Spread across two plenary session days and an onsite gathering in the various academic units, over 1,500 academic staff from the higher and basic education units engaged with speakers who discoursed on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Catholic teachings, and the task of integrating these into course plans and outcomes.

In his keynote address, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza, D.D. shared how institutions like UST “play a pivotal role in molding current and future generations in emphasizing sustainability” and how educational institutions may adopt the “Laudato Sí Shools Framework, alongside the inclusion of the rights of nature in the curriculum, as well as further development of the integral ecology framework localized to a particular context.”

Representing the government, Philippine Statistics Authority Chief Statistical Specialist for Poverty and Human Development Bernadette Balamban localized the UN SDGs within the Philippine context, providing an update on how the country is faring vis-à-vis the targets. While progress has been made in SDGs 12 and 14, there is regression in targets under SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Balamban called for a “deliberate attempt to recalibrate our curriculum, instruction, and assessment methods in order for HEI’s to be of aid in meeting the set national targets.”

Talking about institutional sustainability, Dr. Yew Kee Ho of the City University of Hongkong’s Chow Yi Ching School of Graduate Studies, spoke of the “vital role of research in promoting sustainability aside from incorporating topics in instruction.” Deputy Dean Ho also bared the need to reflect on University and Impact Rankings when it comes to implementing projects and programs related to sustainability, as these external benchmarks can provide input on recalibrating efforts.

Sustainability in coursework

Two experts spoke about integrating sustainability at the classroom level. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Regional Office Chief of Education Santosh Khatri spoke of scaffolding in relation to sustainability and integral ecology.

In doing so, Khatri reiterated Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for 2030, which aims to fully integrate the 17 SDGs into policies, learning environments, capacity building of educators, and empowerment and mobilization of young people. He also emphasized six key concepts of Greening Curriculum, which include climate science, climate justice, post-carbon economies, ecosystems and biodiversity, resilience-building, and sustainable lifestyles.

In another session, Ateneo de Manila University – Lily Gokongwei Ngochua Leadership Academy Executive Director Maria Assunta C. Cuyegkeng, PhD raised awareness on how to make outcomes impactful in light of sustainability and learning experiences. In her session, Cuyegkeng stressed the value of “discernment which begins with reflecting on our experience, which ultimately develops our interiority” to sound off a “call toward adopting a new lifestyle, ecological conversion, and ecological education.” Integrating sustainability, according to Cuyegkeng, requires a “whole-of-university approach when it comes to redesigning our learning experiences.”

Leveraging on sectoral expertise in promoting sustainability

The webinar also included a panel discussion featuring Mr. Benjamin N. Villacorte (Chairman of the Philippine Sustainability Reporting Committee and a Member of the Sustainable Actions for Value-Creation and Enablement (SAVE) Council of SGV & Co.); Prof. Rey Donne S. Papa, PhD (Dean, College of Science); Asst. Prof. Froilan A. Alipao, MCD (Director, Simbahayan ľĹÉ« Development Office); and Prof. Cecilia B. Moran, Dr. rer. nat. (Executive Assistant for Research Operations and Management, Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation).

The session, moderated by Prof. Patricia M. Empleo (Dean, UST-AMV College of Accountancy) and Inst. Fermin Antonio D.R. Yabut, PhD (College Secretary, UST-AMV College of Accountancy), provided a platform to share bare how the industry, academe, community development, and research and innovation sectors can work together for sustainable development. Tips were shared to further strengthen working in interdisciplinary teams.

Putting ideas into course plans

As a culmination of the training, parallel onsite workshops were held on January 10, 2025 in the different academic units, where each unit’s pedagogical lead and e-Learning specialists facilitated discussions that aimed to identify practical steps to promote sustainability in instruction and office practices per academic unit.

Later in the day, twenty small groups were formed from different academic units and offices with the aim of sharing practices for promoting sustainability in terms of curricular activities, research activities, community engagement activities, and operational processes. The session provided a platform to craft initial plans for interdisciplinary collaboration to promote sustainability.

The program was organized by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, the Center for Innovative Teaching and Educational Delivery, and the Educational Technology Center, with support from the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy.

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The collaboratory is a four-part webinar series featuring Thomasian experts. Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH provided the overview of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education on August 12, 2024, while Educational Technology Center Acting Director April Joy M. Gascon, MAN, RN spoke about Innovating Teaching and Learning with AI.

