The UP Open University (UPOU) hosted the Research Meeting of the OU5, a research group of five open universities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Region, on 29 October 2016 at the Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City.
Part of the UPOU's efforts for internationalization is to collaborate with different institutions for international initiatives. One of these is its membership in the OU5 whose aim is to conduct collaborative research and consultancy in areas of mutual interests, share data for the purpose of comparative studies, and encourage the exchange of academic staff in research areas of mutual benefits. The group was initially composed of the UPOU, Open University of Malaysia (OUM) and the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) in Thailand, agreeing to share knowledge, ideas and experiences in Open and Distance Learning. This resulted in the creation of the ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning (AJODL). In 2015, Hanoi Open University (HOU) in Vietnam and Universitas Terbuka (UT) in Indonesia joined the research group.
At the OU5 Meeting, thirty representatives from the participating universities attended the assembly, headed by Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, Chancellor of UPOU and Incoming President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU); Prof. Tian Belawati, President of UT; Dr. Nguyen Mai Huong, representing the President on HOU; Assoc. Prof. Somporn Puttapithakporn, representing the acting President of STOU; and Prof. Ramlee Bahroom representing the President of OUM.
The meeting served as a venue to discuss the progress of the collaborative researches of the OU5, categorized into two Institutional Research and ASEAN Studies Research. Under the Institutional Research Category, three researches are ongoing on (1) Employer Satisfaction, (2) Student Persistence, and (3) Satisfaction and Perceived Learning Outcomes. Each of the participating university was able to update on the status of the study being conducted in their respective universities.
Under the ASEAN Studies Research, two researches were identified as (1) Capitalizing on Open Education in ASEAN; and (2) ASEAN labor Migration Policies. The discussion under these groups focused on concretizing and funneling the objectives of the studies and the different literature that will be included in research. The discussions also included building a definite timeline for each research and taking note suggestions and comments representatives of the different universities.
The OU5 Presidents also met to discuss and plan for the upcoming collaborative initiatives that the five universities can share. Some of the decisions that transpired was to affiliate OU5 with international organizations on lifelong learning such as the SEAMEO Regional Center for Lifelong Learning (SEAMEO CELL) where UPOU and HOU are already communicating with, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute of Lifelong Learning. In addition, there was a major call to publish the researches for recognition especially in the ASEAN context.
The OU5 agreed to hold two regular meetings each year. The first meeting for 2017 is tentatively scheduled in March or April at the HOU. (Anna Cañas-Llamas with report from Ms. Alvie Alip)
