Our Post Covid-19 future (1)

Happy April Fool's day without any lies to all ka.

Even when Covid-19 has yet to reach its peak, I've read and listened about post covid-19 scenarios. References are: https://today.line.me/th/pc/article/โลก+12+แบบหลังไวรัส+COVID+19+คำทำนายจากนักคิดชั้นนำระดับโลก-R6Eeem; Podcast: EE42 โลกหลังโควิด-19 ในมุมมองของผู้เขียนหนังสือ Sapiens โลกาภิวัตน์มาถึงจุดจบ?; and several Yuval Harari's interviews on Youtube ka.

'This too will pass.'.... so let us look into the future for us to think further and plan better na ka.

Quite a few thinkers and experts pointed out that it could be the end of the globalization as countries started having their lockdown due to the pandemic. 

The current shutdown has disrupted the supply chain (and yes in particular, JIT-- Just in Time!) approach from the out-of-country/region cheaper sources, affecting all from factories and producers to goods and services.

More could begin to look into their own countries and only those nearby to minimize risks which could shrink the way we have seen the world. The world will be 'smaller' in terms of scope lae ka. The case of EU as a Union that didn't give a strong hand to Italy could weaken its values and solidarity and may bear consequences.

The Covid-19 shows clearly that there's no 'global leader' plus the lack of global cooperation as each country handles the pandemic as if they could contain it once they close down the borders.  

The US has lost its leadership for several years now because no one wants to friend with the country that expressed, 'America First/Me First'. Anyhow, we wouldn't see 'one central leadership' as we couldn't rely on just one country. 

There could be arguments whether totalitarianism with governments' surveillance systems would rule the world as well. This could relate to transparency and trust in the governments ka.

I like the more positive outlook Prof. Harari pointed out and will share it tomorrow na ka. 

Be well ka.

Leaders at their best

With more down time, let me share a summary of a summary of the book, 'Building the Best' by John Eades, 2019 which is about leadership ka. I'd like to point out several na ka.

First of all, I like these three words, namely, inspiring, empowering, and serving, which is said to be the keys to build the best and elevating others ka. Leaders must be the ones helping their teams grow further to the next level!

Second, the author pointed out two 'Competencies', which are: Love and Discipline.

Under 'Love' are the following ka -- Recognition, Personability (know how to engage others), Development, Positivity (contagious and worth making efforts for positive energy), Vulnerability (share the truth about mistakes, personal feelings, lack of knowledge), Empathy, and Trust.

For the 'Discipline', here they are ka -- Standards, Coach, Goals, Model, Consistency, Accountability, Priority, Vision.

I now start thinking seriously what the difference is between 'love' and 'discipline' ka. It seems to be that love is more closely connected with cultural aspects and upbringing.  What caught my attention a lot was the 'vulnerability', which needs to stress to our more senior leaders....well before they become ones ka!

Third, it's about 'Energy' ka. I used to complain why a team needed its leader to boost energy instead of one's own responsibility. I've changed this thinking laew ka. This book summary said 'energy could be produced, well before results are achieved, through the power of words or mantras.' It's part of leadership to create a sense of energy for others. The author suggested simple and clear 'Mantra', which could be action-oriented and fun so we can use it all the time and make it seen to the team and make it reach their hearts.

Any word(s) that has gone right to your heart or mind mai ka?

From New Normal to New Understanding

Amid the pandemic panic, there're positive things all around, in particular,  clear understanding on some common terms:

- Better understanding of the term, 'New Normal' as more are being taken up in real practices and will eventually go to 'Now Normal', and 'Normal' in its life cycle

- Technology disruption everywhere with COVID-19 as a super catalyst for us to seek and use great tools in all sectors for all types of services from education to consumer goods 

- The meaning of 'global citizen' made clear without any national or natural borders, or any elaboration as it refers to all human beings of our one same world

- Family back prominently to the radar for an important component of life

- Discipline and public responsibility back to all circles especially families and educational institutions while info transparency must be high on the agenda

Stay very healthy ka.

Internationalization and COVID-19

Healthy Monday to all ka!

I don't think we can get away from COVID-19 wherever we go and whatever we do na ka. I didn't plan to write anything related to it yet after having read this article, 'COVID-19: The internationalisation revolution that isn’t' by Philip G Altbach and Hans de Wit in University World News March 2020, I decided to write about it right away.

The challenge came from this statement ka:

'.....learning longer-term lessons and effective strategic planning have not been a strength of the academic community. Will the current crisis be a wake-up call?'

I couldn't agree more and have been thinking of why our higher education institutions don't have this strength and how we could act to become stronger. 

If it isn't our strength, it could be time to invite outside experts to run the universities on not too technical stuff?!? When it comes to technical, we sure need to use the principle of design thinking to focus on our learners from their perspective and needs, not from ours as we usually do and have been doing na ka.

May I also share more views on IZN during this outbreak as well ka.

The authors point out that there could be unintended positive impact on higher education to see more online teaching and learning and the related cut in carbon footprint, as well as to lower our far-too-dependence (revenue-oriented institutions will suffer most) on some countries especially China. They think it's likely to be a significant temporary decline and longer-term, more modest decrease, although China still stands out.

