AUN Quality Master Awards Ceremony

 

https://aunsec.org/news/aun-quality-master-awards

AUN-QA International Conference 2024

The annual AUN-QA International Conference 2024 was held on 11 and 12 December 2024 at Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN Quality Master and Founder & Principal Consultant of Education Quality International was invited as the moderator for the first session - "Going All Out: Knockout Strategies for Higher Education Success.

The conference was attended by more than 400 QA experts and practitioners from 152 universities, institutions, agencies and ministries of 11 countries.

Training on Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation for Vietnamese Higher Education Institutions

The conference on "Training on education quality assurance and accreditation for Vietnamese higher education institutions" was hosted online by Vietnam Education Quality Management Agency of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) on 26 November 2024.

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Principal Consultant, Education Quality International was one of the two invited key speakers at the conference. He shared the experience of AUN-QA programme outcome assessment and the way forward for higher education in Vietnam.

The conference was attended by more than 300 higher education institutions and accreditation agencies in Vietnam.

Right Measure, Measure Right

The fundamental principle of an effective measurement system is first to ensure the right measure and then to find ways to measure right, with the aim of seeking continuous improvement.

"Right measure" emphasizes the importance of validity in choosing the correct metric to assess what truly matters to stakeholders.

"Measure right" highlights the need for reliability in ensuring accuracy and consistency in how measurements are taken, reported and used for improvement. 

The metrics for each component of a system should be established with the consideration of institutional context, stakeholders needs and ecosystem.

Happy Employees Work Better

The 10th "Happy Employees Work Better" workshop was held on 28 - 29 November 2024 at Furama RiverFront Hotel, Singapore. The workshop is a collaboration between ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Chief Happiness Coach of Living Better.

Happier employees are two times more productive, four times more loyal, 6 times more energetic and 36% more motivated than less happy employees. Investing in workplace happiness makes business sense.

The outline of the workshop covers the following topics:

• The Happiness DNA
• Importance of workplace happiness
• The workplace happiness DNA
• Happy purpose – building a sense of purpose
• Happy people - nurturing the Happiness DNA
• Happy practices - keeping employees happy
• Happy culture – sustaining a happy workforce

Happier Career Happier Life

The 15th "Happier Career Happier Life" workshop was held on 25 October 2024 at Furama RiverFront Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Overview of the happiness DNA 
• The science of happiness in career
• Personality profiling tools to find suitable career choices including numerology, NERIS Type Explorer® and bazi (Eight Characters)
• Job crafting to redesign work to suit one’s values, strengths and passions
• Understand the kinds of work stress and how to manage them
• Appreciate the future of work and how to stay relevant

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various techniques to manage stress were shared and practised such as muscle relaxation, meditation, laughter yoga, stretching exercise and breathwork.

Building Personal Resilience and Wellbeing

 The 3rd "Building Personal Resilience and Wellbeing" workshop was held on 24 October 2024 at Furama RiverFront Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Resilience and Wellbeing
• Define resilience and wellbeing
• Evaluate current levels of resilience and wellbeing
• Building Your Resilience
• Emotional Resilience
• Cognitive Resilience
• Adaptive Resilience
• Action Planning for Ongoing Resilience and Wellbeing
• Creating an action plan to enhance resilience and wellbeing.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various instruments are used to assess the levels of wellbeing, resilience, fixed/growth mindset and burnout and techniques to manage the 4 zones of energy (Performance, Survival, Burnout and Recovery) were shared.

The workshop ended with a personal action plan for each participant to raise their resilience and wellbeing.

Shaping Future-Ready Students: Taking an Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing the New Outcome-Based Education (OBE) Framework

An interview with Shalina Nandwani, AUN Programme Officer; ASEAN University Network

Shaping Future-Ready Students: Taking an Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing the New Outcome-Based Education (OBE) Framework

In today’s dynamic and fast-evolving world marked by rapid technological advancements and unexpected global challenges, higher education must embrace innovative approaches and stay aligned with these conditions to prepare students for the complexities in the modern world. This includes implementing frameworks that equip students not only with specialised knowledge in their respective fields but also the resilience and adaptability needed to thrive in the face of navigating these complex circumstances, such as providing them with complementary courses to enhance their digital and environmental literacy. Educational frameworks should also align similarly by being future-oriented and filled with initiatives that shape students into well-rounded individuals who are capable of thriving in the competitive job market.