On August 28, 2024, College of Education Assistant Dean Louie B. Dasas, PhD will discuss (Re)Designing Learning Assessments with AI in Mind, while Institute of Religion academic researcher Leo-Martin Angelo R. Ocampo, MA will close the series with the talk “Strengthening Humanity and Human Agency in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” in a big to refocus the discourse on the role of humans in the use of technology.

Interested participants may register here:

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In a memorandum from the Office of Information and Communications Technology, the tools offer “invaluable benefits across diverse fields” and encouraged the educational use of the said softwares. Among the expected benefits to the entire community are the improvement of digital skills, assistance in the creation of compelling projects, and enhancement of visual and graphic design skills.

The rollout marks a significant milestone in UST’s provision of software applications, particlarly Adobe, to Thomasians. In the past, those in design programs were prioritized. However, with graphic design now an important skill across all fields due to the ubiquity of online media, the University makes the softwares accessible to the entire community.

Thomasians can access their Adobe All Apps using their Google for Education suite accounts.

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The keynote speakers for this forum will be Prof. Abby Cathcart, PhD, Director of Queensland University of Technology Academy of Learning & Teaching; Prof. Brian Beatty, PhD, Professor of Equity, Leadership Studies, and Instructional Technologies (ELSIT) at the Graduate College of Education of San Francisco; and Prof. Ya Ting Carolyn Yang, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Institute of Education of the National Cheng-Kung University.

Meanwhile, the plenary speakers will be Prof. Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH, UST Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs; Prof. Wim Van Petegem, PhD, Professor of Engineering Technology Education Research (ETHER) of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; and Prof. Edizon Fermin, PhD, Teacher Education and Curriculum Innovation Specialist and Vice-President for Academic Affairs of the National Teachers College.

The conference topics are related but not limited to the following sub-themes: 1) Transformative Online Pedagogies for Quality Instruction. 2) Innovative Learning Environments for Student Success. 3) Reimagining School Leadership for Borderless Education. 4) Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Future.

In partnership with Philippines eLearning Society, 17th eLearning Forum Asia 2022 aims to gather educators and eLearning technologists alike to share their best and flexible teaching practices. It will also serve as an avenue where they are empowered to showcase learning innovations and to trade insights on challenges and opportunities as we embrace emerging technologies ahead.

UST’s ICT cluster, specifically the Educational Technology Center, is taking the lead in organizing the event for UST.

Register now at:
Visit for more information.

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The Enriched Virtual Mode of Learning

UST’s entry into the competition showcased its response to the need for remote instruction to take the place of onsite face-to-face classes due to the pandemic: the Enriched Virtual Mode (EVM) of instruction. Guided by the principles of dialogue, flexibility, and accessibility of learning, the EVM is being carried out through the UST Cloud Campus, the learning management system powered by Blackboard and run by the UST Educational Technology Center.

Enrichment of learning takes place in four modes: 1) team teaching by UST’s in-house experts; 2) remote engagement with the community partners; 3) engagement with industry experts; and 4) collaboration with partner institutions, especially those abroad. These four forms of enrichment complement the four dimensions of the SEAL of Thomasian education, UST’s graduate attributes.

A university-wide shift to virtual operations

UST’s entry likewise spoke of the various initiatives the community experienced as it shifted to virtual operations. The virtual offering of student support services, as well as the full transition to virtual operations for most of the offices were highlighted in the 10-minute video package UST submitted.

Capacity-building beyond España

In their messages to the public after winning the award, UST Rector fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., PhD and Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH highlighted the University’s foresight to already adopt e-learning even before the pandemic. “We owe it to careful planning and being constantly forward-looking,” the Rector said in his message.

The officials expressed thanks to the award-giving bodies for the recognition and committed to roll out capacity-building programs to interested HEIs that may benefit from UST’s guidance on how to transition operations to a more flexible mode. “We will roll out capacity-building programs to fellow educators in the country…to share with you the lessons we have learned, the practices we have adopted, and the successes we have been blessed with through His unending grace,” said Peralta.

UST’s victory comes as the University celebrates its 410th anniversary and as it implements EVM for the second straight academic year.

