UP Open University (UPOU) Chancellor and President of the Asian Association of Open Universities, Dr. Melinda dela Pena Bandalaria, together with Dr. Jean Saludadez, UPOU Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration and Assistant Professor Reinald Adrian Pugoy of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies, participated in the 27th World Conference on Online Learning with the theme "Teaching in the Digital Age - Re-Thinking Teaching and Learning" held on 17 to 19 October 2017 in Toronto, Canada. As the 27th edition of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) World Conference, hosted this year by Contact North | [...]

UP Open University (UPOU) Professor, Dr. Sheila R. Bonito, visited the Vienna University of Technology (VUT) on 18-29 September 2017 to work on a new research proposal on Data Mining on Twitter. Dr. Bonito was the recipient of the Bernd Rode Award in 2016, which came with grant for a new research. The new research that Dr. Bonito will be working on aims to come up with a proposal to explore the use of machine learning in analysing Twitter data on disasters. She will be working on the data sets she had previously harvested during her first visit at VUT [...]

"It goes without saying that quality assurance has to be and should always be embedded in our process, knowledge products and services." This was what Chancellor Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria emphasized during her Keynote Speech at the recently concluded 31st Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia held on 27-29 September 2017. UP Open University (UPOU) Chancellor and AAOU President Dr. Bandalaria tackled "Quality Assurance in Open Universities" for the second plenary speech of the conference, which carried the theme "Open University for Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education." Dr. Bandalaria started her discussion by [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), represented by Dr. Joane V. Serrano, Director of the Information Office and the Multimedia Center, was part of the 2nd World Open Educational Resources (OER) Congress held at Ljubljana, Slovenia on 18-20 September 2017. The congress, which gathered ministers, educators, and OER advocates from different regions and countries, carried the theme, "OER for Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education: From Commitment to Action." This commitment refers back to the 1st World OER Congress and the 2012 Paris OER Declaration. The 2012 Paris OER declaration encourages governments to require publicly funded educational resources to [...]

UP Open University (UPOU) Doctor of Communication (DComm) Alumnus, Reynaldo Gacho Segumpan, presented his dissertation in Sydney, Australia during the Australia and New Zealand Business, Law and Social Science Conference on August 18-20, 2017. Mr. Segumpan's dissertation, entitled "Understanding Mediated Intercultural Communication: An Ethnomethodological Study of Social Media Engagement Practices of Asian Expatriates," was completed under the advisory of Dr. Jean A. Saludadez. His research explored what the Asian expatriates' practices are when they engage in mediated intercultural communication. Three themes emerged as a result of his study -- social media engagement as everyday practice, social media engagement as a [...]

"I hope that in the future, we attempt to open and offer ourselves – our knowledge, abilities, and skills – to our country and even to the world – an actualization of Oblation's selfless offering of oneself to humanity." Reflecting upon the value and essence of 'openness' and how it allows achieving academic success was the quintessence of this year's valedictory address. Mr. Ericson Peñalba, the top graduate of the Masters in Development Communication (MDC) from the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), delivered his valedictory address during the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) 21st Commencement Exercises [...]

Twenty-five research papers on open and distance eLearning (ODeL) authored by UP Open University (UPOU) faculty members; research, extension and professional staff (REPS); administrative employees, and research assistants were presented in the 31st Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). Two of these research papers were given Young Innovators Awards. Assistant Professors Reinald Adrian Pugoy and Mari Anjeli Lubrica-Crisanto, faculty members of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), each received a Silver Medal for their respective research papers. Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, as the UPOU Chancellor and AAOU President, led the UPOU delegation composed [...]