Amid the global pandemic that prevented travels and put people on quarantine, the training on information and communication technologies and strategic planning workshop for international relations officers of Philippine higher education institutions and state universities and colleges was successfully conducted by the University of Alicante last 15-19 June 2020 as facilitated by the European Foundation for Management Development.
The ICT training, held on 15-16 June 2020 to discuss the applications and relevance of ICT as primary tools in the different internationalization initiatives of HEIs and SUCs, was immediately followed by the workshop on strategic planning on 17-19 June 2020. The online training and workshop are part of the capacity building initiative of ANTENA, an internationalization of higher education institutions in the Philippines project which is co-financed by the ERASMUS + program of the European Commission.
In his welcome address, Fr. Jose M. Cruz SJ, Ateneo de Manila University’s Vice President for University and Global Relations, noted that ANTENA “is an exceedingly appropriate name. An antenna is crucial in technology-based communication. It is a component of a system that allows us to transcend great distances. Though the pandemic denies us physical proximity, we nevertheless are intent on fostering internationalization in the many ways available to us.”
Carolina Madeleine, UA’s senior project manager of the International Project Management Office, underscored the objective of the ANTENA project to increase the academic quality and research of universities in the Philippines through the development of internationalization capacities. She said: “As the World Bank reports it on 8 April 2020, universities and other tertiary institutions were closed in 175 countries. Meaning that 220 million students ended their studies completely or to some extent. During this time, international departments had to face with ensuring that international students can go back home and if not ensure security for all international students in their host country.” These are just some of the challenges that international relations offices face, and ANTENA aims to equip them in addressing such unique challenges.
The first day of training focused on the different ICTs that can be used to address the current needs of the IROs and to advance its internationalization agenda. UA’s IT experts David Collado, Francisco José Gallego Dolón and Eric Sánchez shared their insights on various communication platforms. Francisco Vives, UA’s multimedia over the network coordinator, discussed unassisted recording of classes and events. Dr. Mario Guilló, UA’s marketing and communications manager, talked about branding in social media platforms.
The second day of training was an informative session by UA’s Felipe Ruiz, vice-dean of internationalization and mobility, and Macarena Orgiles, head of international relations office, on their experience with managing the different concerns of the international students during the pandemic. The workshop concluded with representatives from the small groups sharing their own experiences with international students and their ideas on the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 in higher education institutions.
The three-day workshop that followed the ICT Training provided IROs with instruments and techniques in analysis methodology to enable them to craft an actionable strategic plan for internationalization. The workshop was conducted by the EFMD Team headed by Dr. Christophe Terrasse, director of EFMD international projects. It started with a diagnosis and analysis of the internationalization of the HEIs, followed by a step-by-step approach for building the strategic plan and ended with discussions on how to ensure that it complies with international quality standards. All three days of the workshop culminated with presentations from the participants on various topics in the group discussions.
Representatives from the Philippine Commission on Higher Education and member institutions, which include the Ateneo de Manila University, Benguet State University, Central Luzon State University, De la Salle University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Saint Louis University, University of the Philippines, University of San Carlos, and Xavier University, participated in the five-day training.
*ANTENA is a capacity-building cooperation project co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. For more news about ANTENA, visit https://www.antena-project.eu/news.
MSU-IIT’s Dr. Gaudencio Petalcorin, Jr. and Ms. Jelli Grace C. Luzano flew to France last week to join the Observation Session for International Relations Officers of Philippine Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) that is designed to help capacitate participants for internationalization.
Petalcorin, the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development and concurrent head of the Office of International Affairs (OIA), and Luzano, OIA staff member, participated in the observation session, held at the University of Montpellier (UM), as MSU-IIT’s International Relations Officers.
The five-day activity, entitled UM Staff Week, was held at the centuries-old university in Southeastern France from September 30-October 4, 2019.
According to Petalcorin, the UM Staff Week was aimed at having member-universities of the ANTENA, an Erasmus+ project that is conducted in collaboration with the University of Alicante, Spain, and the UM, exchange best practices and broaden university networks.
It was also the venue for UM to share with the participating universities how UM-managed Erasmus+ projects were implemented.
MSU-IIT is one of 10 member-universities of the Erasmus+ ANTENA project. In the project, the member-universities are expected to lead and build the capabilities of other PHEIs in internationalization.
Previously, the Erasmus+ ANTENA Project had its first national Roundtable and Coordination Meeting held in Manila on July 15-16, 2019, which was attended by Petalcorin and Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol.
THE OFFICE of the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development (OVCPD) through its Office for International Affairs (OIA) is making arrangements for the holding of a writeshop that will take the Institute closer to its goal of having a strategic plan for internationalization.
The writeshop that is scheduled for September 24-26 will actually be the second installment of the activity that was first held in Bukidnon last March.