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Bautista’s paper documented the transition of the Electronics Engineering program of UST to the enriched virtual mode, “most practical and yet effective teaching, learning, and evaluation methods to achieve the desired learning outcomes resulting in a richer learning experience for students.” The paper documented “contextual strategies on enhancing motivation, incorporating active engagement, designing effective assessment tasks, and adopting an inclusive mindset will also be discussed as key factors that assured ECE students’ success at a distance without compromising the delivery of instruction and learning process.”

Bautista is one of the e-Learning Specialists of the Faculty of Engineering. In her paper, she acknowledged the University’s “pioneering effort in massive-scale eLearning implementation, which has served as a catalyst in mitigating the effect of change on its faculty workforce during pandemic times.” The university’s e-learning efforts are led by the Educational Technology Center.

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Ramos tackled the fundamentals of an effective Learning Management System, choosing the appropriate method in line with the institution’s needs, and also the role of the environment between the learners and the educators.  “A modern learning management system is more than a catalog of eLearning courses, a platform of planning, delivering and measuring impact of training both online and offline,” Ramos said.

According to Ramos, modern learning platforms perform multiple tasks other than hosting, tracking, or analyzing. “Not only we are looking for something that is very robust; it should be able to do all of them in a very efficient manner from centralizing and automating your administration,” Ramos said. “You can of course personalize content, consolidate training and learning initiatives in web-based platform, and even go beyond delivering content,” she added. 

Moreover, Ramos encouraged the educators to look into the core of institution, and seek for the best way to demonstrate their teaching skills. “We might be looking an choosing the right LMS, at the end there is no one size that would fit your institution. You must start from the heart the core of your institutions, know what is this vision I want to  accomplish, and everything else would follow in every decision making, and in every support system  that you will put in place will now be in congruent with what you want to solve.”

Ramos is a faculty member of the Department of Secondary Education. She was re-elected as President of the Philippine e-Learning Society for 2019-2020. Ramos was also elected to the Board of Trustees for a term of three years, from 2019-2022.

Among the massive-scale projects that Ramos led are: 1) the deployment of a massive online course on Disaster Risk Reduction to about 11,000 student volunteers to prepare the Youth of the Philippines for the visit of Pope Francis (EduTech Asia Awards 2017 – Greatest Individual Contribution for Educational Inclusion); 2) UST’s national teacher-training implementation work with UNESCO ICT for Education (Bangkok) and among Philippine teacher education institutions as Resource and Distribution Training Center (RDTC) in the promotion of the use of open and free educational resources (OERs), which was recognized as the Best Innovative Teacher Education Program Initiative in 2016.

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The orientation activity, facilitated by Rev. fr. Stephen Redillas, O.P., Senior Consultant for Information and Communications Technology of UST, brought to the fore the Blackboard and digital learning endeavors happening at the ľĹÉ« – Manila, for possible adoption by the DPP schools.

According to Rev. fr. Winston F. Cabading, O.P., SThL-MA, Assistant to the Rector for Information and Communications Technology, “we are offering our expertise to our sister schools in the DPP in jumpstarting their e-learning initiatives.” Recognizing that the schools are at different stages of technology integration, fr. Cabading said that UST “will guide and provide training where needed to the schools” so they can maximize the potentials of digital learning.

During the session, Educational Technology Center Director , MSc presented in greater detail UST’s experience in using the Blackboard Learning Management System, which from 2002-2018 gave the University the e-Learning Access Program (e-LeAP) and since 2018 has given rise to the UST Cloud Campus. This made UST the pioneer institution in massive-wide e-Learning adoption in the Philippines.

The DPP schools represented were the ľĹÉ« – Manila, ľĹÉ« Angelicum College – Quezon City, ľĹÉ« – Legazpi, Albay, Colegio de San Juan de Letran – Calamba, Laguna; Intramuros – Manila; Bataan; and Manaoag, Pangasinan; and Lyceum of Camiguin.

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In an interview, Ramos disclosed that among her priorities for her incumbency are: certification levels of proficiency for our PELS members, forming specialized professional learning networks among members, co-organizing international events (eLearning Forum Asia 2021 in the Philippines), and assuring the quality of eLearning institutional adoption by awarding the PELS own seal of accreditation and recognition.

