About the BUKA project

Better Universities and Knowledge for All: Advancing Equity and Access to Higher Education Through Open and Distance Learning

Project aims

The aim of the project is to promote equity and access to higher education in the six Partner universities in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines through developing inclusive instructional design (ID) and learning analytics (LA) in the context of Open and Distance Learning (ODL). The aim is to build Partners’ capacity in inclusive ID and LA, improve pedagogical and technical accessibility of digital learning materials, and use LA for more effective, personalized support for distance learners.

In all three Partner countries, improving access to quality higher education is a priority. ODL is a viable way of achieving this, as it can provide access to higher education for non-traditional and underrepresented students (for instance remote areas, mature age, women, disabled and working students). However, access is only a starting point: students also need personalized support to successfully complete their studies. To promote better equity and student retention, elements such as pedagogical and technical inclusion, more accessible digital materials, and personalized support must be developed. In the project, inclusive instructional design methods and learning analytics solutions are utilized and developed to address these topics.

Each of the six Partner institutions will develop pilot interventions addressing specific local needs related to the project focus areas. European partners will work together with the partners with authentic capacity building activities and ongoing online mentoring throughout the design, development, implementation and evaluation of the ID and LA pilots. 

The wider outcome of the project will be tried and tested recommendations and guidelines for using inclusive ID and LA for promoting equity and access to higher education. The results will be disseminated both regionally and more widely in the ASEAN region through multiple channels, including an international conference and a Handbook of Inclusive Online and Distance Learning, which will be published online with a Creative Commons license.

Read more about the BUKA project at https://www.bukaproject.org/ and https://projects.tuni.fi/buka/about/.

Project coordinator

• TAMK - Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

Project beneficiaries

1. Dublin City University (Ireland)

2. Wawasan Open University (Malaysia)

3. Open University Malaysia (Malaysia)

4. Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia)

5. Universitas Negeri Padang (Indonesia)

6. University of the Philippines Open University (Philippines)

7. Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology (Philippines)

The aim of the international, Erasmus+ funded BUKA project was to facilitate advances in designing and implementing high quality online and hybrid learning in order to increase access and equity in higher education. Partner Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Finland and Ireland worked together to design, develop, implement, and evaluate pilot interventions that sought to help build institutional capacity in providing impactful, high quality online and hybrid study programmes in different higher education contexts. The examples shared in the chapters below are based on research, experience, and best practices learned through the pilot interventions at the partner HEIs, written up here as case studies. 

The book consists of two main parts. The first part introduces research-based approaches to learning design and capacity building that have been found useful in the design and implementation of the pilot interventions in the BUKA project. In the second part, project partners discuss their local pilot interventions. The reader is offered an open and transparent view behind the scenes as the authors share the different phases of the development work, including challenges and unforeseen hindrances, as well as the successes and results of their work. The sincere hope of the authors is that these experiences and insights will be helpful for other educators and organisations wishing to undertake similar developments.

DOWNLOAD: Reimagining Higher Education_Case Studies on Designing for Inclusion, Equity, and Access in the BUKA Project.pdf