Considering this landscape, the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) and Education Quality International (EQI) co-organised the 7th Outcome-Based Education (OBE) Workshop, from 8 October to 11 October 2024, led by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert and Principal Consultant of EQI, and Dr. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc, AUN-QA Assessor and OBE Case Author. In this interactive workshop, attendants were introduced to the OBE framework and explored the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the updated version.

Prior to the workshop, the AUN Secretariat had the privilege to conduct an interview with Mr. Johnson who walked us through the new framework and provided us with enlightening insights into the developments made.

Mr. Johnson opened the conversation by providing backgrounds as to what motivated him to update the framework in the first place. He highlighted the wave of disruption caused by generative AI, Covid-19 and Industry 4.0 which affected the world economy and redefined the way different sectors operate. In higher education institutions (HEIs), the pandemic had a tremendous impact, but through the use of technology, it transformed our thinking as to how education should be conducted. The mission was therefore to design a framework that encourages students and educational institutions to be responsive to unexpected changes.

During the interview, Mr. Johnson articulated his concerns regarding the limitations of conventional educational models–it is student-centric and focused on measurable student-learning outcomes. He pointed out that traditional curricula often follows a linear approach, which does not reflect the complexities of real-life situations where problems cannot be solved with black-and-white solutions. Today’s educational system must therefore not be too fixated on achieving a high GPA, but it must cultivate students’ critical thinking abilities and bring out their inner creativity. By doing so, education systems will follow a more holistic approach, allowing students to explore diverse perspectives and solutions.

Exciting Developments

Mr. Johnson proposed adopting the “ecosystem perspective” to curriculum design, emphasising the need to prepare students for the rapidly-evolving world. By “ecosystem perspective”, he refers to a process of analysing the broader environment and educational landscape to shape the curriculum. This means universities cannot be the stand-alone player but must actively collaborate with stakeholders–including businesses and industries–to understand their expectations and incorporate their insights into the process of programme planning.

Integrated Curriculum Design Framework

Mr. Johnson introduced a concept of “Philosophy of Complexity and Possibilianism”. This refers to having more than one idea and shying away from being fixated on one concept. For instance, it is now important for the engineering major to promote an interconnected mindset for engineering students by introducing courses related to sustainability and green technology given that infrastructures have an impact on the environment. It is this kind of transformative learning that allows an individual to see the world through a broader lens, ultimately adding value to the student.

Introduction of AI into the Framework

The updated framework incorporates the use of generative AI in lesson planning, creating class contents, quizzes and rubrics. It is capable of analysing lesson topics and recommending relevant teaching materials, articles, group discussion topics and class activities. Mr. Johnson used ChatGPT as an example of a tool that is capable of performing such tasks. However, he also stressed that for AI to yield desired outcomes, it is important for those providing the input to give precise and detailed instructions. Moreover, the framework encourages educational institutions to equip students with fact-checking skills to ensure accuracy of information provided by AI. This confirms that human screening remains essential both in the process of providing prompts and in verifying the accuracy of inputs.

The new OBE framework paves the way for designing a forward-looking curricula in educational institutions. As the digital landscape continues to grow, preparing students to adapt to evolving societal norms is increasingly important. Taking an ecosystem approach allows these frameworks to be highly adaptive and responsive to external changes while also fostering inclusivity by bringing students, teachers, universities and stakeholders into the curriculum design process.

By Shalina Nandwani, AUN Programme Officer; ASEAN University Network

https://www.aunsec.org/news/new-obe-framework

Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing Outcomes-Based Education

The 7th AUN-EQI workshop on "Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing Outcomes-Based Education" was held on 8 to 11 October 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop was a collaborative capacity building initiative between ASEAN Quality Network (AUN) and Education Quality International (eqi) and was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN Quality Master and Dr. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc, AUN-QA Training Specialist.

The OBE Ecosystem Framework (Version 5) was developed to advance future-ready education and to prepare higher education instiutions to be future-ready in the world of disruptions.

The participants were from universities in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

AUN Quality Master Award

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.

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin

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.

Source: https://www.aunsec.org/news/aun-quality-master-awards-honours-exemplary-individuals-lifelong-contributions-network-and-regions-higher-education-quality-assu

Happy Employees Work Better

The 9th "Happy Employees Work Better" workshop was held on 22 and 23 August 2024 at Furama City Centre Hotel, Singapore. The workshop is a collaboration between ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Chief Happiness Coach of Living Better.

