From April 15 to 19, 2024, the Faculty of Education at Ehime University hosted an international roundtable and lecture series focused on the development and implementation of micro-credentials. Organized by Professor Eiji Tomita, the event welcomed a delegation from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), including Dr. Greg Tabios Pawilen, Dr. Rufo Gil Z. Albor, and Dr. Dick O. Eugenio, to engage in a five-day collaborative exchange.
The program commenced with a courtesy visit where the UPLB delegation met with Hidenori Yahiro, Vice President of Ehime University, and Katsuhiro Hino, Dean of the Faculty of Education, to discuss the latest global trends in micro-credentialing. This was followed by a series of three roundtable sessions involving eight faculty members from both institutions. On April 17, the first session addressed the intersection of Japan’s academic credit system with micro-credentials and explored the use of digital badges to support international students. The second session on the same day focused on diverse applications, including disaster prevention education in Ehime, community organizer training, and the professional development of teachers in the Philippines. The roundtable series concluded on April 18 with an open planning session to define the specific research steps and future trajectory of the joint project.
A major highlight of the week was a keynote lecture titled “Micro-credentials Transforming Higher Education,” delivered by Professor Masahiro Inoue of Keio University, a prominent expert in the field. Following the lecture, a panel discussion was held featuring Professor Inoue, Professor Pawilen, and Toshiki Nakai, Vice President of Ehime University’s Organization for Education and Student Support. To facilitate international participation, simultaneous interpretation between Japanese and English was provided throughout the session.
The event attracted a total of 63 participants from domestic and international locations. While local faculty attended in person, 55 participants joined remotely, including representatives from 11 different Japanese universities such as Tokushima, Osaka, and Kochi Universities, as well as ten participants from various educational institutions in the Philippines.
Building on this success, Ehime University plans to hold a follow-up research meeting in June 2024 featuring experts from ITpreneurs Japan-Asia Pacific and the Graduate School of Social Design. Additionally, the university intends to dispatch researchers to UPLB to further accelerate the development of their collaborative micro-credentialing framework.
