EdUHK, PKU, and UNESCO IITE Co-host First Forum of Learning Innovations and Emerging Technology Forum Series
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), Peking University (PKU), the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), and the UNESCO Chairs Programme held the first event in the Learning Innovations and Emerging Technologies Forum Series on 10 December. EdUHK’s Global Institute for Emerging Technologies (GIET) hosted the first forum, entitled “Technology-enabled Learning for Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education”.
EdUHK and PKU have already undertaken scholarly exchange and research collaborations to facilitate inter-university research initiatives and jointly organise research seminars and professional learning activities to enhance education equity, quality and efficiency, enabled by emerging technologies. With UNESCO bringing its network to participate in the forum series, all organising partners aim to leverage technology to improve higher education through communications and exchange.
The forum was held in a hybrid mode, with over 300 academic researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in 23 countries/regions.
Professor John Lee Chi-Kin, EdUHK President and UNESCO Chair in Regional Education Development and Lifelong Learning, said in his opening remarks, “EdUHK is committed to enhancing inclusive and equitable quality education. We hope that this forum can serve as a platform for us to share, inspire, and collaborate as we jointly navigate these changes and advancements brought about by emerging technologies.”
UNESCO IITE Director Professor Zhan Tao expressed his hope for more collaboration opportunities between EdUHK and UNESCO IITE so that both institutions, along with other partners in this initiative, can jointly promote the innovative use of ICT and serve as a facilitator and enabler to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal number 4 (to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all) through ICT-enabled solutions and promising practices.
The forum featured three keynote presentations and discussions on empirical studies utilising emerging technologies to improve educational equity, quality and efficiency at PKU, examples of addressing equity and social justice in ICT-mediated teacher professional learning, and lessons learned from innovative AI-driven video generation for diverse learning needs.
Speakers and discussants included experts from EdUHK, PKU, UNESCO IITE, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HeyHi Pte Ltd., the Open University (United Kingdom) and the Southern University of Science and Technology. The participants enjoyed fruitful discussions on integrating technological innovations into educational transformations among multiple stakeholders.
In his closing remarks, Co-Director of the GIET at EdUHK, Professor Lim Cher-ping said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with our peers, like-minded organisations and institutions. GIET will strengthen its collaboration in various areas with partners in our global networks to tap into the opportunities of emerging technologies for education equity and inclusiveness nationally, regionally and internationally.”
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