Outcome-Based Education in ASEAN Design Education Programs: Implementation, Practices, and Challenges

Outcome-Based Education (OBE) has become a central framework shaping curriculum design and quality assurance in ASEAN higher education, particularly in professionally oriented fields such as design education.This paper examines how OBE is implemented across design-related programs in ASEAN, identifying prevailing practices, key challenges, and innovative approaches.Drawing on regional policy analysis and selected institutional examples from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, the study highlights the influence of national qualification frameworks and ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) standards on learning outcomes, teaching strategies, and assessment practices.An indepth case study of the Design Innovation Program (DIP) at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) illustrates a distinctive model of OBE implementation through long-term work-integrated learning and industry co-creation.The findings suggest that while OBE enhances transparency, graduate readiness, and industry alignment, its effectiveness depends on sustained collaboration, faculty capacity, and coherent assessment systems.