The outline of the workshop covers the following topics:

• The Happiness DNA
• Importance of workplace happiness
• The workplace happiness DNA
• Happy purpose – building a sense of purpose
• Happy people - nurturing the Happiness DNA
• Happy practices - keeping employees happy
• Happy culture – sustaining a happy workforce

Building Personal Resilience and Wellbeing

The 2nd "Building Personal Resilience and Wellbeing" workshop was held on 21 August 2024 at Furama City Centre Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Resilience and Wellbeing
• Define resilience and wellbeing
• Evaluate current levels of resilience and wellbeing
• Building Your Resilience
• Emotional Resilience
• Cognitive Resilience
• Adaptive Resilience
• Action Planning for Ongoing Resilience and Wellbeing
• Creating an action plan to enhance resilience and wellbeing.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various instruments are used to assess the levels of wellbeing, resilience, fixed/growth mindset and burnout and techniques to manage the 4 zones of energy (Performance, Survival, Burnout and Recovery) were shared.

The workshop ended with a personal action plan for each participant to raise their resilience and wellbeing.

OBE Seminar at Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology, Vietnam

L.Y.D.I.N.C Ltd. Company (LYDINC), in collaboration with Education Quality International, successfully organized a hybrid seminar on "International Quality-Standard Outcome-Based Education and Self-Assessment at Program Level" at the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology on 13 Augsut 2024.

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Principal Consultant of Education Quality International  delivered virtually a topic on "Fundamental and Advanced OBE for Higher Education and Trends of Higher Education Curriculum Development" at the seminar.

17th Self-Assesment Report (SAR) Writing for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment

The 17th blended workshop on "Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment" was held from 5 to 7 August (onsite) and 26 August 2024 (online). The onsite workshop was hosted by the AUN-QA Network and Education Quality International in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by participants from universities in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. 

At the online workshop, participants received feedback on their SAR writing assignments. They were given a template to guide them in writing the complete SAR for successful AUN-QA programme assessment. The workshop was faciliated by official AUN-QA training specialists Dr. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc and Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin.

Future-Ready Education (OBE Ecosystem)

Future-ready education or OBE Ecosystem is conceptualized based on the principles of future-ready outcomes-focused, ecosystem-focused and stakeholders-centred.

It is based on the management strategy of ecosystem approach and future sensing, stakeholders agency, collaboration and shared responsibility in designing ecosystem defined programmes. The theoretical basis are growth mindset, future skills and lifelong learning, measurable WISER outcomes, criterion referencing and integrated constructive alignment. WISER outcomes are outcomes that are formulated based on the Work of the future, Integrated constructive alignment, Significance and SMART, Ecosystem perspective and Real-world learning. It aids in designing curriculum content that is holistic, integrated and future-ready.

The process of education in future-ready education emphasizes student holistic development and wellbeing, and real-world learning. Curriculum planning in future-ready education is ecosystem, agile, holistic with integated constructive alignment and future-ready. It requires curriculum to be future-ready, integrated, real-world learning and flexible.

(c)Education Quality International (2024)

AUN-QA Community Project for Myanmar Universities

The AUN-QA community project aims to provide universities in CLM countries with greater opportunities to harmonize their education within the ASEAN higher education area as well as to uplift their higher education systems, develop and sustain their quality assurance at programme and institutional levels based on AUN-QA framework.

As part of the larger aim, the AUN-QA Network has launched a 5 years (2023 to 2027) community project for universities in Myanmar involving the following 3 phases:

• Phase 1a - Data and information gathering and selection of study programmes to undergo AUN-QA programme certification;
• Phase 1b - Training representatives of the participating universities on the AUN-QA programme framework (version 4) and gaps analysis of the selected study programmes as well as the documentation of IQA Manual and IQA plan;
• Phase 2 - Self-Assessment Report (SAR) preparation and writing; and
• Phase 3 - Preparation of AUN-QA programme assessment.

The kickoff workshop (online) has begun on 17 January 2024 and lasted through 30 January 2024. During the 5-year period, relevant training workshops, coaching and hand-holding activities will be held to the participating universities for uplift their selected study programmes to meet the AUN-QA programme standards. 

