The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) has joined the International Conference for Media in Education (ICoME) Consortium, strengthening its international partnerships in advancing research and innovation in media and technology for education.
UPOU Chancellor Dr. Joane V. Serrano (second from left) during ICoME 2026 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Peter W K Leong)
UPOU was formally welcomed into the consortium during ICoME 2026, held at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, from 6 to 8 August 2026. With its membership, UPOU joins four major academic organizations from across the Asia-Pacific region: the Japan Association for Educational Media Studies (JAEMS), the Korean Association for Educational Information and Media (KAEIM), Teaching, Colleges, and Community (TCC) in Hawaiʻi, and the China Association for Educational Technology (CAET).
UPOU’s entry into this regional consortium opens new opportunities for collaborative research, faculty and student exchanges, joint conferences, and other international initiatives in educational technology, open and distance learning, artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, and emerging approaches to digital education.
UPOU Chancellor Dr. Joane V. Serrano and Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) Dean, Dr. Roberto B. Figueroa Jr., together with other members of the UPOU delegation, participated in ICoME 2026. The conference provided an opportunity to strengthen UPOU’s institutional relationships with the organizations comprising the consortium and to explore areas for future collaboration. Chancellor Serrano and Dean Figueroa attended the consortium’s executive meeting for the first time as Board members during ICoME 2026.
UPOU faculty members also presented their research findings during ICoME 2026. Dr. Roberto B. Figueroa Jr., Dr. Reinald Adrian D. Pugoy, and Asst. Prof. Al Francis Librero shared the results of their respective studies, contributing UPOU’s research perspectives and emerging work to the conference’s broader discussions on educational technology and digital learning.
(Clockwise, from left) Dr. Roberto B. Figueroa Jr., Dr. Reinald Adrian Pugoy, and Asst. Prof. Al Francis Librero present their study during the ICoME 2026.
UPOU’s membership builds on more than a decade of engagement with ICoME through the participation of its faculty members and researchers in the conference and academic relationships with members of the ICoME community. These engagements have supported knowledge exchange, research collaboration, and discussions on educational media, open and distance learning, and emerging technologies for education.
The partnership further positions UPOU to contribute Philippine perspectives to regional and global conversations on the future of education. As a university dedicated to open and distance e-learning, UPOU brings to the consortium its experience in expanding access to quality education through innovative pedagogies and digital technologies.
Through the ICoME Consortium, UPOU aims to deepen collaboration with partners in Japan, Korea, Hawaiʻi, and China, while creating more opportunities for Filipino faculty members, researchers, and students to participate in an established international community advancing media and technology in education.
Written by Dr. Roberto B. Figueroa Jr., Asst. Prof. Shaira F. Tanay, and Loren P. Sta. Ana | Edited by Primo G. Garcia
