UKM Global Webinar Series - International Virtual Learning Engagements: Understanding Concepts, Strategies and Executions

October 29th, 2021 (Friday) | 10.00 am (GMT+8 Kuala Lumpur)

This webinar focuses on the practice of international virtual learning engagements that take place in Malaysian and Japanese International Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The Covid-19 pandemic has required many HEI to strategize the deliveries of education by incorporating technology-based learning. Teaching and learning can now take place in a synchronous or asynchronous manner with the availability of a flexible technology. As physical classes were mostly postponed and travel barriers were in place, internationalization activities of HEIs were also affected. Physical international student mobility was disrupted and thus mobility and exchange had to adapt into a new form. However, many programs such as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and Virtual Exchange had been in existence way before the pandemic. The awareness and interest on this form of activities has recently increased as HEI finds the need to have alternatives and solutions in enhancing intercultural communication and sustaining internationalization. Many have also developed international creative activities and programs such as international virtual summer programs, short term programs or chat spaces to encourage intercultural learning towards developing students as global citizens. All in all, this webinar will share the experiences and strategies of the panelists in offering international virtual learning programs at their respective universities, their collaborative efforts with partner universities and also their conceptualization of international virtual learning activities.

OBJECTIVE

At the end of the webinar, participants will:
⇢ gain insights on various international virtual learning programs and activities that had been organized by Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia and Japan.
⇢ understand how to organize collaborative effort with international partner Higher Education Institutions.
⇢ learn the strategies in developing international virtual programs.

ORGANIZER

International Relations Centre (UKM Global)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Email: partnerships@ukm.edu.my

Supported by

Panelist

Professor Keiko Ikeda is a Professor in the Division of International Affairs, and KU-COIL Coordinator at Kansai University. Recently, she has taken the role as the principal project manager for the Inter-University Exchange Project funded by MEXT, 2018-2022 ("COIL Plus Program to Develop Global Career Mindset"). Keiko is Vice-Director for the newly established organization at Kansai University, Institute for Innovative Global Education (IIGE). She has a Ph.D. from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, specializing in Japanese linguistics, foreign language education, and conversation analysis. Her interests in the international education field are internationalization at home, constructing active learning programs collaborating with universities overseas. Keiko also plays a vital role in another line of the on-going government-funded project, SUCCESS-Osaka Project (2017-2021). It promotes the employability of international students who have studied in Japan.

Assoc. Professor Dr. Brian J. Masshardt is an Associate Professor in the Global Studies Course of the Faculty of Humanities at Musashi University. He also serves as the director of the university's East Asian Studies Program and is involved directly in partnership building, student recruitment, and curriculum development; as well as academic and personal advising of students in the program. In addition, he has developed and coordinated immersive learning experiences. He is a passionate advocate for learning and a staunch believer in the potential of students. During his 16 years at Musashi he has taught a range of courses related to global and international studies. He obtained his MA and PhD in International Relations from the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He considers himself very much a product of studying abroad as his path to Japan began in 1989 when he studied abroad at the University of Amsterdam. He is developing his skills as educational entrepreneur, enjoys photography, and is an avid runner.

Assoc. Professor Dr. Ainol Haryati Ibrahim comes from a multidisciplinary background with a BSc in Electrical Engineering, a post-graduate Diploma in TESL, an MSC in TESP and a PhD in English Language Studies. In the six years she was the Director of UMP International Office, she led several initiatives on internationalization such as the development of the integrated online International Student Information System, the Crisis Management SoP for International Students and the 3-stage Approach for Student Mobility @ UMP. She was also instrumental in initiating the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) with Kansai University in 2015, subsequently intensifying the COIL activities with other partner universities. During her tenure as the Director of UMPIO, she expanded exchange programs for both the staff and students of UMP. Some of these programs included the Erasmus+ with University of Padova in Italy, JASSO with Kansai University, Mevlana with several Turkish public universities under the MoHE of Turkey, and China’s MoE “engineers abroad program” with Ningxia University. Other exchange programs involved partners under the various MoUs such as to Indonesia, Mexico, and Germany, among others. Internationalization@Home encompassed integrating the international students with their Malaysian counterparts. This was attained via activities such as the buddy program, joint CSR projects, and the annual International Fiesta. Such engagements were instrumental in enriching the campus experience of all the students involved.

Dr. Tanot Unjah is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). She also serves as the Deputy Director of the International Relations Centre (UKM Global). She obtained her PhD in Environment and Development on Conservation Geology from UKM. Her area of research includes nature conservation, geoheritage development and management (geotourism and geopark), sustainable utilization of non-renewable resources and geohazard. She is also the secretary of the Geological Heritage Group of Malaysia, who assists managing the research group and conducts research on the relevant topic. As part of the UKM team along with the local authorities, her research work on conservation geology is vital in being translated and endorsed by Langkawi Global Geopark under UNESCO. Currently, she’s an active member of Malaysian National Geopark Implementation Committee under The Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy to develop geopark throughout the country. As a member and as a Head of Geology and Landscape Heritage Programme at Langkawi Research Centre, she's also conducting programmes and training for geoscientists, geopark manager, policy maker, tourist guide and public.

Moderator

Darren McDermott is currently the Team Leader of the European Union’s Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) Programme. SHARE is the EU’s flagship higher education programme with ASEAN, to strengthen regional cooperation, enhance quality, regional competitiveness, and internationalisation of ASEAN higher education, contributing to the development of an ASEAN Higher Education Space. Mr. Darren has worked on numerous EU Commission and British Council funded education development and capacity building programmes with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States’ ministries of education and their higher education institutions. He is a member of the Asia-Europe Foundation's (ASEF) ARC8 Expert Group on Inclusive Mobility of People and Knowledge to prepare the Outlook Report 2030: Inclusive and Diverse Higher Education in Asia and Europe. Following education roles in Japan and Ireland and an MSc in Education & Training Management, Darren joined the School of Education Studies at Dublin City University as a lecturer and researcher on international education programmes. He subsequently conducted research on the internationalisation of education on a Japanese Government research scholarship at Waseda University, Tokyo.

Date:	October 29th, 2021 (Friday)
Time:	10.00 AM - 12.00 PM (Kuala Lumpur, GMT+08:00)
Fee:	Free
Platform:	Zoom Webinar & Facebook Live

Pre-Registration

1) Complete the registration form by CLICK or SCAN the above QR Code. Optionally go directly to https://tinyurl.com/TIFO3.
2) Participants will receive a confirmation email upon registration.
3) Join the Zoom Webinar via the link that you have received in your email.
4) The Zoom Webinar room will open 10 minutes before the start of the event.
5) This webinar will also be aired on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OIRUKM/.
6) UKM staff and students attending the event will have their attendance recorded in the eSPel system.

Information and tips for participant

Participants can either download the installer or view the webinar via the web browser. It's your choice.

• Download Zoom application at https://zoom.us/support/download or;
• Optionally join through the Chrome browser at https://zoom.us/join, please install the Zoom Extension https://zoom.us/download#chrome_ext.
• Equipment to have:
  ⇥ A laptop or desktop with/without webcam;
  ⇥ 3G/4G smartphones or devices with native Zoom applications.
  ⇥ Stable internet service.

Watch through Facebook!