CHED grants P5 Million iLab Project to WMSU
Written by Liezel M. Parreño
Committed to continuously excel and level the bar of excellence into an international stage, Western Mindanao State University has been granted the Innovation Laboratory for Global Education and Digital Citizenship or iLab Project worth Php5 Million. The iLab, housed at the new high school building, was officially launched last November 18, 2022.
The official launching was graced by no less than Atty. Lily Freida Macabangun-Milla, Officer-in-charge, Office of the Deputy Executive Director, and concurrent Director of the CHED- International Affairs Service (IAS). Also present were Dr. Ma. Carla A. Ochotorena, WMSU President, Dr. Mario R. Obra, Jr., iLab Project Leader and Director, External Linkages and International Relations Office (ELIRO), other University officials, and guests from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
The establishment of the iLab anchored on the Internationalization framework crafted by CHED through CMO 55, series of 2015 which guides higher education institutions (HEIs) in navigating internationalization opportunities and platforms that will better the quality of teaching and learning through international outlook and academic cooperation with foreign partners around the globe.
The iLab project manifests a significant step toward the University’s goal of becoming a Smart Research University. This will usher internationalization “at home” where students can enjoy mobility, albeit virtual, while being in the comforts of WMSU. This also resonates to the urgent need to globalize and internationalize school curriculum and adopt new landscape and environment for learning at WMSU vis-à-vis learning challenges such as security and safety crisis, and pandemics.
To meet the the performance indicators and outcomes of Internationalization in WMSU, the project include: a) language development initiatives; b) ICT development; c) crafting of international curriculum; d) student mobility; e) faculty development; f) international partnerships; and, g) institutionalization of internationalization.