Quality Over Quantity of Life

The last day of the year gives many of us great opportunity to reflect upon the past and to make plans to receive the new year. In 2014, we had witnessed the sudden loss of many lives in aircraft mishaps, Ebola outbreaks, natural calamities, wars and terrorism. 

The sudden loss of our loved ones hurts and pains us deeply. Life can be said to be fragile, unpredictable and uncertain.  The sudden loss of lives makes certain that we cannot control the quantity of our life.  But we can definitely manage the quality of our life - the way how we want to live with our loved ones. Often, we take what we have for granted. It is like a cup half-filled with water. Many people see that as half-full rather than half-empty. But in fact the cup has always been full. The other half is filled with air but many of us take that for granted, just like people and things that are closed to us. 

It is not about how long we live but how well we have lived. Treasure what we have rather than what we don't have.  Make plans with our loved ones to receive the new year with love and hope.

Wishing all of you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and wealthy 2015!

To Change Life, Change Our Mental Map

The mental map that we hold influences our thinking and affects the path that we take to find meaning in life. Life can be meaningful and complete if we are willing to change our mental map and see things from other people’s perspectives. 

Our actions and decisions affect others. We should always take action and decision based on a complete perspective of a situation. There is no absolute right or wrong. It all boils down to the mental map that we hold. 

One day whilst travelling on a MRT train, I overheard a young wife questioning her husband over a trivial issue. The young wife said to her husband, “Last week, when we visited your mum she told me that she was around our vicinity shopping for some household items. Why didn’t she come and visit us since she was near our house?” The husband replied, “May be she didn’t know that we were at home.” The wife was not happy with the response and refuted, “She can call us, right! I think your mum doesn’t like me!” That response put her husband into a defensive position and soon a tiff followed. 

I believe the couple did not have a good sleep that night. All that have happened are the imagination of the young wife as she was living in her own mental map and her own perception about her mother-in-law. May be the real reason would be that the mother-in-law does not want to intrude into their privacy and want to give them some quality time together. If the wife views the situation from a positive perspective and willing to embrace it, I believe she would be a much happier person. This incident teaches us not to act based on our own perspective. Instead, seek to embrace the complete perspective of the situation and based our action on it

John Milton, a poet, wrote “A mind not to be chang’d by place or time. The mind is its own place, and in itself, Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

6th AUN-QA Training Course for Accomplishing Programme Assessment

The 6th “AUN-QA Training Course for Accomplishing Programme Assessment” was organised for AUN-QA members and non-members by AUN Secretariat. The 4-day workshop was held from 8 -11 December 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 4-day course aims to introduce the AUN-QA system and enhance quality assurance practices. It is held for professionals who are in charge of quality assurance in higher education. The content of the workshop focuses on AUN-QA model at programme level and it encompasses:

• Introduction to quality assurance in higher education
• AUN-QA model and criteria at programme level
• AUN-QA quality assessment process
• PDCA Approach to self-assessment
• Self-assessment report (SAR) writing
• Change Management
• Study visit to Engineering Faculty, Chulalongkorn University

The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin together with Dr. Arnie from De La Salle University. The workshop was attended by 34 participants from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, State University of Malang, University of Santo Tomas, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Naresuan University, Suranaree University of Technology, Srinakharinwirot University, The University of Danang, Vietnam Maritime University, Water Resources University, Hanoi School of Public Health, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, and Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Happiness DNA Workshop - 1 & 2 December 2014

"The Happiness DNA" workshop held on 1 & 2 December 2014 was facilitated by Chief Happiness Coach, Mr Johnson Ong Chee Bin.

The 2-day workshop is based on the principles of positive psychology, and physical, mental and emotional therapies and techniques. It is taught in a unique rediscovery and renewal technique where participants go through a continuous process of creating self-awareness, finding one’s life purpose, making changes, acting upon them, reflecting the lessons learned, and taking conscious effort to progress in fulfilling one’s life purpose.

