The University of the Philippines is embarking on a distinctive direction under the leadership of Atty. Angelo A. Jimenez, who started his term as President on 10 February 2023, promising to transform UP into a “learner-centered digital university.” One of the notable directions in his vision paper is the transformation of UP into a “global university” and a research university heavily focused on academic linkages and graduate and post-graduate programs.
To fully understand this new direction known as the UP DX Project, Dr. Emmanuel C. Lallana, Special Adviser on Digital Transformation, did a lecture on the project last 09 June 2023 at the OICA Conference Room, Main Bldg., Iloilo City campus. The lecture was attended by Chancellor Clement C. Camposao, Vice Chancellors Dr. Philip Ian Padilla (OVCAA), Dr. Harold Monteclaro (OVCRE), Prof. John Lorenz Belanio (OVCA), and Dr. Rhodella Ibabao (OVCPD).
Camposano and the Vice Chancellors were joined by various heads of offices, including Dr. Rowena Paz Gelvezon, Dean, Graduate School; Prof. Lindley Kent Faina, Director, Teaching and Learning Resource Center (TLRC); Prof. Nilo Araneta, Assistant to the VCAA - Learning Management System; Prof. Nieves Toledo, University Registrar; Asst. Prof. Rhea Subong-Espina, Director, Digital Innovation Center; Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols, Assistant to the VCRE - Regional Research Center and Director, Philippine Genome Center - Visayas; and Prof. Rona Corda-Prado, member of the UPV Executive Committee.
The UP DX Project, according to Lallana, is a necessary shift for UP to meet the needs of the knowledge-age, information economy, and network society. The students at present are mostly made up of Gen Zs, who are best known as digital natives, and UP is stepping up to the challenge of meeting their capacity for flexible learning or their “ability to customize how, what, when, and where they learn.”
Flexible learning, Lallana explained, is also “a model for delivering learning content online to any person who wants to take a course, with no limit on attendance.” It also leads to adaptive learning, which is characterized by the “use of computer algorithms and AI to orchestrate the interaction with the learner and deliver customized resources and learning activities to address the unique needs of each learner.”
Moving forward, UP will explore and focus on several key areas that will lead to the creation of a digital university. These include policy; ICT governance; digital learning ventures; multimedia, interactive, and gamified content; faculty; cutting edge units; flexible learning environment; and next gen digital infrastructure.
Camposano expressed his support of the UP DX Project during the open forum, underscoring the importance of adapting to the changing times to educate students better. (With sources from UP Media and Public Relations Office)
