The Rector and delegation from Universitas Terbuka (UT) attended the OU5 Presidents and Researchers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 11-12, 2023. The meeting was held at Perdana KLCC, with Open University of Malaysia serving as the host. OU5 is a consortium of five distance learning universities in Southeast Asia, namely Universitas Terbuka (UT), Open University of Malaysia (OUM), Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU), University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), and Hanoi Open University (HOU).
The Rector of UT, accompanied by Dr. Maya Maria, the coordinator from UT representing the Sub Directorate of International Relations and Cooperation, attended the meeting. Additionally, five faculty members (Antares Firman, Erika Pradana Putri, Mani Festati Broto, Astri Dwi Jayanti Suhandoko, and Ami Hibatul Jameel) participated as researchers for each designated research topic established at the previous meeting in Thailand in 2022.
The meeting was attended by OUM President/Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Izanee Awang, as the host, UPOU President/Chancellor, Melinda dP. Bandalaria, Ph.D., Acting President of STOU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Manit Jumpa, and HOU representative who attended remotely. During the meeting, each research group discussed their respective research topics. Several research titles were discussed, and the progress achieved was presented, including: 1) Innovative Pedagogy in the 4IR Era, 2) Sustainability Development and Open Universities in ASEAN: The Role of Open Universities in ASEAN in Sustainability Development, 3) Metaverse in Promoting Effective Learning Design for Practical Sessions at Open Universities in ASEAN, as well as two ASEAN Studies studies entitled: 1) Indigenous People in ASEAN, and 2) Disaster Risk and Reduction Management in ASEAN.
Some research groups already had preliminary data, while others were still formulating their research framework. Concurrently, the OU5 leaders also engaged in discussions on strategic topics to further strengthen their collaboration. Additionally, the coordinators from the five distance learning universities met to discuss the University of The Future. During the meeting, research collaboration topics for 2024 were also determined, including:
- Inclusive Education: Providing Quality Education for All
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Digital Education
- Promoting Sustainable Industrialisation (SDG 9) in ASEAN Region
- Counselling Services at Open Universities to Promote Good Mental Health in ASEAN
- Preserving ASEAn Culture in Digital Age
The upcoming meeting, hosted by HOU, is planned for early November in Vietnam. The key focus of this gathering is to disseminate the research findings from 2023 and engage in discussions regarding the development of research proposals for the year 2024.
