Professor Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, Chancellor of UP Open University (UPOU), is one of the speakers in Plenary Session 4 of the 30th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) on 28 October 2016 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Manila, Philippines.Plenary Session 4 focuses on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in the 21st Century. Dr. Bandalaria will talk about UPOU's contribution in the field of ODL in the country. She will bring her expertise and experiences from her 21 years of academic leadership in an open and distance e-learning institution. Dr. Bandalaria has recently been appointed as the 4th Chancellor of UPOU. She has held administrative posts in the same institution such as Director for the Office of Students Administration and the University Registrar. Dr. Bandalaria is a staunch advocate of democratizing access to quality education for the vulnerable sectors of the society which led to numerous public service works and researches which aim to serve lifelong learners by enabling their socio-economic transformation, and contribute to the country's progress and to the sustainable development goals. Her public service work involved UPOU projects including the Massive Open Distance eLearning courses, the Community eCenter Program of the Philippines, Telecentre Women: Digital Literacy Campaign in the Philippines and the i-Pinay, which enhances participation, digital literacy and development of women and their communities.
Other distinguished plenary speakers who will be joining Dr. Bandalaria in Plenary Session 4 are Dr. Yoichi Okabe, President of the Open University of Japan and Dr. SA Ariadurai, Vice-Chancellor of the Open University of Sri Lanka. The AAOU2016 will start on 26 of October and end on the 29th of October. For details, you may visit the AAOU 2016 website.