Ramos, the current Director of the Educational Technology Center, specializes in leading a massive eLearning implementation. Such work includes training UST’s faculty workforce to effectively use technology to create meaningful eLearning experiences across the wide spectrum of online delivery environments (technology-rich classrooms, blended, and fully-online), produce eLearning content, and supervising the implementation of UST’s participation to the ASEAN MOOC consortium known as Global Access Asia.

Among the massive-scale projects that Ramos led are: 1) the deployment of a massive online course on Disaster Risk Reduction to about 11,000 student volunteers to prepare the Youth of the Philippines for the visit of Pope Francis (EduTech Asia Awards 2017 – Greatest Individual Contribution for Educational Inclusion); 2) UST’s national teacher-training implementation work with UNESCO ICT for Education (Bangkok) and among Philippine teacher education institutions as Resource and Distribution Training Center (RDTC) in the promotion of the use of open and free educational resources (OERs) (Best Innovative Teacher Education Program Initiative, 2016 Dakilang Parangal Awards by the Philippine Association for Teacher Education); 3) the Rapid eLearning Course Development Program for UST’s 2000+ workforce, a teacher-training for eLearning practitioners earned the Philippines the 2014 Blackboard World Catalyst Award for Staff Development (Nevada, USA); 4) UST-NSTP project for 9000 students being at the forefront of educational innovation that have developed and implemented high impact educational strategies that scale (2018 Blackboard Catalyst Awards in Asia for Leading Change); and 5) UST’s eLearning ľĹÉ« Development Project whose educational and administrative innovations have markedly improved the total learner experience of our 46,000 student body (2018 Blackboard Catalyst Award in Asia for Optimizing Student Experience).

PeLS is a premier professional organization in the country that leads the advancement of eLearning practice in the academe and industry through professional development opportunities and collaboration.

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According to Assistant to the Rector for Information and Communication Technology Rev. fr. Winston F. Cabading, O.P., SThL-MA, the session aimed “to bring the 3 most digital technology-immersed departments [, , and the ] together for a unified strategic planning for the University.”

Among the areas of concern were “the interfaces among the three [units]” and the need to craft a 5-year strategic plan, backed up by a mechanism to accomplish the targets. Also, the gathering aimed “to draft appropriate policies for the ICT services of the University.”

Rev. fr. Stephen Redillas, O.P., served as facilitator in the strategic plan. Among the salient points discussed were the competencies of each of the three units and how these competencies can be harmonized to move toward the same goals.

According to fr. Cabading, “Santo Tomas e-Service Providers (STePs) provides the robust, reliable, scalable, hardware and network infrastructure, while the Educational Technology (EdTech) Center provides the innovations for connected learning on multi platforms. Finally, the Institute of Information and Computing Sciences (IICS), as the academic department, [is responsible] for the creation of technological innovations as well as training Thomasians IT professionals who are prepared for the fast-changing landscape of information technology.”

In an online interview, EdTech Center Director , said that with the August 2018 decision to provide the EdTech Center “a clearer focus specifically to be the support unit dedicated for eLearning through the UST Cloud Campus project and instructional media production…the EdTech Center [now] can better focus and prioritize services to harness the university’s expertise in deploying massive e-Learning scale adoption.”

Part of the goals is for UST to be an online university, which will allow it to 1) develop and deliver fully online courses; 2) offer unique courses that are not available to existing program offerings; 3) model and showcase 21st-century teaching and learning practices that embrace student-centric approaches in physical and virtual learning spaces; 4) develop an exemplary league of online instructors in course design, development, and delivery; and 5) produce digital content for a wider set of audiences, among others.

On the part of the academic units, the Institute of Information and Computing Sciences “aims to provide latest technologies to the University.” IICS Director Jerralyn T. Padua, MSc stated that it will partner closely with the EdTech Center to “offer dynamic programs and courses for students, alumni, professionals, and all other stakeholder.” Furhtermore, the Institute will “strengthen its software development consultancy in close coordination with the Santo Tomas e-Service Providers (STePS) in the service of all Thomasian business process owners by introducing innovative systems/applications for various units in the University.”

The output of the entire planning session was a Wildly Important Goal (WIG) to unite the efforts of all units concerned.

The Office of Information and Communication Technology was established in 2018 by the Rector, the . With its establishment, the Santo Tomas e-Service Providers and EdTech Center now fall under its direct supervision. STePs used to be under the Office of the Secretary-General, while EdTech Center used to be under the Office of the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs.

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