Ready for the Future: Refreshing Our Curriculum through Experiential Learning and Competency-Based Education Landscape (EXCEL) Framework Integration.
The Experiential Learning and Competency-Based Education Landscape (EXCEL) was developed and launched by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia in October 2021. This framework was conceived with the intention of enhancing Malaysia's tertiary academic programmes to a higher level in both quality and efficiency. It aims to strengthen the implementation of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher Education) by producing holistic and graduates who are highly-skilled and adaptable to change, creative, open to innovation and possessing attributes of a lifelong learner.
By: Suriana Sabri Deputy Director of the Centre for Academic Development (CADe) UPM, and an associate professor at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UPM

SoTL-izing Your Lessons: What, Why and How?
What is SoTL? We define SoTL as reflecting on one’s own learning, teaching and assessment practices either for onsite or online learning to augment student learning outcomes. The aforementioned practices' findings are then shared with the scholarly community for review and feedback.
By: Su Luan Wong Professor at the Department of Science and Technical Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, UPM
Mas Nida Md. Khambari Senior Lecturer at the Department of Foundations of Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, UPM

Pengenalan kepada  ‘SAFE EXAM BROWSER’ (SEB)
‘Safe Exam Browser’ (SEB) merupakan satu platform berasaskan pelayar web yang digunakan untuk mengawal-selia pelaksanaan penaksiran dalam talian (‘e-assessment remote monitoring’) tanpa melibatkan kehadiran pengawas peperiksaan secara fizikal.
Oleh: Nadiya Akmal Baharum Ketua Kumpulan Kajian Skop dan Fungsian ‘Safe Exam Browser’ (SEB) dalam Platform PutraBlast dan Pensyarah Kanan Jabatan Biologi Sel dan Molekul, Fakulti Bioteknologi dan Sains Biomolekul, UPM

Psychological Capital (PsyCap) on Teaching and Learning: Does PsyCap Complement BANI?
For the last few decades, the term VUCA has gained immense popularity as a term identifying situations or experiences in a visibly changing world. The acronym which stands for “Volatile”, “Uncertain”, “Complex”, and “Ambiguous" contains several approaches which includes working, thinking and making sense of the world in general. It has also been popularly used in the context of teaching and learning since the term was first coined in the 1980s. However, today, VUCA is no longer sufficient to assess the future teaching and learning scenarios. A new terminology called BANI was recently proposed as it paints a clearer picture on how the world looks. BANI stands for “Brittle”, “Anxious”, “Non-linear”, and “Incomprehensible”. Today, people do not feel uncertain anymore, they are anxious. Things are not complex anymore, instead, they obey a non-linear system; and what used to be ambiguous now appears incomprehensible. The acronym of BANI hints at viable options for us to respond to current challenges. A brittle situation now requires the capacity and resilience. If we feel anxious, we need empathy and mindfulness, if something is non-linear, it calls for understanding of context and adaptivity. And, if something is incomprehensible, it demands transparency and intuition.
Grabmeier, S. (2020, July 28). BANI versus VUCA: a new acronym to describe the world.  https://stephangrabmeier.de/bani-versus-vuca/#infographic
Luthans, F. & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2017). Psychological Capital: An Evidence-Based Positive Approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior.
By: Nor Aniza Ahmad Associate Professor and Head of Department of Foundations of Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, UPM Denise J Larsen Professor, Associate Dean of Research and a Director of Hope Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Canada Nur Aimi Nasuha Burhanuddin Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the Department of Foundations of Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, UPM

Micro-Credentials
Micro-credentials or “Micro-accreditation” is a concept of accreditation or the award of qualifications that are able to recognize the knowledge, skills or new competencies acquired by students. UPM micro-credentials (MC UPM) courses can be offered either from accredited or stand-alone academic programs. The courses are open for students, industry, community and public. The learning can be delivered through physical or online platforms, with assessment methods that can measure the achievement of learning outcomes or objectively specific competencies. Learn more about MC UPM at http://putramooc.upm.edu.my/mooc/course/view.php?id=123

UPM Celebrates Successful International  e-Learning Carnival Hosting
Universiti Putra Malaysia is proud to be the host for this year’s International University Carnival on e-Learning 2022 (IUCEL 2022) held between 28-30th June 2022. The Centre for Academic Development (CADe) is the secretariat for the event. The e-Learning agenda brought about by IUCEL 2022, aiming towards the transformation of capabilities, and the enhancement of digital skills in teaching and learning, brings a very significant meaning to put forth the theme: Innovating Education for a Better Tomorrow. IUCEL 2022 does not only celebrate the achievements of the milestones of higher education, but also the school sector. In addition to that, local industries are also involved in IUCEL 2022 through various categories of awards and competitions. The virtual implementation of IUCEL 2022 through the IUCEL Town platform (based on an application called Gather Town) has also wowed practitioners, and unearthed the interests and talents of e-Learning innovators and creators.
By: Nurfadhlina Mohd Sharef Associate Professor in Intelligent Computing and is also currently the Deputy Director at the Centre for Academic Development (CADe) where she is in charge of the Innovation in Teaching and Learning. In her portfolio at CADe her mantra is for InnoCreative Educators to balance both conventional and technology as the important tools to deliver meaningful learning. She was also the Vice Chairperson for IUCEL 2022.

CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT 4th Floor, Canselori Putra Building, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Contact us: Phone: 03-9769 6175,  Fax: 03-9769 6043,  Email: cade@upm.edu.my   Contribute to PUTRA ACADeMIA: Submit your articles to: cadenewsletter@upm.edu.my

Updated:: 11/04/2023 [azryadeny]