The second workshop was held in Bangkok from 30 July to 1 August 2024 and 24 participats from 6 universities in Myanmar attended the workshop on Programme Improvement and IQA Documentation. The hybrid workshop was faciliated by Dr. Raymund Sison, Dr. Prastawa Budi, Dr. Thuyen Ngo Van, Dr. Kageeporn Wongpreedee, Dr. Porngarm Gswu, Dr. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc and Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin.

OBE Seminar at National Economics University (NEU), Hanoi, Vietnam

L.Y.D.I.N.C Ltd. Company (LYDINC), in collaboration with Education Quality International, successfully organized a hybrid seminar on "Sharing Practical Experience On Developing Expected Learning Outcomes and Curriculum that Meet National and International Quality Assurance and Accreditation Standards" at the National Economics University (NEU) on 12 July 2024.

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Principal Consultant delivered virtually a topic on "Outcome-based Education: Modern Approach of OBE World-Wide and OBE in Economics, Management and Business" at the seminar. 

Ecosystem Approach to Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) at Ateneo de Manila University

The 3.5-day “Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing OBE” workshop was designed to equip faculty members and academic staff from the higher education cluster at Ateneo de Manila University with the competencies to design, develop, implement and evaluate study programmes based on the OBE Ecosystem Framework from Education Quality Internetional. The workshop was orignally plan from 28 May to 31 May however due to unforeseen circumstances, the workshop on 31 May was rescheduled to 26 July 2024 (online).

Happier Career Happier Life

The 14th "Happier Career Happier Life" workshop was held on 19 July 2024 at Furama City Centre Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Overview of the happiness DNA 
• The science of happiness in career
• Personality profiling tools to find suitable career choices including numerology, NERIS Type Explorer® and bazi (Eight Characters)
• Job crafting to redesign work to suit one’s values, strengths and passions
• Understand the kinds of work stress and how to manage them
• Appreciate the future of work and how to stay relevant

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various techniques to manage stress were shared and practised such as muscle relaxation, meditation, laughter yoga, stretching exercise and breathwork.

Buidling Personal Resilience and Wellbeing

The 1st "Building Personal Resilience and Wellbeing" workshop was held on 21 June 2024 at Furama City Centre Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Resilience and Wellbeing
• Define resilience and wellbeing
• Evaluate current levels of resilience and wellbeing
• Building Your Resilience
• Emotional Resilience
• Cognitive Resilience
• Adaptive Resilience
• Action Planning for Ongoing Resilience and Wellbeing
• Creating an action plan to enhance resilience and wellbeing.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various instruments are used to assess the levels of wellbeing, resilience, fixed/growth mindset and burnout and techniques to manage the 4 zones of energy (Performance, Survival, Burnout and Recovery) are shared.

The workshop ends with a personal action plan for each participant to raise their resilience and wellbeing.

14th PAFTE Midyear Convention 2024

The 14th PAFTE Midyear Convention 2024 was held online from 13 to 14 June 2024. Mr Johnson Ong was invited as a resource speaker and he shared the topic on "Promoting Global Education through ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance.

16th Self-Assesment Report (SAR) Writing for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment

The 16th blended workshop on "Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment" was held from 7 to 9 May (onsite) and 27 May 2024 (online). The onsite workshop was hosted by the AUN-QA Network and Education Quality International in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by participants from universities in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. 

At the online workshop, participants received feedback on their SAR writing assignments. They were given a template to guide them in writing the complete SAR for successful AUN-QA programme assessment. 

Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment at De La Salle University-Dasmariñas

The workshop on Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment at De La Salle University-Dasmariñas was hosted by the Herminia D. Torres Quality Assurance Office and faciliated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin. The blended workshop consisted of a 3-day onsite training which was held from 1 to 3 April and an online session which will be held on 13 May 2024.

The workshop was attend by the faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts and Communication (CLAC), College of Science and Computer Studies (CSCS), College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA), and College of Education (CoEd) to prepare SARs for programmes on Secondary Education, Political Science, Marketing, and Biology.

https://www.dlsud.edu.ph/news/2024/qao.htm

PDCA of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) at University of Economics and Law

A 1-day workshop on "The PDCA of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) " was hosted by the Univesity of Ecomomics and Law, a member university of the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City on 19 April 2024. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin and Dr. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc and was attended by about 30 participants. 