After completing the workshop, participants will be able to understand the science and facts of happiness, cultivate the happiness DNA and apply the concept to rediscover, renew and sustain happiness.

Below are what some participants said about the workshop.

"Meditation, qigong and laughter yoga are really good."

"Being able to apply to my personal and work life. Brilliant! An excellent choice for a course!"

"Very positive. Delivered a lot of happiness to the class."

Certified Quality Manager 28th Intake - Training and Development Module

The Certified Quality Manager (CQM) course is hosted by the Singapore Quality Institute (SQI) and Mr Johnson Ong Chee Bin is the appointed trainer for the Training and Development Module. The module for the 28th Intake was held on 29 November 2014 at SQI. The module covers the following topics:

• Introduction to Training and Development
• Training and Development Process
• National Models for Training and Development
• Factors affecting the Future of Training and Development

PDCA Approach to Curriculum Design and Development

The PDCA Approach to Curriculum Design and Development was organised by Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City for Hanoi School of Public Health.

The 2-day workshop was designed and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert on 21 & 22 November 2014 at the Hanoi School of Public Health in Hanoi, Vietnam. The workshop was attended by more than 50 academic and non-academic staff members of the university. 

At the end of the workshop, participants learn to: 

• Apply the PDCA approach to curriculum design and development
• Identify the stakeholders’ needs for curriculum development
• Apply constructive alignment of learning outcomes, teaching and learning strategies and student assessment
• Apply Bloom’s taxonomy in learning outcomes
• Apply appropriate teaching and learning strategies for effective learning
• Design student assessment and rubrics

The Happiness DNA Workshop

Living Better collaborated with ASK Training Pte Ltd to run "The Happiness DNA" workshop in Singapore on 27 & 28 October 2014. The workshop was facilitated by Chief Happiness Coach, Mr Johnson Ong Chee Bin of Living Better.

The 2-day workshop is based on the principles of positive psychology, and physical, mental and emotional therapies and techniques.  It is taught in a unique rediscovery and renewal technique where participants go through a continuous process of creating self-awareness, finding one’s life purpose, making changes, acting upon them, reflecting the lessons learned, and taking conscious effort to progress in fulfilling one’s life purpose.

After completing the workshop, participants will be able to understand the science and facts of happiness, cultivate the happiness DNA and apply the concept to rediscover, renew and sustain happiness.

Below are what some participants said about the workshop.

"The most useful part of this course is the sharing session about happiness, the goal in life and the direction towards happiness".

'This programme set me thinking about my future".

"Making life happier".

33rd AUN Quality Assessment at De La Salle University

The 33rd AUN Quality Assessment for programme level at De La Salle University was held from 10 - 12 November 2014 in Manila, Philippines. The assessment of the Accountancy study programme was led by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin (AUN-QA Expert) with Prof. Dr. Hanna H. Bachtiar-Iskandar from Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia.

2nd AUN-QA Assessors Training Workshop

The 2nd AUN-QA Assessors Training Workshop was held from 6 to 11 November 2014 in Manila, the Philippines. The workshop was uniquely designed to give a "hyper-real" experience by incorporating both "simulated assessment environment" in the classroom and "live assessment" observation at De La Salle University.

The workshop aims to equip participants with the essential competencies to carry out an AUN-QA programme assessment. It covers the following learning outcomes:

• Apply the PDCA approach in quality assessment;
• Prepare a quality assessment
• Conduct a desktop assessment for a programme;
• Conduct a site assessment including stakeholders’ interviews, site tour and documentation review; and
• Write assessment feedback, presentation and report

The workshop was jointly organised by ASEAN University Network (AUN) and De La Salle University. It was attended by 19 participants from Universities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

32nd AUN Quality Assessment at Universitas Gadjah Mada

The 32nd  AUN Quality Assessment for programme level at Universitas Gadjah Mada was held from 21 - 23 October 2014 at Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The assessment of the Psychology study programme was led by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin with Dr. Brian Gozun from De La Salle University, The Philippines. 

