2026 AsTEC - Keynote Sessions

KEYNOTE SESSION 1

Advancing ASEAN Teacher Education: Innovation, Resilience, and Collaboration in a Transforming World

Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis is a distinguished academician, researcher, and public servant. She serves as the Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and was a former University Professor and President of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), where she led groundbreaking and revolutionary initiatives in internationalization, research innovation, infrastructure development, and institutional excellence. Her leadership at MMSU led to its recognition and reception of various major local and international awards, including UI GreenMetrics Ranking, QS Stars Rating, and the World Universities with Real Impact (WURI) Rankings.

Dr. Agrupis earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from MMSU, a Master’s Degree in Botany from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and a Doctorate in Agricultural Sciences from Gifu University, and also became a Fulbright and Norman Borlaug fellow.

As a respected scholar, she has garnered numerous awards and honors, including the Outstanding Science Administrator Award from the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines; the Internationalization Leadership Award from CHED; the Philippine Resilience Award for Women from the Climate Change Commission in 2023; the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award in 2024 and 2020; and the Outstanding Public Officials in the Education Sector distinction by the Gawad Pilipino Awards.

Dr. Agrupis is well-acknowledged for her utmost dedication to public service, and as a leader who continuously advocates for a high-quality and transformative education, innovative research, and sustainable development in the country.

KEYNOTE SESSION 2

Advancing Quality Assurance in Teacher Education in ASEAN

Professor Fuad Abdul Hamied is Executive Director of the AsTEN Teacher Education Quality Assurance Agency (ATQA). He earned his Ph.D. in Education from Southern Illinois University (1982). His administrative roles include Vice Rector at IKIP Bandung, Director for Institutional Development in the Directorate General of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education (2003-2005), Deputy to the Coordinating Minister in the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare (2005–2010), and Dean of UPI’s Graduate School (2010–2011), and Chairperson of UPI Council of Professors (2015-2019). He served as President of TEFLIN (2008–2014) and Asia-TEFL (2015–2019). Currently Editor-in-Chief of the Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, his research on language policy and education appears with Cambridge University Press, Springer, Nova Publishers, and Routledge.

Abstract of the Presentation

KEYNOTE SESSION 3

Equipping Teachers for Literacy in Future-Ready Learning Environments

Professor Christine C. M. Goh is Chair Professor in Education at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) of Singapore. She was the former Director of NIE (2018-2024) and a past Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network (AsTEN). During her leadership of the NIE, the institute embarked on a strategic direction with the theme of “A Future-ready National Institute of Education” to deliver its mission of Inspiring Learning, Transforming Teaching and Advancing Research, underpinned by the 4-Life philosophy of Life-long, Life-deep, Life-wide and Life-wise Learning. The institute established five multi-disciplinary strategic growth areas (LIFE@NIE SG) and set up new centres and initiatives to advance its research-practice-policy nexus work in child and human development, ethics and values, science of learning, emerging technologies, and assessment and evaluation. It also launched TE21: Empowering Teachers for the Future, an updated model of its globally recognised Teacher Education Model for the 21st Century (TE21) first published in 2012. Her most recent scholarly contribution to education is co-authoring a conceptual framework for OECD’s (2025) model of Education for Human Flourishing for the future of education. Christine currently chairs the NTU Teaching Evaluation Council to advance teaching quality and impact in the university. As an applied linguist, Christine has been identified by Stanford University as the top 2% scholars for the field of languages and linguistics for six successive years.

Abstract:

Students today face unprecedented challenges for learning. Prospects for their future are perceived to be increasingly uncertain due to geo-political tensions, climate change issues, misinformation and disinformation, rapid technological advances, and physical and mental well-being stressors. Nevertheless, education systems can create learning environments to develop our younger generations’ knowledge, skills and dispositions to face a future with personal agency, purpose and meaning. Teachers are a key to bringing about this educational transformation in our students’ education. In this talk, I explain what learning environments constitute and suggest how our systems can address challenges and embrace opportunities for the future that arise from current changes. Critical to this is our readiness to expand our notions of what education for the future constitutes, and more specifically, what literacy means for present and future learning environments. To explore these ideas, I draw on the literature for our understanding of literacy and the relationship between literacy and oracy, as well as my own research on education leaders’ conceptions of future-ready competencies. I will also offer suggestions for strengthening teachers’ and students’ literacy for the future.