383rd AUN-QA Programme Assessment at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking (HUB)

The 383rd AUN-QA Programme Assessment at Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking (HUB) was held from 16 to 18 April 2024 at Thu Duc Campus for the following two study programmes:

• Bachelor of Finance and Banking (Banking Concentration) Programme and
• Bachelor of Finance and Banking (Finance Concentration) Programme

The assessment was led by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin and he was also the lead assessor for the Bachelor of Finance and Bankig (Banking Concentration) Programme.

Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing Outcomes-Based Education

The 6th AUN-EQI workshop on "Ecosystem Approach to Designing and Implementing Outcomes-Based Education" was held on 12 - 15 March 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop was a collaborative capacity building initiative between ASEAN Quality Network (AUN) and Education Quality International (eqi) and was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert and Founder & Principal Consultant of eqi.

The participants were from universities in Cambodia and the Philippines.

Happier Career Happier Life

The 13th "Happier Career Happier Life" workshop was held on 8 March 2024 at Furama City Centre Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Overview of the happiness DNA 
• The science of happiness in career
• Personality profiling tools to find suitable career choices including numerology, NERIS Type Explorer® and bazi (Eight Characters)
• Job crafting to redesign work to suit one’s values, strengths and passions
• Understand the kinds of work stress and how to manage them
• Appreciate the future of work and how to stay relevant

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various techniques to manage stress were shared and practised such as muscle relaxation, meditation, laughter yoga, stretching exercise and breathwork.

Best Practice in OBE Competition at Mapua University, the Philippines

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Principal Consultant was invited as one of the two panel judges for the "Best Practice in OBE" category in the Paglilinang 2024 on 19 Ffebruary 2024. The evaluation was held virtually.

A Cafeteria Approach to Curriculum Design

The cafeteria approach to curriculum design is based on the principles of flexibility and empowerment that allow students to customise their curriculum based on their aspirations as well as in fulfilling the institutional ambitions, stakeholders' needs and contextual factors. It allows students to choose courses from baskets of different course categories. The courses in each course category are like the dishes in the menu of a cafeteria that can be changed very quickly to meet the changing tastes and preferences of the consumers (i.e. stakeholders).

The cafeteria approach to curriculum design is non-linear, agile and can respond to the changing needs of the ecosystem rapidly without compromising the quality of education. It closes the gaps between the employability of the graduates and the labour markets. It is an alternative to the traditional rigid, linear, unresponsive cyclic curriculum design process.

OBE and SAR Training Workshops 2024 Schedule

AUN-QA and EQI collaborated workshops on SAR Writing and Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) in 2024. Interested participants may contact: Email: aun.officer10@gmail.com or Email: eqi.johnson@gmail.com.

AUN-QA Community Project for Universities in Myanmar

The AUN-QA community project aims to provide universities in CLM countries with greater opportunities to harmonize their education within the ASEAN higher education area as well as to uplift their higher education systems, develop and sustain their quality assurance at programme and institutional levels based on AUN-QA framework.

As part of the larger aim, the AUN-QA Network has launched a 5 years (2023 to 2027) community project for universities in Myanmar involving the following 3 phases:

• Phase 1a - Data and information gathering and selection of study programmes to undergo AUN-QA programme certification;
• Phase 1b - Training representatives of the participating universities on the AUN-QA programme framework (version 4) and gaps analysis of the selected study programmes as well as the documentation of IQA Manual and IQA plan;
• Phase 2 - Self-Assessment Report (SAR) preparation and writing; and
• Phase 3 - Preparation of AUN-QA programme assessment.

The kickoff workshop (online) has begun on 17 January 2024 and lasted through 30 January 2024. During the 5-year period, relevant training workshops, coaching and hand-holding activities will be held to the participating universities for uplift their selected study programmes to meet the AUN-QA programme standards.

Happier Career Happier LIfe

The 12th "Happier Career Happier Life" workshop was held on 26 January 2024 at Furama City Centre Hotel, Singapore. The outline of the workshop is as follows:

• Overview of the happiness DNA 
• The science of happiness in career
• Personality profiling tools to find suitable career choices including numerology, NERIS Type Explorer® and bazi (birthdate)
• Job crafting to redesign work to suit one’s values, strengths and passions
• Understand the kinds of work stress and how to manage them
• Appreciate the future of work and how to stay relevant

The workshop was organised in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd and Living Better and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Founder and Chief Happiness Coach. Various techniques to manage stress were shared and practised such as muscle relaxation, meditation, laughter yoga, stretching exercise and breathwork.