The 14th Happiness DNA Public Workshop

The 14th Happiness DNA public workshop was held on 13 & 14 July 2017. The workshop was facilitated by Chief Happiness Coach, Mr Johnson Ong Chee Bin of Living Better in collaboration with ASK Training Pte Ltd.

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 change methodology where participants first determine the level of their happiness in the eight dimensions of the happiness DNA. How to nurture and sustain the eight dimensions of the happiness DNA is then introduced. The workshop concluded with an action plan to address the gaps in the happiness DNA.

Below are what some participants said about the workshop.

"How to make oneself "happy", which I did think about it before".

"How to think positively to be happy as it affects our life, our health and the people around us".

"Very interesting and enlightening and it helps us to discover our strengths and weaknesses".

The 4Cs Framework to Transform Higher Education Institution into an Innovation Producing Ecosystem

Innovation and entrepreneurship have been hailed as the twice engines for the next stage of economic growth and competitive advantage in the era of Industry 4.0 in an uncertain globalized world. In facing the dynamic evolution and development of Industry 4.0, higher education institutions (HEIs) as a key supplier of quality workforce are actively seeking new strategies and approaches in education to overcome the challenges and to exploit the opportunities in Industry 4.0.  For HEIs to remain relevant in Industry 4.0, there seems to be a consensus among educators to transform and elevate existing education system into Education 4.0.

Education 4.0 relates education as ubiquitous where people, things and machines are connected to produce personalized learning. This new ecosystem transforms education institution into an innovation-producing ecosystem. HEI can transform itself into an innovation producing ecosystem by embracing the 4Cs Framework namely; Competence, Capacity, Collaboration and Culture. 

Competence relates to the development of attitude, skills and knowledge to cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship among students and faculty members. Capacity is about the creation of both internal and external enablers (such as incubations, test beds, intellectual property management etc.) to support innovation and entrepreneurship within and beyond the HEI. Capacity can be said to be the hardware of engaging stakeholders in nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship while collaboration is the software of connecting and engaging stakeholders – business/industry, government and community. To sustain the innovation-producing ecosystem, HEI needs to cultivate a sustainable culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

For the innovation-producing ecosystem to be flourishing and sustainable, the environment in the ecosystem should embrace a flourishing environment, seamless connectedness, and a holistic and integrated education system. A flourishing environment may include but not limited to laws, regulations, taxes and incentives, intellectual property protection and investments that supports innovation and entrepreneurship. Seamless connectedness is not only about digital connectivity but also about connectedness and access to regional and global economies and markets. A holistic and integrated education system is needed to complement the innovation-producing ecosystem to ensure that education is not only holistic but also integrated for development and progression from basic education to vocational and technical education and to higher education as well as the development of lifelong skills in the workforce.

Source: The 4Cs Framework to Transform Higher Education Institution into an Innovation Producing Ecosystem, Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin and Ms. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc.

83rd AUN-QA Programme Assessment at University of Santo Tomas

The 83rd AUN-QA Programme Assessment at University of Santo Tomas was held from 26 to 28 June 2017 in Manila, Philippines. Four study programmes were assessed by AUN-QA Network and the assessment of the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy Programme was led by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin (AUN-QA Expert, Singapore) with Dr. Thasaneeya Ratanaroutai Nopparatjamjomras, Mahidol University (Thailand).

5th Assessor Training Workshop for AUN-QA Programme Assessment

The 5th Assessor Training Workshop for AUN-QA Programme Assessment was jointly organised by AUN-QA Network and University of Santo Tomas from 22 to 28 June 2017 in Manila, 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 of the 83rd AUN-QA Assessment at the University of Santo Tomas.

The workshop aims to equip participants with the essential competencies to carry out an AUN-QA programme assessment. The curriculum of the workshop was updated to include QA systems in key ASEAN member states, cultural sensitivity and case study of constructive alignment. The workshop aims to achieve the following learning outcomes:

1. Demonstrate the competencies to carry out AUN-QA programme assessment 
2. Relate the quality assurance of higher education in key ASEAN member states to AUN-QA programme assessment 
3. Formulate questions for AUN-QA programme assessment 
4. Apply the PDCA approach in AUN-QA programme assessment; 
5. Prepare an AUN-QA programme assessment 
6. Conduct a desktop assessment for a programme; 
7. Conduct a site assessment including stakeholders’ interviews, site tour and documentation review; and 
8. Write assessment feedback, presentation and report

The workshop was attended by 30 participants from universities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet nam. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert together with Dr. Tan Kay Chuan from the National University of Singapore.

18th AUN-QA Workshop for Accomplishing Programme Assessment

The 18th AUN-QA Workshop for Accomplishing Programme Assessment was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 5 to 8 June 2017.

The 31/2-day workshop aims to introduce the AUN-QA framework and enhance quality assurance practices based on the latest version of AUN-QA framework at programme level (3rd version). The content of the workshop encompasses:

• Quality assurance in higher education 
• AUN-QA framework and criteria at programme level 
• AUN-QA quality assessment process 
• PDCA Approach to self-assessment 
• Self-assessment report (SAR) writing 
• Change Management 

The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, AUN-QA Expert together with Prof. Arnulfo P. Azcarraga from De La Salle University. The workshop was attended by 34 participants from universities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

34th Intake of Certified Quality Manager Course - 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 34th intake was held on 13 May 2017 at SQI. The module covers the following topics:

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

Study Visit to Education Institutions in Malaysia

Mr. Johnson Ong Chee Bin, Project Advisor, led a team of researchers from Thailand to visit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Taylor's University, ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN) and Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) on 9 and 11 May 2017. The study visit is part of the project on "ASEAN and India’s Education System and Higher Education Degree Certification". The project aims to address the qualifications recognition system and to make recommendations to the Thai higher education.

Visit to UKM

Visit to Taylor's University

Visit to MQA