KEYNOTE SESSION 4

The beauty of the glitch: Why AI imperfection is the future of learning

Dr. Tanmay Sinha is an assistant professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He obtained a master’s degree in artificial intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and completed his doctoral work in the learning sciences at ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Tanmay's sustained, influential learning sciences scholarship has garnered over 2600 citations (h-index 22) and has been cited nearly four times the global average within education (field-weighted citation index 3.86, 2015-2024). His research has appeared in prestigious outlets such as Journal of the Learning Sciences, Journal of Educational Psychology, Review of Educational Research, Learning and Instruction, Cognitive Science, Technology Knowledge and Learning, Thinking Skills and Creativity, etc. Tanmay's work has also garnered media attention from avenues such as New York Times, Times Higher Education, and the World Economic Forum.

Abstract:

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has arrived in the classroom! Yet, educational discourse remains trapped in a defensive crouch, obsessing over how to “sanitize” GAI outputs or mitigate its imperfections (e.g., hallucinations, biases). In this provocative keynote, I will argue that the quest for AI accuracy within education is a pedagogical dead end. Instead, I will introduce novel instructional designs that intentionally harness the “glitch” – leveraging AI’s misleading outputs, creative leaps, and logical failures as raw material to fuel human learning and assessment. By trading “perfect” AI for “productive" AI, teachers can transform a tool of convenience into a catalyst for friction, creating the need for learners to think and collaborate critically while mastering the messy, quintessentially human art of navigating an uncertain world.

KEYNOTE SESSION 5

TPD@Scale in Southeast Asia: Equity, Quality, and Efficiency in Teacher Professional Development Across Nine Southeast Asian Countries

Mr. John Arnold S. Siena is an experienced educator and leader in the field of education. He spent over a decade teaching English, Journalism, and graduate-level professional subjects. He held executive positions in the Department of Education in the Philippines. Eventually, he became Director IV for teacher professional development. His expertise includes learning and organizational development, program monitoring, and evaluation. He is a founding member of the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) @ Scale Coalition for the Global South.

Abstract:

Teacher quality is recognized as one of the most influential factors shaping student learning outcomes, underscoring the importance of sustained teacher professional development (TPD). However, access to high-quality TPD remains uneven across Southeast Asia, particularly for teachers in underserved and resource-constrained contexts. TPD@Scale offers a promising approach to address this by leveraging ICT to expand access while supporting meaningful and continuous professional learning.

This study examines the landscape of TPD@Scale across nine Southeast Asian countries through qualitative, cross-country comparative analysis. It explores how TPD systems are designed and implemented to achieve three interrelated outcomes: equity, quality, and efficiency. It highlights how countries promote equitable TPD by ensuring inclusive and meaningful access to professional learning while strengthening teacher voice and agency; how quality is achieved through alignment with teacher needs and system priorities; and how efficiency is enhanced by optimizing resources, participation, and programme design to improve teaching practice.

The study utilises Wolfenden et al.’s (2024) six-pillar framework: Policies, ICT, Supporting Capacities, Partnerships, Learning Design, and Communication Channels, to analyse TPD implementation. The study highlights the importance of the interconnectedness of these pillars to achieve equity, quality and efficiency.

Findings reveal increasing policy commitment and innovations, including digital platforms, professional learning communities, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. However, challenges persist, such as digital divides, misalignment between programmes and teacher needs, and weak monitoring and evaluation systems. The study concludes with recommendations to strengthen governance, improve data systems, expand inclusive ecosystems, address equity gaps, and better align TPD with teacher pathways.

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