In another vigorous internationalization effort of Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU), Thailand-based Huachiew Chalermprakeit University (HCU) attended a benchmarking activity at the RISE Tower on 17 October 2023.
The HCU was represented by three entities comprising Dean Hansa Mahamongkol of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dean Sucha Chulsomlee of the Faculty of Medical Technology, and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jonathan Rante Carreon.
With the warmest Filipino hospitality, the academic and administrative team of OLFU appeared in full force to receive the foreign delegates under the stewardship of the Manager for the Center for Professional Development and Academic Partnership (CPDAP) Dr. Rodehlia Macaspac along with Marketing and Communications Manager Irene Louise Gelle, Dean of the College of Criminal Justice (CCJ) Dr. John David, Dean of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) Dr. Jose Jurel Nuevo, Dean of the College of Nursing (CON) Dr. Maria Luisa Uayan, Dean of the College of Physical Therapy (CPT) Hernan Labao, and Associate Dean of the College of Pharmacy (CoP) Anbel Bautista. Their respective program heads were also on-hand to witness the promising pact between the two cross-regional institutions.
Three OLFU Campus Administrators also attended the meaningful affair including Dr. Ramonita Salazar (Quezon City Campus), Engr. Roel Trinidad (Nueva Ecija Campus), and Engr. Wilfredo Basilio (Antipolo City Campus).
Dean Nuevo, in his opening speech, set the tone of benchmarking by emphasizing the pressing role of internationalization in the education sector.
The MedTech leader articulated that the need to engage with the global community is essential, opening more opportunities to introduce professionals who offer only best practices in the industry and whose deep understanding of international perspective is leveraged.
“Our internationalization program with its benchmarking activity represents the significance [of] achieving this call. It is not just sending our educators and students abroad, but also about inviting the world into our campus, fostering cross-cultural dialogues, and embracing the spirit of global citizenship,” said the dean who encouraged the attendees to contribute to establishing an environment that promotes diversity, cultural awareness, and excellence in education.
Consequently, Nuevo seized the opportunity to put on record the zealous thrust of Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) in enriching its already competitive curriculum and research initiatives by maximizing internationalized measures including mobility programs, research internships, and international conferences, among others.
To present the blueprint that guides the efforts of OLFU, CPDAP’s Dr. Rodehlia Macaspac unveiled strategies along with solid pieces of evidence that satisfy the policy framework to help internationalize the country’s higher education involving ranking, rating and awards’ application, joint project implementation, mobility programs, scholarship initiatives, community development projects, conferences, exchange of experts, and internationalized curriculum.
Dean of the College of Criminal Justice (CCJ) Dr. John David led the exchange of expertise with a presentation that highlighted the academic successes of the college from government accreditation to producing state board topnotchers.
According to David, the achievements only celebrate the continuous enhancement of the faculty under competitive professional development credentials and intensified collaboration with actual field experts in law enforcement, legal education, and the security sector.
Taking over the floor once again was the College of Medical Laboratory Science’s Dean Nuevo who displayed his credentials in terms of leadership and education management. Known for the college’s consistent performance in state examinations, the dean proudly shared their active collaborations with industry partners, hailing from both private and public sectors, to maintain its impressive legacy.
The state-of-the-art research laboratories and equipment across OLFU campuses easily made it to the presentation of Nuevo which he acknowledged as the evident commitment of the institution to delivering quality education.
To encapsulate his part, the MedTech dean stressed five main points that maintain the college’s formidable status quo including annual curriculum content review, assessment of the new curriculum against the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) prototype, consultation with the stakeholders, determining the local and national needs, and international mobility.
For the College of Nursing (CON), Dean Maria Luisa Uayan asserted the college powerhouse with a long list of evidence that solidifies OLFU as a top-producing institution of nursing professionals, and industry leaders not only in the country but across the globe.
As a CHED-recognized Center of Development, the College of Pharmacy (CoP) is a department of OLFU where areas of instruction, research, extension, and linkages are guaranteed with only excellent quality. This was how CoP’s Associate Dean Anbel Bautista introduced another health allied program that delivers just as accomplished.
With the rationalized pharmacy education compliant with the latest CHED requirements under the four-year curriculum of Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, the education practices of CoP are geared to equip pharmacists ready to address the demands of national and global industry. Noticeably, Bautista’s presentation exhibited strong regard for research with its department contributing intensive studies in interrelated disciplines in pharmacy education.
The associate dean also revealed the experiential pharmacy practice in the new curriculum that offers a total of 1,200 hours of internship versus the 960 hours required by the old curriculum, extensively exposing the student pharmacists in pertinent areas covering community, industrial, hospital, institutional, and public health and regulatory.
Equally, the CoP has long been committed to providing accessible education for Fatimanians to enjoy with its reliable partners— from leading pharmaceutical companies to the country’s Department of Health (DoH) offering scholarship opportunities.
The College of Physical Therapy (CPT) was the last to present from OLFU led by CPT Dean Hernan Labao. The college head proudly flexed the accreditation successes of five campuses that have collectively amassed 55 topnotchers since 1994.
Labao also disclosed the outcome-based education (OBE) embedded in the curriculum, learning pedagogies, and authentic assessments of learners. The approach is even intensified with the continued collaboration with industry and international partners, continuing professional development among faculty members, and achieving the college research agenda.
HCU rep commends OLFU
Following the back-to-back presentations of OLFU leaders, HCU’s VPAA Dr. Jonathan Carreon could only express his appreciation for the work that OLFU has done in the name of education excellence. The academic leader particularly expressed his admiration towards OLFU after the QS Intelligence Unit named the “Home of Topnotchers” as a Four Stars institution.
In a significant similarity, Carreon proceeded to emphasize the cultural understanding that must be diagnosed as a principal goal of benchmarking.
“The main purpose of our visit here is not only for benchmarking purposes, not only to visit you, but the most important part of it is more on cultural acquaintance, kind of introducing culture, particularly Thai culture,” said the VPAA who is determined to not only focus on globalization but also promote localization.
“We need to understand what’s really going on in terms of the practices of the countries particularly here in the ASEAN region,” he added.
Discussion proper
The discussion between the two institutions sealed a budding pact that answers interesting academic specifics such as HCU’s six-year Chinese Traditional Medicine.
Carreon also lauded OLFU’s deliberate community development projects that are to be implemented at HCU. For the mobility programs, the Thai institution welcomes both students and faculty members to undergo a transformative exchange program that guarantees quality over quantity.
“We are not looking at something massive and big because we are looking at quality. When you give us, it’s good for us. We have at least this image of people coming inbound. There is an exodus of people but that is not what what we would like to have, the thing that we would like to provide really is quality in terms of education and experience,” Carreon wisely averred who then offered tailor-made mobility initiatives for OLFU, free at that for cultural activities.
With a positive conclusion, the HCU finally offered OLFU to co-host an international research conference in Thailand, a proposal that was keenly received by OLFU leaders.
After the benchmarking program, the delegates explored the revolutionary research laboratories and facilities at the RISE Tower. – Raymond Lumagsao
