ASEAN-QAct Consultancy Visit at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)

ASEAN-QAct is an extension of the ASEAN-QA Project Phase 1 which was offered to all 21 universities that underwent the ASEAN-QA site assessments. A call for application was made to the universities and 6 universities including UUM was selected for a consultancy follow up visit. 

The consultancy visit was held at UUM from 17 to 19 June 2014. The consultancy team consisted of European experts, Dr Nadine and Ms Sylvi from University of Potsdam and ASEAN expert, Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA expert from Singapore. The focus of the consultancy was on the constructive alignment of learning outcomes, teaching & learning strategies and student assessments. More than 30 participants from the School of International Studies attended the workshop. 

One of the participants attended the workshop says "I have to tell you that I have been in many workshops and training about Learning Outcome but your presentation is the best, most structured, make sense, interesting and I have learned the most. Other faculty members said that they really benefitted from the consultancy too. Well done for the great job!"

PDCA Approach to Curriculum Design and Development

The process of curriculum design and development constitutes various interconnected elements in the PDCA cycle with the objective of achieving the intended purpose of the programme. 

Plan. This stage begins with an analysis of the stakeholders' needs of faculty, current and past students, employers and society in general. The stakeholders' needs are translated into human resource terminology i.e. graduate competencies which in turn translated into educational taxonomy i.e. learning outcomes. Based on the learning outcomes, curriculum is designed backward to meet them.

Do. The plan stage is implemented where curriculum is delivered and learning outcomes are assessed to gauge the achievement of them.

Check. This stage involves the analysis of assessment results and feedback from students and faculty. Areas for improvement are identified.

Act. When the learning outcomes are achieved, the curriculum, learning and teaching strategies and assessment methods are standardised. Best practices are shared and improvement is made for the next cycle of PDCA.

In the design process, it is important to align the learning outcomes with the curriculum, teaching & learning strategies, and student assessment as illustrated in the diagram below.

The Happiness DNA Public Workshop

Living Better collaborates with ASK Training Pte Ltd to run The Happiness DNA and The Workplace Happiness DNA workshops for public and corporations. The Happiness DNA course synopsis is listed below.

Course Synopsis: 

The study of what makes people happy repeatedly demonstrates that the route to happiness is not about the endless accumulation of wealth. Happiness is a natural pursuit of human beings and it can be learned.

The sources of happiness can be broadly classified into external and internal. External sources of happiness are short-lived and external to us. They include financial, career, health, social and environmental. Internal sources are permanent and they help to create an internal condition that is conducive to cultivate happiness in our genes.

Course Objective: 

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.

By the end of the course, you would be able to:

• Understand the science and facts of happiness;
• Understand the eight dimensions of the Happiness DNA; and
• Apply the unique change methodology to rediscover, renew and sustain happiness.

Course Outline: 

• The Science and Facts of Happiness
• The 8 Dimensional of the Happiness DNA
• Financial
• Career
• Health
• Social
• Environmental
• Mental
• Emotional
• Spiritual

Course Duration: 2 days (16 hours), 9:00am - 5:00pm

Course Fee: $535.00 (Inc. GST) per participant

You may access the link below to find out more about the course schedule.

The Happiness DNA Training Schedule

Customer Service, Communication and Teamwork Excellence Workshop at Zhenghua Primary School

The Customer Service, Communication and Teamwork Excellence Workshop was customised for Zhenghua Primary School based on the Service DNA concept as illustrated below.

The workshop aims to equip the administrative and support staff of Zhenghua Primary School with the relevant skills to provide excellent customer service through effective teamwork and communication. The workshop was designed and facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Chief Happiness Coach of Living Better. The learning outcomes of the workshop are:

• Appreciate the emerging experience economy
• Understand the service DNA;
• Understand the elements in delivering positive customer experience
• Cultivate a customer-centric culture through effective teamwork and communication; and
• Cultivate a customer-centric attitude

AUN-ADB CLM Project Phase 3 Kick-Off Meeting

The AUN-ADB CLM Project Phase 3 will be held from 2014 to 2016. Three quality assurance (QA) training workshops coupled with a QA documentation project will be held in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar over the 3-year period. The objectives of the project are to:

• enhance and strengthen the knowledge on QA system implementation and management particularly based on AUN-QA system, 
• build up a pool of qualified university QA personnel team in CLM countries, 
• establish QA system and ensure QA implementation to leverage the quality of education management in CLM countries, and 
• provide CLM countries with higher education quality recognition for harmonizing university QA system across ASEAN.

The kick-off meeting was held on 26 - 27 May 2014 in Phuket, Thailand involving the AUN Secretariat and the appointed trainers. Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert (Singapore) led the meeting with a presentation of the project followed by the train-the-trainer session.

Nurturing Workplace Happiness

According to research from iOpener Institute,  happy employees are 2 times more productive and they are likely to stay in their jobs 5 times longer than unhappy employees. They are 6 times more engerised and are likely to take 10 times less medical leaves than their unhappy colleagues. Happier workers also tend to help their colleagues 33% more than their least happy colleagues. They are 36% more motivated and are likely to achieve their goals 31% more than unhappy employees.

The Workplace Happiness DNA is a holistic approach for aligning and internalising an organisation’s purpose, practices, people and culture to nurture a happier workplace.

·         Happy Purpose

In the purpose economy, organisation’s existence goes beyond profits. Altruism is the moral purpose of organisations to make all stakeholders happier. Happiness should be an inclusive purpose.

·         Happy Practices

The happy purpose has to be translated into happy practices that aim to nurture happy people and a happy culture.The design and implementation of happy workplace practices to nurture a happy culture, and to attract and retain happy people is a crucial ingredient of the workplace happiness DNA. 

·         Happy People

Only 10 percent of personal happiness is beyond the control of individuals.  The other 90 percent can be achieved by hiring happy people and nurturing them with the happy mind, happy heart and happy habits.

·         Happy Culture

The ingredients of a happy culture and how it can be sustained in the long term promote workplace happiness as a way of life.

ASEAN-QA Phase 2 Project - TrainIQA

The organisers of ASEAN-QA project, namely; The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Rectors´ Conference (HRK), and the University of Potsdam together with partners from Southeast Asia and Europe: ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN), ASEAN University Network (AUN), European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), and the Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO-RIHED) have decided to extend the capacity development plan of QA professionals into phase 2. 

Phase 2 will focus on training modules “TrainIQA”, which are newly developed to meet the increasing demands and needs of internal quality assurance in higher education. A series of workshops based on these modules will be offered to the IQA officers at ASEAN universities from 2014 to 2016.

The preparatory meeting was hosted by Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) which was held on 2 April 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin was invited as an AUN-QA expert to provide inputs for the preparation and adaptation of the training modules to the regional needs for ASEAN-QA Phase 2.