Chancellor Serrano (bottom) delivers the keynote message for iDEC 2025.
UP Open University (UPOU) Chancellor, Dr. Joane V. Serrano, delivered a keynote address at the International Digital Education Conference 2025 (iDEC2025), held on 28-29 October 2025 at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and online.
The annual iDEC serves as a global platform for educators, researchers, and innovators to exchange ideas on advancing digital education, sustainability, and innovation.
In her keynote message titled “Learning to Transform: From Access to Impact in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Open and Distance Learning,” Dr. Serrano urged educators to move beyond providing access and focus on creating meaningful, transformative learning experiences. She challenged participants to reflect on Education 5.0, asking whether expanding access alone is enough to achieve the SDGs or if education must drive deeper societal change.
Dr. Serrano highlighted how UPOU integrates emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) to enhance inclusion, engagement, and sustainability in open and distance learning. She emphasized that true transformation happens when learning leads to empowerment and tangible action within communities.
Through her message, Dr. Serrano reaffirmed UPOU’s mission to make open education a vehicle for empowerment—where every learner, idea, and partnership contributes to the achievement of the SDGs as lived realities.
The two-day conference gathered international experts and institutions, featuring tracks on Open Distance Learning (ODL), Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Lifelong Learning, Instructional Design (including microlearning, nano-learning, and gamification), and Instructional Technology (AI, AR, VR, XR).
iDEC2025 was organized in collaboration with the National Open University (Taiwan), Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia), and UPOU (Philippines), with the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) serving as a strategic partner.
Written by Sydney Macahiya | Edited by Primo Garcia and Anna Cañas-Llamas
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