Presentation and sharing by participants during the showcase
KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) together with the Higher Learning Department (JPT) of the Higher Education Ministry (KPT), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Malaysian Council for Public Higher Learning Institutions (MEIPTA) successfully organised the Malaysian Inclusive Open Educational Resources (iOER) Virtual Showcase 2023 recently.
The event, a follow up to the National iOER Policy launched in December 2021 and brought together distinguished guests, educators and international representatives, underscoring UMS leadership in promoting accessible education for all.
UMS Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Haji Mansor said the university was honoured to be one of the key parties involved in the project called ‘Design and Development of iOER’.
“This project is conducted fully online in three phases for over a period of six months. The activities are made possible with the generous financial support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, USA.
“UMS is committed to implementing the Malaysian National iOER Policy and Action Plans as outlined in the UNESCO OER Recommendation 2019. This project focuses on Action Plan No.3, namely, to support the creation, access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution of inclusive and equitable quality OER for all stakeholders,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr Kasim said UMS was also responsible in establishing the website ioercop.ums.edu.my to archive all activities and deliverables from this project under Creative Commons licenses that can be accessed globally.
He also informed that the iOER project was initiated by UMS Director for eLearning Professor Dr Fong Soon Fook, who is also the UNESCO iOER Consultant, and his dedicated team.
“We congratulate KPT on the showcase of the project “Design and Development of iOER” which will transform the lives and abilities of everyone and the differently-abled individuals in Malaysia by giving them access to educational resources that are vital to their inclusion in society and their contribution to the greater good of humanity.
“Our shared goal is to contribute to the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, ensuring quality education for all.
“As we celebrate this iOER Showcase, I would like to express our commitment to providing the fullest support and cooperation to the Higher Education Ministry as we collectively embark on the next steps forward in advancing iOER,” he added.
UMS also expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Director of the Regional UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Soohyun Kim; UNESCO Bangkok Chief Advisor Joe Hironaka; UNESCO Consultant Trainer Professor Dianne Chambers; Creative Commons USA Dr Cable Green; UDL Implementation Specialist Centre for Applied Special tecnology (CAST) Bill Wilmot and Google Malaysia.
The showcase was officiated by JPT Director Professor Dr Azlinda Azman and involved 80 academicians from 20 Malaysian public universities.
Meanwhile, Soohyun applauded UMS’ dual focus on championing the open education movement and advancing accessibility for persons with disabilities.
She commended UMS leadership in this global project that showcased how the OER policy has been practically applied through capacity-building workshops supported by UNESCO.
“This OER showcase demonstrated how a national policy has been practically applied to create innovative and inclusive OER learning materials in Malaysia,” she said.
She also highlighted the exponential growth of open licensing and UNESCO’s adaptation of the UNESCO OER recommendation, emphasising the role of inclusive education for persons with disabilities and open licensing in achieving SDG-4.
