On May 6th, 2022, “The Digital Transformation of University Teachers” online meeting jointly organised by the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and the Institute of Education (IOE) of Tsinghua University was held successfully. Global education experts joined the discussion about issues, challenges, and solutions for the digital transformation of university teachers.
Opening Speech
Prof. Han Wei, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI welcomed all participants at the beginning of the meeting.
Mr. Qin Changwei, Secretary-General of the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO delivered the opening speech. Mr. Qin introduced the focus of UNESCO and the Chinese government on the development of university teachers’ professional competencies in the digital era. He also welcomed the experts and scholars participating in the meeting to share their insights into the digital transformation of university teachers.
Keynote Session: Exploring Future Roles of University Teachers
At the meeting, Prof. Cheng Jiangang, Director of the Institute of Higher Education Digital Transformation of UNESCO-ICHEI hosted the keynote session of “Exploring Future Roles of University Teachers”.
Prof. Han Xibin, Vice Dean of Institute of Education (IOE) of Tsinghua University, and Ms. Ekaterina Pushkareva, Programme Specialist at the Unit for Digital Pedagogy and Learning Materials, UNESCO IITE made presentations on teacher professional development and blended learning reforms in the context of digital transformation in higher education, and media information literacy (MIL) for teachers respectively.
Case Presentations: Digital Challenges for University Teachers and Global Responses
Prof. Zhan Tao, Director of UNESCO IITE hosted the case presentation session about “Digital Challenges for University Teachers and Global Responses”.
Prof. Lim Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation, Associate Dean (International Engagement), Faculty of Education and Human Development, The Education University of Hong Kong, Dr. Kouadio Brou Pascal, Assistant Professor from Virtual University of Côté d’Ivoire, and Prof. Paulina Pannen, Director of Indonesia Cyber Education Institute (ICE-I), Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of Indonesia, discussed practices, experiences, approaches and challenges for the digital transformation of university teachers through cases of IIOE and higher education institutions in Côté d’Ivoire and Indonesia.
Closing
During the final session of the meeting, UNESCO-ICHEI and Institute of Education (IOE) of Tsinghua University jointly released the research series themed on “Digital Transformation of Higher Education” by video. Prof. Li Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and Mr. Lu Xianhe, Chief Editor of Tsinghua University Press signed the MOU for the publication of research reports and books related to the joint research.
In his closing speech, Prof. Li Ming emphasised the significance of the research publications and reiterated the prominent role that university teachers play in the ongoing digital transformation process of higher education. He also expressed his gratitude to meeting participants and warmly welcomed global higher education stakeholders to collaborate with UNESCO-ICHEI in the field of digital transformation of higher education.
This article first appeared in https://en.ichei.org/dist/index.html#/FocusNewsDetail?id=1199