They have some reservations about the increase in online courses in terms of quality as it takes time and support. 'Making these changes quickly is a guarantee of low quality. And quality drops further when many students are lacking sufficient equipment at home, such as a poor internet connection or a lack of privacy...'

This COVID-19 sure gives many lessons on all sectors. Producing lots of goods and offering so many services geared at Chinese customers are causing lots of chain reactions. I'm  also eager to know about the 'JIT' approach and business ways to handle it amid the supply chain breakdown. 

Well! still hopeful things will go back to normal soon ka.

Stay fit na ka.

Porntip

Caring from universities on COVID19

 I know we're overwhelmed with news and stats about COVID19 but I can't help writing about it as I read, hear, and see more ka.

1. One Fulbright student studying at Harvard was upset for not being able to attend her favorite classes as usual and this is what I learned from her post ka:

A letter from the president was sent to all, telling the whole community what has been taken up for the physical and mental health of all while continuing with learning fully online by March 23.

What struck me most is the caring tone of the letter ka. Here are some of the statements na ka:

- a group of extremely dedicated people has been working literally around the clock to respond to the challenges........ 

- the decision to move to virtual instruction was not made lightly....minimize the need to gather in large groups........consistent with the recommendations of leading health officials....and are consistent with similar decisions made by a number of our peer institutions

- please visit this dedicated webpage..... if you are a student or faculty member and have specific questions or concerns, I encourage you to be in touch with the contacts identified by your dean. If you are an employee, I encourage you to be in touch with your manager

- Despite our best efforts........to bear on this virus, we are still faced with uncertainty-- and the considerable unease brought on by uncertainty. It will take time........to understand enough......

- To our students, I know it will be difficult to leave your friends and your classrooms. We are doing this not just to protect you but also to protect other members of our community who may be more vulnerable to this disease than you are.

- To our faculty......

-To our staff......

- I am proud to be a meember of a community where people put the greater good above their own self interest.

2. Last night, I got email from Columbia's Teachers College's Alumni Relations, informing what actions have been taken for my information and for me as an alumni volunteer leader in case our alumni ask about it. This for me also shows its 'Caring without Borders' ka.

It ended with this statement ka:

- The health and well-being of our extended TC community--- on campus, across the U.S. and aroudn the globe--- are our most important priorities.

I feel the big difference when looking into our own country in some ways ka...the sense of true caring within the community and alumni around the world, the kind encouragement to care for others around us, and the ways to craft a letter to show that it's written from the hearts. 

Like it too mai ka?

Essay writing tips

Thanks to an activity the CU Alum Association and our sub-committee organized to share experiences writing an essay for scholarship applications to the Chula family (CU alums and students) the past Friday. Two Fulbright alums kindly accepted our invitation to share their experiences.

Essay Writing Tips:

- Reflect on the transition that has shaped your preference.

Both Fulbright alums talked about their lives and how they observed what they could do best. One thought of his own love of teaching when he was helping younger ones learn while the other was saying that he went to school earlier with nothing much to do. He then started reading more science-related textbooks. 

To me, the terms 'reflection' and 'transition' are real helpful to help us learn about ourselves ka.

- Leave passion behind as the second priority when time isn't right.

One alum's passion has always been in cooking with his desire to become a chef. Yet, his favorite subjects in Math and Physics made him decide to pursue Engineering as cooking may not have been suitable as a career yet.

้Nevertheless, he has benefited from this skill by cooking for his friends during the Fulbright years that made him a real 'Cultural Ambassador' for the Fulbright Program.

- Begin the essay forcefully to capture the readers'attention (with quote of your favorite or even twist the quote around to make a difference or with a phrase best describing oneself)

We took Fulbright's requirement as an example to show that within 300-400 word limits,  applicants have to be concise and able to lead the judges to read with interest. 

When using a quote, see if it's far too common to get attention. One could reword it like, 'Life is a journey.' into 'Life isn't a journey.' Then, try to reason all the way to end mentioning about it in another way. 

- Use key technical terms to make the essay stand out for judges to see.

Technical terms will start with capital letters and then he was very interested in Educational Technology so he used the term EdTech in his writing which caught the eyes and attention of the judges right away out of his essay page.

- IMPACT adds real value to the applicant's quality

Both speakers mentioned 'IMPACT' a few times, saying that they thought hard what to do after their master's studies. This could replace the classic phrase we tended to write in the past, 'I'll come back to develop our country.' ka.

- 'Good to have help but it's you to choose what's best!'

The two asked others to help read and comment. Yet, after all, both agreed that they didn't follow everything others said as some ideas didn't seem to be their own selves.

This is good for those who help not to expect the writers to strictly follow them ka.

For this particular activities, we had a lucky draw to have 2 winners to be coached by us. We sure will let them feel free to pick and choose ka. 

One speaker (visually impaired) gave me his reflections of the session which I'd like to share here na ka:

1. Everyone has strengths but we need to find out what it is. If we know ourselves well, it is easy to write an essay that reflects who we are.

2. Giving a chance for the audiences to ask questions and talk with us is very important because when in small group they are likely to ask any specific questions based on their need.

3. Using mentimeter can help engage audiences' attention. Most of them are a bit shy to ask questions; therefore, mentimeter can help them more confident to ask questions or share their experience during the presentation.