The inaugural "AUN Quality Master" Award was conferred to Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert and Principal Consultant of Education Quality International by the AUN Board of Trustees which is the highest body of the ASEAN University Network at the 39th AUN Board of Trustees Meeting and the 15th AUN Rectors’ Meeting on 18-19 July 2024. The award honours exemplary individuals with lifelong contributions to the network and the region’s higher education quality standardisation. Mr. Johnson Ong was one of the two recipients honoured for the inaugural AUN Quality Master award.
In 2005, Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin joined AUN-QA with the support of NUS. His work and contributions to several of the thematic network’s initiatives has since become a cornerstone of the network through his unwavering commitment and dedication to enhancing the quality of ASEAN higher education. He was among the first group of AUN-QA Experts since 2012. Furthermore, he is a founding member of the AUN-QA Council (February 2013 to March 2015) and the AUN-QA Technical Expert (since April 2015). For almost two decades since his involvement in AUN-QA, Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin brings to the table in regards to Education Quality has made him one of the most valuable AUN and AUN-QA personnels.
Mr. Johnson was one of the longest-standing contributors for several guidelines and publications of AUN-QA. He was part of the first generation of drafters of the AUN-QA Guidelines, which have significantly enhanced the quality assurance processes and standards across ASEAN higher education institutions and has been involved in every revision since its implementation. Additionally, he was also responsible for drafting the first iterations of the AUN-QA Training Workshop materials by designing training programs to better equip quality assurance practitioners with updated knowledge and skills, as well as fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
In the area of capacity building programme of AUN-QA, Mr. Johnson also stands among the most senior trainers for AUN-QA Training Workshops that have been essential to producing quality AUN-QA personnels and nurturing the next generations of QA practitioners for ASEAN Higher Education, having participated in several programmes as a part of driving forward growth and development of AUN-QA. In this regard, he has been the lead coach for AUN-QA Training Courses for Accomplishing Programme Assessment, AUN-QA Assessor Training Workshop, AUN-QA Training Course for Accomplishing Institutional Assessment as well as the Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) and Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Training workshops. So far, he has been the lead coach for over 50 AUN-QA training workshops.
In addition to leading AUN-QA capacity building programmes, Mr. Johnson was among the first AUN-QA personnel to conduct AUN-QA assessments. Currently, he has participated in 44 AUN-QA Programme Assessments, primarily as the Chief and Lead Assessor.
In addition to his direct contributions to AUN-QA initiatives and activities, as the founder of EQI, Mr. Johnson is also in the capacity of providing consultation to HEIs seeking to enhance their quality. One of the prominent projects and activities borne from this partnership is the ongoing AUN-QA/EQI Community Project with the objectives to promote the development of QA personnel and uplifting the QA in higher education institutions in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.
His well-established contributions and commitment to AUN-QA and AUN, combined with his comprehensive approach to capacity building and quality assurance, has solidified Mr. Johnson’s legacy as a visionary leader in enhancing the quality of ASEAN HEIs and an invaluable asset to the AUN-QA network. As such, Mr. Johnson is more than befitting to receive the AUN Quality Master award in honorship of his great contributions and long-standing commitment to AUN and AUN-QA.
