The UP Open University (UPOU) Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA), in collaboration with the UPOU Faculty of Education, conducted the first webinar on Research Conversations Series for 2021 with Dr. William J. Boone as the resource speaker. Dr. Boone, a professor at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio, USA) specializing in Evaluation, Measurement and Statistical Analysis, and author of two books on Rasch Analysis, namely “Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences” and “Advances in Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences” (Springer Publishers), gave a talk on “Why Learn About Rasch Measurement?” as a research approach. The webinar was held on 19 February 2021 (Friday), 8:30AM to 10:30AM (PHT) and was participated in by viewers from national and international locations.

Dr. Maria Rowena D.R. Raymundo, Assistant Professor and Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs on Quality Assurance delivered the opening remarks and discussed a brief overview of the research conversation webinar series. She also gave a glimpse of the speaker’s background.

UPOU’s Research Conversations is an on-going UPOU activity which had its first session as early as 2016. It aims to improve research productivity and inculcate a research culture among UPOU’s faculty, research staff, administrative personnel and its students. It had always adopted a flexible format providing avenues to encourage research collaboration at all levels.