The 天美视频 (UP) presented the Archipelagic and Oceanic Virtual University (AOVU), the fifth flagship program of UP President Angelo Jimenez鈥檚 administration, during the International Conference on the Sulu Archipelago on Nov. 12-13 at Maas Kamlon Hall, Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU-TCTO).
Lead conveners of the conference were the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) and MSU, with the Philippine Studies Association Inc. as co-convener.
The session on AOVU featured UP Executive Vice President Jose Fernando Alcantara; MSU-TCTO Chancellor Mary Joyce Guinto-Sali; UP Visayas Chancellor Clement Camposano; and Dr. Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the UP Law Center.聽
Batongbacal detailed the flagship program鈥檚 six main pursuits:聽
- graduate and post-graduate programs, and professional or continuing education and training programs;聽
- novel strategic R&D programs dedicated to inclusive prosperous management, conservation, and development of the country鈥檚 coastal and marine areas;聽
- partnership and collaboration with state universities and colleges, and higher education institutions nationwide for joint research, public service delivery, innovation, and technology and skill transfer;聽
- joint programs, cooperation arrangement, and other 鈥渃onnectivities鈥� with foreign and local institutions;聽
- a strong pool of expertise and talent which is part of national, regional, and global networks; and,
- enhancement of manpower and physical infrastructure or facilities within UP, including the establishment of offshore research centers in the West (Kalayaan Island Group), East (Pacific seaboard), and South (Sulu Sea).
He also presented AOVU鈥檚 proposed academic programs: Masters of Arts in Archipelagic Blue Economics and Engineering; Masters of Arts in Archipelagic Security and Integrity; Master of Science in Archipelagic and Oceanic Environment; and, Masters of Arts in Archipelagic Social Studies.聽
Batongbacal highlighted the features of AOVU that made it a suitable candidate for constituent university status, such as AOVU鈥檚 alignment with the decentralized, peer-learning model described in Ivan Illich鈥檚 Deschooling Society. He explained that AOVU education shall be offered online, personalized, self-paced, ladderized, and designed for professional learning.
In his remarks, Alcantara declared, 鈥淎t the end, the Philippines is not separated by borders, but connected by borders. We are archipelagic and the West Philippine Sea is waiting for us. We will do whatever we can to make the AOVU happen.鈥�
