IIOE Arab Region Consultation meeting - Empowering Higher Education Digital Transformation in Arab Region Successfully Held
2023.01.19
On January 10, 2023, the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and the Arab League Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ALECSO) jointly organized the IIOE Arab Regional Consultation. Under the theme of "Enpowering Higher Education Digital Transformation in the Arab Region", 24 higher education experts, representatives of HEIs, higher education ministries, and relevant international organizations from nine Arab countries, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Iraq, and Yemen, gathered to discuss the needs and challenges of digital transformation in higher education in the Arab region, and explore innovative solutions for digital transformation. The results of the consultation will be incorporated into the "Report on the Maturity of Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning in Arab Region", which is being jointly conducted by UNESCO-ICHEI and ALECSO.
Group photo
Ms. Su Rui, Education Specialist of UNESCO-ICHEI, and Professor Mohamed Jemni, Director of Information and Communication Technologies of ALECSO, presented the "Report on the Maturity of Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning in the Arab Region", a joint research project conducted by UNESCO-ICHEI and ALECSO. The joint research aims to identify the challenges, needs, opportunities, and scalable practices of higher education institutions (HEIs) in different Arab countries in the digital transformation of higher education teaching and learning, and provide references for promoting the digital transformation of higher education for policymakers, university administrators, and teachers in Arab countries, and improving the quality and equity of education.
Adress by Ms. Su Rui, Education Specialist of UNESCO-ICHEI (left), and Professor Mohamed Jemni, Director of Information and Communication Technologies of ALECSO (right)
Dr. Farouk kammon, Professor Emeritus of Higher Education in Tunisia, moderated the panel discussion and invited the participating experts to discuss the current situation, challenges, needs, and trends of digital transformation of HEIs in the Arab region.
Dr. Moataz Khorshid, former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt, considered digital transformation as an important strategy for lifelong learning and sustainable development of education, and the COVID-19 pandemic, education equality, and self-directed learning are important reasons for integrating digital transformation into higher education. The study of digital transformation in HEIs should not only focus on the pedagogical aspects, but also on the transformation of the institution as a whole, such as digital infrastructure, digital content and platforms.
Dr. Saoussen Krichen, Director General of Al-Khwarizmi Computing Center in Tunisia, shared the outcomes of digital transformation in Tunisia and highlighted two key points to achieving excellence in digital transformation: digital infrastructure and teacher training. On the one hand, it is necessary to improve the infrastructure of education by upgrading the web services, online resources and cloud service platforms of HEIs to help improve the digital teaching and learning process; and on the other hand, universities should develop training projects for training teachers, researchers and students to use these platforms for digital teaching and learning.
Mr. Nabeel Kazm Alsahib, former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq, pointed out that some Arab countries lack good infrastructure to tackle the crisis of learning disruptions caused by COVID-19; in addition, HEIs with digital infrastructure such as computer systems and information networks are still in need of technical training for teachers and students, so that universities should strive to improve the digital capacity and literacy of faculty and students through hands-on training, workshops, etc., while focusing on the student experience and feedback.
Dr. Ali Aerjash, Undersecretary of Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Yemen , said that the turbulent situation in Yemen is different from other countries. After the COVID-19 epidemic, they realized that Yemeni HEIs have a lack of interest in digital transformation, and the special situation in Yemen prevents the Ministry of Higher Education from playing its role in providing infrastructure, training faculty and students, while the financial situation and the digital transformation of higher education in Yemen still needs more help and attention.
In addition, Dr. Abdul Rahim Ghosoub, Orientation and planning center in Rabat, Morocco, and Dr. Samia El-Kouki, Head of Department at Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in UAE, gave suggestions on the scope of the joint study and the criteria for best practice respectively.
