforms and technologies in education, and how UPOU paved the way towards being the university of the future. He expressed his support in the heights that UPOU will reach in the years to come.
Partners of the university joined the celebration and sent messages of congratulations. These were the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), International Council for Distance Education (ICDE), Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Secretariat (SEAMEO Secretariat), Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), Universitas Terbuka Indonesia (UT), Hanoi Open University (HOU), Open University of Malaysia (OUM), Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), Lancaster University, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Quezon Power (Philippines) Limited Co., and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.
Dr. Melinda F. Lumanta, UPOU Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, led the launch of the activities for 2021 as part of UPOU’s commitment to articulating and concretizing the hallmarks of the University of the Future, as it leads the country in crafting the vision for the future of the education sector. The projects initiated under the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) include the Bukas Lab, a closed space to support innovative, collaborative and intersectoral initiatives for futures-research teaching and public engagement projects; Futurist-in-Residence Program will provide a resident practitioner financial support, mentoring and access to Bukas Lab facilities and other resources; Exhibition of Engines of Eternity: Galing which is an interactive work commissioned by CurioCity Brisbane, an international public event in Australia celebrating science, art and technology. These projects are supported by UPOU, Space Ecologies Art Design (SEADS), CurioCity Brisbane, and Curiosity Design Research.
Projects under the Faculty of Education include the Development and Implementation of a Free Online Course in Early Childhood Development which shall provide free education opportunities to teachers and workers to prepare the child for the future. This project is a collaboration between UPOU FED and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. Dolores Aboitiz Children’s Fund and UPOU Foundation, Inc. (UPOUFI).
The UPOU Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), on the other hand, supports the University of the Future thrust of UPOU through the “Sustainability Perspectives in FMDS Programs: Issues and Prospects” which aims to identify the sustainability issues and challenges in the context of the program’s discipline or sector, and develop proposals to incorporate Sustainability Development Goals and proposals to generate resources to sustain operations. Another project under FMDS is the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for each of the Sustainable Development Goals. FMDS is also in the initial stages of developing MOOCs in the areas of green city planning, creativity in Research and Development, Environment and Empathy, Health Informatics and Bioethics, Palliative Care, Land Valuation Management, and gender.
Other projects include Open Talk, an online magazine program that will tackle current topics and current of the community, and will be aired live via the UPOU Networks website and UPOU FB Page. GADTalk on the other hand, is a podcast series to mainstream gender and will particularly tackle sexual harassment in the virtual environment. This will be aired monthly starting April 2021.
UPOU also created the University of the Future (UoF) Webpage to share digital resources about the current discourse and worldwide initiative related to the topic, including the recordings of UPOU’s Virtual Round Table Discussions related to this initiative. UPOU shall pursue a robust publication program which will publish a book titled “The University of the Future: A Digital Discourse Capture” which aims to capture the perspectives of UPOU faculty, REPS, administrative staff, alumni and students shared during the UoF Virtual Roundtable Discussion Series. A Monograph Series on Futures Research is also launched to feature webinars on research approaches that anticipate future conditions such as scenario-building, simulation approaches, decision support systems, and modelling. Another publication that will be released this year is the book “Responding to and Looking beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned from Web-based Initiatives” which will showcase the use of webinars as an effective platform for universities to help communities craft solutions that tackle the challenges brought about by post COVID-19 pandemic. All these books will be made available in digital format on the UPOU Networks website, along with several print copies.
The First Alumni Congress will be conducted to strengthen ties between and among the alumni and UPOU. The UoF Challenge, on the other hand, is targeted to UPOU students as part of UPOU’s continuing discourse in shaping the direction of future universities and education. The best ideas shared about “Reimagining the Future of Universities and Education” will be given award during the 4th International Conference on Open and Distance eLeaning (ICODeL 2021) with the theme “University of the Future: Sustainability and Agility Amidst Disruption” and will be held on 13-15 October 2021.
Dr. Jean A. Saludadez, UPOU Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, gave the closing remarks and expressed heartfelt appreciation to every institution and individual who has stood by and supported UPOU for 26 years, and hopes that their support will continue as UPOU pursues its thrust as the University of the Future.
The UPOU 26th Anniversary Program was held on the 23rd of February, 9:00 AM through the UPOU Website, UPOU Networks Website and the UPOU Facebook Page. Ms. Margaret Jarmin-Suarez, UPOU Researcher, served as the event’s master of ceremonies.
Sustainable Development Goals
Written by Anna Cañas-Llamas
Edited by Joane V. Serrano
Graphic and video by Lovelyn Petrasanta and Christian Guevarra
#UPOpenUniversity
