The IIOE Micro-Certification for the Higher Education Teaching Personnel Project International Consultation Meeting was successfully conducted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2023. Organized by UNESCO-ICHEI, the meeting focused on the potential of micro-certification as a flexible way to recognize learning outcomes and capabilities, particularly in the context of professional development for higher education teaching personnel. A total of 89 representatives from IIOE National Centres, policymakers, and institutional leaders of 23 different countries joined the consultation meeting, with 18 speakers offering insights and suggestions for the effective implementation of the micro-certification project.

Onsite expert group photo

Online expert group photo

Ms. Su Rui, Researcher at the Institute for Higher Education Digital Transformation, UNESCO-ICHEI, moderated this session. Mr. Xue Feng, Chief of IIOE Management Centre, UNESCO-ICHEI, gave an overview of the strategic objectives, key deliverables of the project, and outlined the project phases, and stressed the importance of iterative consultation with global experts, partner institutions, and enterprises.

Ms.Su Rui (left)、Mr.Xue Feng (right)

Ms. Wei Fei, Associate Research Fellow, Deputy Dean of School of Open Learning and Education, East China Normal Universityshared the project progress on developing the Higher Education Teaching Personnel Digital Competency Reference Framework and relevant toolkits, including certification standards, creating a micro-certification implementation path for teachers, and development of new resources. In the project's next phase, ICHIE will initiate expert consultations for critiques of the framework.

Ms. Wei Fei

Next,Mr. Wesley Teter, Senior Consultant for Educational Innovation and Skills Development (EISD), UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Bangkok,discussed the role of higher education and teaching personnel in the context of quality, equity, and digital transformation. He underscored the importance of human resource systems' recognition of the micro-credential mechanism, and introduced the preliminary design of the collaboration between UNESCO Bangkok and ICHEI.

Mr.Wesley Teter

Mr. Yang Wenming, Professor, Coordinator of UNESCO Chair on Digitalization in TVET and UNEVOC Centre at Shenzhen Polytechnic,took the stage to talk about digital competency development for TVET teaching personnel. He highlighted three key aspects: basic digital skills for all teachers, core digital skills for TVET teachers, and specialized digital skills relevant to the TVET sector. He also proposed the future image of TVET teachers as not only teaching and training masters, but also AI and robot assistants.

Mr.Yang Wenming

Lastly,Mr. Chen Wenzhi, Professor, Director of Information Technology, former Dean of College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University,discussed competency building for higher education teaching personnel and capacity building for higher education digital governance. He introduced Zhejiang University's exploration into teaching frameworks centered around knowledge graphs (K-cps), efforts in enhancing digital literacy among teachers and students, and the development of an integrated intelligent education system. Moreover, he introduced ChatZJU, an AI application for teaching. He also shared aspirations for joint development and sharing of educational technology innovations.

Mr.Chen Wenzhi

Ms.Li Fan

IIOE National Centre

	Mr.Waqar Mahmood, Professor, Director of KICS, University Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan (IIOE National Centre, Pakistan); Deputy Secretary of IIOE Acknowledged the micro-certification project's potential to foster teacher skill development and outlined Pakistan's strategies for optimizing teacher training
	Ms.Rahayu Dwi Riyanti, Interim Director, Indonesia Cyber Education Institute, Indonesia (IIOE National Centre, Indonesia) Noted Indonesia's large digital skill demand and regional differences in digitalization levels, suggesting micro-certification could help teachers adapt to various teaching levels and enhance their skills beyond textbook constraints.

	H.E.Mak Ngoy, Director General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Cambodia Emphasized the importance of digital capability improvement in higher education in Cambodia, pointing to the micro-certification project as a beneficial framework that can be locally applied.
	Mr.Janaka Jayalath, Deputy Director General, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, Skills Development Division, Sri Lanka Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka Discussed policy-level efforts to promote digital transformation in higher education in Sri Lanka, highlighting various ongoing initiatives and current challenges.

Mr.C. Mahesh Edirisinghe, Professor, Vice Chancellor, University of Vocational Technology, Sri Lanka Spoke of the inclusive and open approach at their institution and the existing quality assurance framework.

Ms. Klangjai Sithitavorn, Assistant to the President for Education Technology Development, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thailand Addressed the challenges and potential solutions associated with digital competencies in higher education in Thailand, including the implementation of end-to-end solutions for micro-credentialing that reflect the unique characteristics of each Asia-Pacific country.

The West Asia and Africa Region Focus Group followed, moderated by Ms. Bi Xiaohan, Assistant Director, and Chief of West Asia and Africa Programme Office, UNESCO-ICHEI.

Ms.Bi Xiaohan

Institute Level

	Ms.Mona Abdel-Aal Elzahry,Executive Director, Education Strategy Administration, ASU, Director, IIOE Egypt National Center,Professor of Department of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development Emphasised the growing acceptance and importance of micro-credentials in Egyptian universities.
	Mr.Justus Inyega, Director of IIOE Kenya National Centre, Associate Professor in Faculty of Education, University of Nairobi, Kenya Suggested using micro-credentials to foster faculty development and optimize capacity-building projects in universities.
	Mr.Bouchra LEBZAR, Professor, Director of Center for Continuing Education and Certification, Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco, discussed the implementation of micro-credentials at the University of Cadi Ayyad Citing the advantages and potential of micro-credentials in elevating the quality of higher education.
	Mr.Abubakar Ahmed,Professor of Department of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development, IIOE NigeriaLeadof Micro-Certification project, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria Spoke on the changing landscape of teacher professional development in Nigeria, highlighting the move towards digital competence and diverse assessment methods.

Mr.Ismi Arif Ismail, Professor, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic International), Universiti Putra Malaysia (IIOE Presidency Unit 2023), Malaysia; Deputy-Secretary of IIOE,voiced that digital transformation presents numerous opportunities and highlights a shared concern for enhancing digital skills. Micro-credentials, serving as tools to facilitate the digital process, need to be flexible and respond to local needs.

Mr.Ismi Arif Ismail

Mr.Paul Prinsloo, Research Professor in Open Distance Learning, University of South Africa,noted that certain institutions are grappling with the dilemma of neglecting professional development for teachers due to budgetary constraints. He highlighted the considerable potential of micro-credentials to effectively inform educational decisions.

Mr.Paul Prinsloo used the analogy of rowing a boat to describe the difficulties teachers faced in the digital transfromation

Mr.LIM Cher Ping

Finally, Mr.LI Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Chair Professor of Southern University of Science and Technology, delivered the closing remarks. He underlined that the enhancement of teachers' digital competency is pivital to the combination of education and technology. Addressing the policy and mechanism of digital micro-certification will help institutions implement and promote relevant strategies. Over the past few months, UNESCO-ICHEI and its partners have been negotiating, discussing and researching the IIOE Microcertificate project, resulting in many use cases and recommendations. Next, UNESCO-ICHEI calls for close multi-stakeholder international collaboration, pilot projects in a group of willing institutions, and continuous improvement of solutions and measures to help universities in more developing countries accelerate the process of digital transformation, promote teacher career development, and improve the quality of higher education.

Mr.LI Ming