Dr. Farouk kammon, Professor Emeritus of Higher Education in Tunisia (left), Dr. Moataz Khorshid, former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt (middle), Dr. Saoussen Krichen,Director General of Al-Khwarizmi Computing Center in Tunisia (right）
Mr. Nabeel Kazm Alsahib, former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq (left), Dr. Ali Aerjash, Undersecretary of Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Yemen (middle), Dr. Abdul Rahim Ghosoub, Orientation and planning center in Rabat, Morocco (right)
Mr. LYU Feng Assistant Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Chief of the IIOE Management Centre, gave an introduction to IIOE global network and platform, including IIOE teacher professional development programs, joint research, IIOE national centers, and localization programs. He pointed out that IIOE is committed to serving HEIs and teachers in Arab countries and promoting the digital transformation of higher education with HEIs in the region. Dr. Tarek Ben Youssef, expert from ALECSO, moderated the panel discussion and invited the participants to discuss the experiences, best practices, possible solutions for digital transformation of higher education in the Arab region and how IIOE can support digital transformation in Arab HEIs.
Mr. LYU Feng Assistant Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Chief of the IIOE Management Centre (left), Dr. Tarek Ben Youssef, expert from ALECSO (right)
Dr. Ahmed Fal Markazi, Director of the Center for Pedagogical Innovation at Hassan I University in Morocco, suggested that HEIs should change their mindset and methods to improve the way they deal with digital transformation and the use of technology in teaching and learning, in order to make the classroom more productive, which allows students to communicate more freely, thus improving the efficiency and quality of education through digital transformation.
Professor Hend Al-Khalifa of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, presented her university's Excellence in Teaching and Learning Grant Program, which aims to develop effective mechanisms to identify, disseminate and improve good practices in teaching and learning for teachers in different disciplines by making strategic, sustainable and institutional reforms, and to provide a conducive environment for teachers to generate creative ideas and initiatives to innovate teaching methods.
Associate Professor Cheniti Lilia of University of Sousse in Tunisia, introduced the innovative projects for digital transformation at the university, which has established learning labs with other universities in Egypt, Lebanon and Switzerland to incubate teaching and learning innovations. She emphasized the importance of teacher training and qualification in digital transformation.
Dr. Samia El-Kouki, Head of Department at Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in UAE, said that the education system of HCT has adopted different teaching methods such as face-to-face teaching, online learning and blended learning, while online teaching brought a good teaching experience during the pandemic. She added that all the staff, faculty and students of the university are ready to make the transfer to online teaching and learning now, facilitating the development of the university's digital transformation .
Dr. Amer Elameer, Consultant of Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq, said that Iraqi HEIs teachers have attended many of the IIOE courses and that Iraq tops training participation and completion rates. These training courses, together with the support of digital infrastructure provided by UNESCO-ICHEI , are very important for the digital transformation of higher education in Iraq.
Dr. Cheikh DHIB, Director of the Higher Institute of Digitalisation in Mauritania, Assistant ProfessorFathi Essalmi ofUniversity of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Prof. Aboul ella Hassanien of University of Cairo in Egypt, also gave their views on the experience of digital teaching and learning in their countries in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the support of digital content and online examinations for digital teaching and learning systems.
Dr. Ahmed Fal Markazi, Director of the Center for Pedagogical Innovation at Hassan I University in Morocco (left), Associate Professor Cheniti Lilia of University of Sousse in Tunisia (middle), Dr. Samia El-Kouki, Head of Department at Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in UAE (right)
Dr. Amer Elameer, Conuultantltant of Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq (left), Dr. Cheikh DHIB, Director of the Higher Institute of Digitisation in Mauritania (middle), Assistant Professor Fathi Essalmi of University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia (right)
Professor Mohamed Jemni, Director of Information and Communication Technologies of ALECSO, concluded the consultation, referring to that there are differences in the digital development of higher education among different Arab countries, some of which have good infrastructures and have best practices, while others face challenges and problems in finding solutions. He hopes that all parties can benefit from the sharing of this IIOE Arab Regional Consultation Meeting and jointly contribute to the digital transformation process of higher education in the Arab region.
On January 10, 2023, the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and the Arab League Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ALECSO) jointly organized the IIOE Arab Regional Consultation. Under the theme of "Enpowering Higher Education Digital Transformation in the Arab Region", 24 higher education experts, representatives of HEIs
