Adult Learner Services

The UWinnipeg PLAR Coordinator goes to Malaysia!

Three presenters - Dr. Zita HJ. Mohd Fahmi (front row centre) between Dr. Anne Murphy (right) and Barbara Read (left) - are shown here, along with some staff members who were part of organizing the seminar.


The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) organized a seminar, Nurturing Understanding: Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) Policies and Practices, for March 10 and 11 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

In her capacity as The University of Winnipeg’s Coordinator of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), Barbara Read was invited to conduct the presentation, Principles of Best Practices and Benchmark for Practitioners in APEL and to participate in a workshop on assessment and portfolios.  

Also presenting at the Seminar was Professor Zita HJ. Mohd Fahmi, MQA and Dr. Anne Murphy, Dublin Institute of Technology, which drew 225 participants—future APEL practitioners, educators from universities and colleges, representatives from industry, government agencies and professional bodies.  Overall the organizers received very good feedback on the seminar’s evaluations with most of the participants responding that the seminar enlightened them on APEL.

Barbara states that the trip to Malaysia was fascinating and fruitful, and, as this was her first experience working abroad, she found it both challenging and rewarding on many accounts.  She learned a lot and was especially delighted and honoured to be a part this important grassroots APEL initiative.

In extending the PLAR Coordinator’s network half way around the world, one of the Seminar organizers, Norasikin, graciously shares with Barbara, “Keep in touch... you are part of APEL development in Malaysia.”