SEAMEO Congress 2021

SEAMEO Congress 2021: Transforming Higher Education in a  Digital Era

Bringing together diverse education actors and stakeholders to exchange effective policy, fruitful teaching experiences and share new learning paradigms and practices in the digital age, the SEAMEO Congress 2021 was organised virtually on 28-29 April and was hosted by SEAMEO and the Ministry of Education of Thailand to exchange effective policy, teaching experiences and share new learning paradigms and practices in the digital age. Over 10,000 education stakeholders representing the governments of SEAMEO Member Countries, international organisations, as well as public and private educational institutions and agencies registered for the 2-day virtual event.

SEAMEO RIHED had the pleasure of participating in SEAMEO Congress 2021 and moderating a session on Transforming Higher Education in the Digital Era.

Transforming Higher Education in the Digital Era

Asst. Prof. Dr. Romyen Kosaikanont, Centre Director of SEAMEO RIHED, moderated the Parallel session on Transforming Higher Education in the Digital Era on 29 April 2021. The session explored higher education transformation in the digital era from a global perspective, highlighting case studies from Southeast Asian and North American higher education systems as well as regional initiatives of the European Union. The panel comprised the following speakers:

1. Dr Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, Chancellor and Professor, University of the Philippines Open University, Philippines
2. Assoc Prof Dr Somporn Puttapithakporn, Acting Vice-President for Education and Learning Support, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand
3. Ms Helen Chua Balderama, Associate Director, International Partnerships and Programs and Dr Dominique Schaeffel-Dunand, Academic Lead, Globally Networked Learning Initiative, York University, Canada
4. Ms Sylvie Bonichon, Associate Expert for EURASHE, Belgium
5. Dr Randall Martin, Executive Director, British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE), Canada

Key Takeaways

• Transformation of higher education is inevitable due to the multiple disruptions and imperatives. Among which, digital technology and digitalisation plays crucial roles in higher education transformation.
• Digital technology must be seen as one of the tools to facilitate transformation in higher education. A universal and human-centred design is the most crucial factor to meaningfully transform higher education.
• The future higher education needs to be more sustainable, reduce inequalities, enhance inclusivity, be resilient, agile, and futuristic for the best benefits of our learners.

Way Forward

• Higher education institutions’ policy makers must study and understand their own contexts. Based on the institutional and higher education landscape scanning, universities should be able to strategically and systematically plan for transformation while embracing digital technology.
• The transformation should cover all higher education’s dimensions including strategic planning, institutional supports provision, capacity building for all stakeholders, digitalization planning and process, improvement of learning ecosystems and learning instruments as well as willingness to experiment. All of these need to be well designed with learners and human-centred approach.
• Cocreation, co-learning, and collaboration across disciplines and among partners will be crucial for the future of higher education.
• Future of higher education needs to be more agile, flexible, inclusive, ensure quality and relevance to cope with the future challenges.

For more information about the SEAMEO Congress 2021, visit the official website: https://congress2021.seameo.org