CSU Prexy Attends Leadership Development Program for HEIs in Southeast Asia

CSU President, Dr. Anthony M. Penaso joined other academic executives in the Singapore based The Head Foundation (THF) and the South East Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Leadership Development Program for HEIs in Southeast Asia. The program was designed as a capacity building workshop for academic leaders, administrators, and middle and senior managers of Southeast Asian. The training was held on January 13-17 at SEARCA.

The nine module course was developed to help the participants analyse and come up with schemes to address the following concerns:  (1) Challenges, Issues and Opportunities: Analysis of External Factors and Positioning of HEIs; (2) High-performance Leadership: Values and Ethics; (3) Strategic Management; (4) Design Thinking; (5) Faculty and Staff Development in HEI; (6) Disruptive Technologies in Teaching and Learning; (7) Quality Assurance in Teaching and Learning; (8) ASEAN Mutual Recognition Framework Arrangements; and (9) Transitioning from Management to Leadership.

The program, aims to provide a platform for higher education leadership in the context of local and regional contemporary challenges. The participants have to identify and prioritize issues in the changing needs of the workplace and industry. They were given trainings on design thinking and strategic management, as well as on environmental scans.

The participants were expected to prepare a strategic agenda with action plans on education and managerial leadership, for submission to their own HEI management. The action plans should align with the priority needs of their institution to level up with the upcoming Asean Economic Community (AEC) agenda 2025 and the ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) initiative. Participants were also introduced to contemporary tools, like Lego Serious Play kit used in design thinking for managing change and conflict in higher education institutes.

The Course Program Director Dr. Natarajan Varaprasad said that HEIs today must address certain issues, like, relevant curriculum, internalization, adaptive learning, limited resources and disruptive technologies while working in a complex, uncertain, and volatile environment. Dr. Varaprasad is one of the resource persons and is managing partner and principal consultant of the Singapore Education Consulting Group.

SEARCA Director, Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio in his opening remarks said, “Everyone needs to change or we naturally become extinct. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must not just follow the trend, but be a step ahead of it.” PICO