Opening Ceremony

Central Library

Gym

Stakeholders Interview

Stakeholders Interview

Stakeholders Interview

Stakeholders Interview

Stakeholders Interview

AUN-ADB QA Documentation Project@Lao PDR

The AUN-ADB QA documentation project on “Quality Management of Educational Programmes in CLM Universities” is part of Phase 3 of the AUN-ADB Project on Strengthening Capacity of University Quality Assurance System towards Uplifting Higher Education Quality in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar (CLM) Countries.

The project complements the Phase 3 of QA training workshops designed for participating universities in CLM countries from 2014 to 2016.

The objectives of the documentation project are to:

• enhance and strengthen the basic QA management system at the programme level based on the ASEAN-QA project site assessment results,
• establish a documentation system for existing QA management system at programme level based on AUN-QA model,
• provide a common reference for QA management system planning, implementation, monitoring and improvement,
• provide a common source for QA management system training, communication, standardisation and review

The first meeting of the QA documentation project in Lao PDR was held from 25 - 27 September 2014. The meeting was hosted by the National University of Laos. The meeting was attended by the core teams from the National University of Laos and University of Health Sciences. The meeting was led and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA expert from Singapore.

AUN-ADB QA Documentation Project@Myanmar

The AUN-ADB QA documentation project on “Quality Management of Educational Programmes in CLM Universities” is part of Phase 3 of the AUN-ADB Project on Strengthening Capacity of University Quality Assurance System towards Uplifting Higher Education Quality in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar (CLM) Countries.

The project complements the Phase 3 of QA training workshops designed for participating universities in CLM countries from 2014 to 2016.

The objectives of the documentation project are to:

• enhance and strengthen the basic QA management system at the programme level based on the ASEAN-QA project site assessment results,
• establish a documentation system for existing QA management system at programme level based on AUN-QA model,
• provide a common reference for QA management system planning, implementation, monitoring and improvement,
• provide a common source for QA management system training, communication, standardisation and review

The first meeting of the QA documentation project in Myanmar was held from 18 - 20 September 2014. The meeting was hosted by the Myanmar Maritime University. The meeting was attended by the core teams from Myanmar Maritime University and University of Yangon. The meeting was led and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA expert from Singapore.

Kick-off Meeting by Dr. Myat Lwin, Rector of MMU

Participants from MMU and UY at the Kick-off Meeting

1st Meeting with the Core Teams of MMU and UY

Sharing of QA Practices by MMU and UY

Sharing of QA Practices by MMU and UY

ANQ 2014 - Impact of AUN-QA Assessments on the Quality of Educational Programmes

The paper titled "The Impact of ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) Assessments on the Quality of Educational Programmes" was presented by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert (Singapore) at the ANQ 2014 Congress held in Singapore from 5 to 8 August 2014.

The following is the abstract of the paper:

The creation of the AUN-QA was initiated in 1998 as a network of Chief Quality Officers (CQOs) appointed by the AUN member universities as the focal point for coordinating activities to realise the mission of harmonising educational standards and to seek continuous improvement of academic quality of universities in ASEAN. Since then, AUN-QA has been actively promoting, developing, and implementing quality assurance practices based on an empirical approach where quality assurance practices are shared, tested, evaluated, and improved.

AUN-QA assessment was inaugurated in December 2007. From 2007 to 2012, 16 AUN-QA assessments covering four countries, seven universities and 37 programmes were carried out. The 37 programmes were assessed by AUN-QA assessors based on the 15 criteria of the AUN-QA Model at the programme level.

To assess the impact of AUN-QA assessments on the quality of educational programmes, an analysis of the results was made using medians and categories of criterion rated based on the AUN-QA Rating Scale. Based on the medians of the AUN-QA criterion rated at the programme level, the number of criteria rated “Better than Adequate” has increased from 1 in 2007 to 13 out of 15 in 2012. This demonstrates that the quality of the assessed educational programmes at the participating universities has improved over the last six years. 

Recommendations to further improve the quality of the educational programme in the 15 criteria are made.