The Strategic Internationalization Plan (SIP) Writeshop gathers again at a venue still to be announced Institute officials, the designated international affairs coordinators, personnel from the Center for Information and Communication and the Center for MSU-IIT e-Learning, and selected faculty members serving as technical writers.
Acting Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, Prof. Gaudencio C. Petalcorin, says that the SIP Writeshop “supplements our output from the previous session.”
“As we have already accomplished our target goals in gathering input from our constituents regarding the SIP, now would be an opportune time to have the second part of this activity,” explains Petalcorin who continues to serve as the OIA Director despite being designated last week as the new Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development.
The crafting of the SIP is mandated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) through its Memorandum Order No. 55, Series of 2016, having the following as subject – Policy Framework and Strategies on the Internationalization of Philippine Higher Education.
The need to adopt an internationalization strategy, explains CMO 55, S. 2016, is warranted by the demands of integration and globalization which the national higher education system alone cannot adequately meet.
The said CMO states that having the SIP will also pave the way for the enjoyment of the intrinsic benefits of internationalization.
The CHED, according to the CMO, will then take measures to ensure the effective implementation of the crafted SIP by providing advisory and technical assistance, as well as incentives.
Petalcorin confirms this, and says that “some support can be given by the Commission in its (SIP’s) implementation.”
According to the writeshop design, participants to the September 24-26 activity will be shown a sample internationalization plan and made to identify its parts. They will also identify the anchors and priorities based on these.
After setting the time frame for the full implementation of the SIP of MSU-IIT, the participants will identify the scheme to be used in monitoring and evaluating the plan, as well as identifying how to assess its impact.
The SIP Writeshop will also have two accompanying and related activities. These activities are – Creation of the Internationalization Web Page of MSU-IIT and Revisiting the Philippine Higher Education Internationalization Framework.
Petalcorin explains that the Internationalization Web Page needs to be created soon as this is where the Institute will post the data required in an assessment to be made using QS Stars, an evaluation system that assesses universities worldwide.
The assessment, in turn, is required by the CHED as a requisite for the giving of funding support to selected universities included in its Fostering World Class Universities Project of which MSU-IIT is one of the 15 SUCs chosen.
Reviewing and discussing the Philippine Higher Education Internationalization Framework, according to Petalcorin, is essential for the Institute officials as they would then be made to critique the drafted SIP and the Internationalization Web Page made.
(Photos are taken from the first activity – Internationalization Framework Workshop. Photo credits to Bulkhia Panalondong.)
Delegates of 10 Philippine universities with CHED officials attended the kick off meeting from February 25 to March 1 2019 at the University of Alicante in Spain for the Internationalization Project for Philippine Higher Education funded by Erasmus+. Dubbed as the ANTENA Project. It will capacitate Philippine Higher Educational Institutions through trainings and equipment support to International Relations Offices of the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Saint Louis University, Central Luzon State University, Benguet State University, University of SAN Carlos, Xavier University and MSU – Iligan Institute of Technology. This project is led by the University of Alicante in Spain and supported by the University of Montpelier in France and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). Aside from the internationalization capacity building for the 10 Universities, the project seeks to create a network of Philippine universities which will focus on enhancing Internationalization initiatives of its members.
MSU-IIT was represented by Dr Feliciano Alagao, the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, Dr. Gaudencio Petalcorin, the Director for International Affairs, and Dr Mark Nolan Confesor, the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.
In the pursuit of internationalization, the MSU-IIT College of Education continues to welcome and accommodate foreign educators and students to the institute. This time, the college partnered with Khon Khaen University (KKU) for the project entitled “Exploring Teaching Profession of ASEAN Community.” The project, which began in 2014, is an outbound student exchange program that aims to expose KKU students to other Asian countries through their partner institutions. For a short period of time, the students observed classes at the College of Education and visit nearby primary and secondary schools such as the MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental School, Doña Juana Actub Lluch Central School, Iligan North Elementary School and Iligan City High School. The program provided an opportunity for the exchange students to have broader and regional perspective of the teaching and learning processes of other Asian countries like the Philippines. Moreover, the students also shared their culture (food, traditional games, and dance) by giving a one-hour lecture or demonstration to select classes at the university and partner DepEd schools.
The delegation was headed by Deputy Dean for Student Development Affairs Phongthanat Sae-Joo, Ph.D. and International Relations Officers Witthawat Patham and Jakkrapong Thongpai. The students who participated in the program were Chanatinart Yord-in (Mathematics Education), Thongnakorn Saosoongyang (Computer Education), Chinatta Wongsa (TESOL), Abhisid Daengnongpaen (Teaching Thai Language), Kamolnut Saengwisat (Teaching Japanese Language), Pornthip Rianthaisong (Art Education), Panuimas Wonnatong (Social Studies), Jakrawoot Phooseeding (Science Education), Thapanee Srirat (Science Education) and Sattawat Srapai (Teaching Chinese Language). The program was held on March 19-31, 2017.
