SEAMEO INNOTECH Philippines Visit to Universitas Terbuka

Universitas Terbuka (UT) is an open and distance education institution which has been regionally and globally recognized. UT has played an active role in organizations such as the Open Education Consortium (OEC), Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) as a member of the Executive Board, and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) in which the Rector of UT is the president. Recently, UT was also entrusted to manage the ICDE Operational Network (ON) Asia Pacific, responsible to embrace ODL institution in regional scope.

UT is an institution that promotes continuous quality improvement through the rigorous implementation of its Quality Assurance System (SIMINTAS) and has been sought by other ODL for bench marking purposes of best practices of ODL management. On 11 November 2015 afternoon, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH) Philippines visited UT to see and share insights on ensuring quality of the ODL system at UT. SEAMEO INNOTECH is one of the three SEAMEO regional centers working in the realm of educational innovations and technology to help the SEAMEO member countries in improving the quality of education in Southeast Asia.

Four representatives from SEAMEO INNOTECH were welcomed by the Head of Quality Assurance (PUSMINTAS) UT Drs. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D., Chairman of the Division for Research and Community Service (LPPM) UT Ir. Kristanti Ambar Puspitasari, M.Ed., Ph.D., and also by the Coordinator of Protocol and International Cooperation, Center Public Relations and International Affairs (PUSHUI) UT, Dra. Suci Madiarti Isman, M.A., Ph.D. in PUSMINTAS building. The visit lasted for approximately two hours, with discussions focusing on the role of SIMINTAS UT ensuring the quality of education at UT. In turn, the representatives of SEAMEO INNOTECH also shared their education system and the challenges they faced as well as how they overcame these obstacles.

This visit is another small step towards achieving equity and access to quality education, especially within the member countries of ASEAN. UT, through its network and collaborative efforts and with its motto “Making Higher Education Open to All”, continues to strive to provide access to quality higher education. Universitas Terbuka supports the government's efforts to play an active role in equalizing education not only in Indonesia but also in Southeast Asia and gl