Dr. Inocencio Buot Jr., University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Affiliate Professor from UP Los Baños (UPLB) and former Dean of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS)-UPOU, served as editor and writer of a book titled “Plant Genetic Resources, Inventory, Collection, and Conservation.” Five of the 23 published chapters were also written by UPOU faculty members, including Dr. Buot himself. The book was co-edited by Dr. Siva Ramamoorthy and Dr. Rajasekaran Chandrasekaran of Vellore Institute of Technology, India, and was published by SpringerLink — an online collection of peer-reviewed journal articles and book series in the sciences, social sciences, [...]

How can trails be used to make sense of heritage—tangible and intangible—for the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs)? This was what Dr. Joane Serrano, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), and Dr. John Martin, UPOU Visiting Professor from the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom aimed to illustrate in the book chapter titled, “Heritage Trails: Pathways to Sustainable Development Goals.” The chapter was co-authored by Jacqueline Nowakowski, a professional freelance archaeologist and educator, and by Dominica Williamson, an interdisciplinary artist called Ecogeographer in sustainable design. It was part [...]

Dr. Consuelo dL. Habito, Professor and Program Chair of the Diploma in/Master of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), participated as an Additional Replicator during the RURITAGE Final Conference on 8-12 June 2022 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. RURITAGE is a 4-year project which aims to sustainably enhance and develop the cultural and national heritage potential of rural areas through a heritage-led regeneration approach. The project is part of the Horizon 2020, a research and innovation programme funded by the European Union. As an Additional Replicator, Dr. [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Chancellor, Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, spoke at the recently concluded seminar entitled, “Micro-Credentials in Thai Higher Education: Opportunities, Challenges and Outlooks from ASEAN and Europe.” The event was held on 20-21 July 2022 at the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel in Thailand. Dr. Bandalaria was one of the plenary speakers for Session 7 entitled, “ASEAN Case Studies.” Dr. Bandalaria discussed micro-credentialing in the Philippines. She shared about its various articulations, the early models of micro-credentialing at UPOU, the drivers for doing it, the current initiatives and models that are being [...]

The Associate in Arts (AA) Program of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Faculty of Education (FEd) will hold the second Digital Humanities Forum with the theme, “Retrospect & Introspect Towards Continuing Quality Online Modality”. This forum will be held on Thursday, 28 July 2022 from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM at the Audio-Visual Room, UP Open University, Los Baños, Laguna. This will also be available online for the public via Zoom. This hybrid forum aims to reach out and provide support to the AA community especially in facing new challenges with the online modality in the new [...]

In these changing times, a healthy mind, body, and well-being are a must. Thus, ensuring that all  can be achieved, can also be challenging. The live virtual event of OpenTalk 25 last 13 July 2022, featured resource persons in the fields of Sociology and Psychology, who discussed how people could ensure physical, emotional, and social stability.  The discussion explored people’s understanding in terms of well-being. Dr. Divine A. Salvador, R.Psy., Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, UP Diliman, and Clinical Supervisor at UP Diliman Psychosocial Services (PsycServ), shared that everyone has his/her own experiences and journey, thus, people’s [...]

The 7th National Conference on Open and Distance eLearning, dubbed NCODeL2022, will be held virtually on 23-25 November 2022.  The event carries the theme “Reimagining Education Futures.”  The recent global health crisis has highlighted the need for universities to be agile and many educational institutions have taken the step towards technology-enhanced instruction and flexible learning to cope with the disruptions. Beyond  adaptations to the pandemic, these developments are opportunities for universities to strategically face the challenges of the future. Parallel to this challenge is the increasing call for universities to be more concerned with issues of sustainability — accessibility, [...]