The Graduate School Department of Cor Jesu College, Inc. (CJC), Philippines, in partnership with Language Laboratory of STIE Perbanas, Surabaya, Indonesia, hosted the 1st ASEAN Conference on Education and Social Sciences last June 16, 2020 with the theme “COVID-19 and the New Normal: Problems, Issues, and Challenges in the ASEAN Region.”
Using Google Meet, 43 people coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines participated. Five researchers presented their papers. In his welcome remarks, Dr. Alex D. Niez, the Dean of the Graduate School Department School of CJC, described the conference as a concrete expression of ASEAN connectivity.
Dr. Niez further said, “This conference concretizes ASEAN’s vision for connectivity and sharing of ASEAN spirit of solidarity, not only in terms of culture but also in academic or research parlance.”
The first to present was Dr. Djuwari of Indonesia with his paper entitled “A Global Education System for strengthening ASEAN Mutual Collaboration.” He emphasized the need for schools in the ASEAN Region to venture into productive collaboration. He explained the nature of the conference as an example of providing opportunities for ASEAN countries to come together and share research endeavors.
Dr. Rogelio P. Bayod, of Cor Jesu College, Inc., talked about the lessons of the recent pandemic about the environment. The title of his paper was “Planetary Health is Human Health: Lesson to Learn from COVID-19 Pandemic.”
A visiting professor for American University of Sovereign Nations (AUSN), Prof. Suma Parahakaran of Malaysia, discussed teaching gratitude as part of her points in the paper entitled “Education in Human Values (EHV) for the Curriculum and Knowledge Management: A Necessary Paradigm to Uplift Southeast Asian Countries.”
The fourth presenter was Dr. RozinaJamaludin from UniversitiSains Malaysia. She talked about the situation of higher educational institutions. She presented the results of her recent study entitled “The Early Hours of Pandemic COVID-19 at Malaysia Higher Education Institutions: Issues, Problems, and Challenges.”
The last presenter was from Cor Jesu College, Inc. with a paper entitled “Lessons from the Government-Imposed Lockdown: Bracing for the New Normal.” Dr. Randy A. Tudy shared his analysis on how different countries reacted to COVID-19 pandemic, including the imposition of lockdowns or community quarantine. He also laid down his thoughts on the path to the new normal.
“The first ASEAN Conference on Education and Social Sciences was a tremendous success. The five speakers made an impact on education with the sharing of their respective research outputs. This initiative is opening an avenue for productive partnership and collaboration among higher education institutions internationally”, shared Dr. Lourdes C. Cabintoy, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Rizal Memorial Colleges, Davao City.
After the presentations, other participants shared their reactions and questions both through oral and in the chatroom. The presenters generously responded to each question. These were some of the reactions of the participants.
Dr. Beatriz D.Gosadan, a faculty of the Graduate School Department of Central Mindanao Coleges, said, “These researches are essential to be shared so that we may respond appropriately in today’s phenomena. In that way, we can make our reflection in life as we embrace the new normal.”
“It was a very informative, timely, and inspiring conference. Kudos to the organizers. It was well-managed, and the speakers were knowledgeable. COVID-19 is never an impediment to international activities like this,” Dr. SolitaSolivenBaňes, Managing Editor of UNP Research Journal, University of Northern Philippines.
On the part of the presenters, they expressed their appreciation for the conduct of the conference. “The conference provided me an opportunity to share on sustainable practices of education during the COVID-19 lockdown,” Dr. Suma shared.
“I would say it was excellent and well-organized sharing of ideas”, added Dr. Jamaludin. The said conference was the second international conference hosted by Cor Jesu College, Inc. The first one was the 2nd International Conference on Philippine Politics and held on February 15, 2019.
