IIOE African Regional Consultation: Charting the way forward together for the digital transformation of higher education in Africa
2022.12.02
On 1 December, 2022, the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) organized the IIOE African Regional Consultation. Under the theme of "Charting the Way Forward for the Digital Transformation of Higher Education in Africa", representatives from IIOE partner HEIs in Africa, UNESCO offices in Africa, and international higher education experts gathered on the occasion of IIOE's 3-year anniversary to take stock of IIOE's achievements in Africa, discuss IIOE's future strategies, and provide advice on IIOE's development to jointly promote the digital transformation process of higher education in Africa.
Group photo of the participants
Prof. Lim Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, UNESCO-ICHEI Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong, China, introduced the background of IIOE's three-year report and summarised IIOE's achievements in teacher empowerment, IIOE National Centres, and research outputs since its launch in December 2019. He pointed out that IIOE will focus on the professional development of the higher education workforce, deepening the role of IIOE National Centres, aligning research and practice, while putting more emphasis on the localization of content as well as sharing and application of experiences to provide more professional support for the digital transformation of IIOE partner HEIs in Africa in the future.
Prof. Lim Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, UNESCO-ICHEI Chair Professor at the Education University of Hong Kong, China
Panel 1 focused on IIOE's empowerment of higher education workforce, which was moderated by Prof. Lim Cher Ping. Dr. Grace Oakley, Associate Dean of Graduate College of Education, University of Western Australia, Dr. Clément Lobo, Deputy Director of Techno-pedagogy, Virtual University of Côte d'Ivoire, Dr. Mulat Asnake, Director of Continuing and Distance Education Office, Addis Ababa University, and Dr. Abdoulaye Salifou, Chief of Education, UNESCO Liaison Office to African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa shared their experiences and suggestions on IIOE's customisation and implementation of professional development programs in different countries and regions. The speakers fully recognised IIOE's contribution in supporting partner HEIs during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the continuity of teaching and learning. Looking ahead, representatives from partner HEIs and experts suggested strengthening the localization of IIOE's professional development programs, improving the quality of IIOE's professional development content, focusing on building digital leadership, and encouraging more female teachers to participate in IIOE's professional development activities.
Dr. Grace Oakley, Associate Dean of College of Education, University of Western Australia (Top left); Dr. Clément Lobo, Deputy Director of Techno-pedagogy, Virtual University of Côte d'Ivoire (Bottom left); Dr. Mulat Asnake, Director of Continuing and Distance Education Office, Addis Ababa University (Top right); Dr. Abdoulaye Salifou, Chief of Education, UNESCO Liaison Office to African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Bottom right)
Panel discussion 2 was moderated by Ms. Bi Xiaohan, Assistant Director and Chief of Africa and West Asia Programme Office, UNESCO-ICHEI. She introduced the new directions of IIOE National Centres in the context of IIOE's new strategy. Representatives from IIOE National Centers in Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya summarized the milestones of their respective national pilot projects and raised challenges such as scaling and localization of teacher training, quality of online courses, and inadequate digital infrastructure.Based on this, Prof. Mona Abdel-Aal Elzahry, Executive Director of Education Strategy Administration, Ain Shams University (Egypt), Director of IIOE Egypt National Centre, pointed out that IIOE Egypt National Centre will build a more conducive institutional environment for digital teaching and learning, continue to expand IIOE's local network, promote the scaling and localization of teacher training, and build a national multi-stakeholder dialogue platform for digital teaching and learning. Prof. Muhammed Bashir Mu'azu, Head of Computer Engineering Department, Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria), Director of IIOE Nigeria National Centre, emphasized that the success of the pilot project at Ahmed Bello University has contributed to a shift in teachers' thinking, leading to a consensus among stakeholders to promote digital teaching and learning. IIOE Nigeria National Centre will continue to scale up teacher training and promote the application of digital teaching pedologies to drive innovative teaching practices. Prof. Justus Inyega, Director of IIOE Kenya National Centre, University of Nairobi, said that IIOE Kenya National Centre will use the pilot project as a starting point to encourage more Kenyan universities to join IIOE and to serve the digital transformation of higher education throughout Kenya and East Africa.
Prof. Mona Abdel-Aal Elzahry, Director of IIOE Egypt National Centre (Left), Prof. Muhammed Bashir Mu'azu, Director of IIOE Nigeria National Centre (Middle), Prof. Justus Inyega, Director of IIOE Kenya National Centre, (Right)
Panel discussion 3 was moderated by Prof. Paul Prinsloo, Research Professor in Open Distance Learning, University of South Africa. Mr. Peter Wells, Chief of Education, UNESCO Multi-sectoral Office for Southern Africa, and Prof. Bouchra Lebzar, Centre for Lifelong Learning and Certification, Cadi Ayyad University (Morocco), discussed the promotion of research-based practice and the use of practice to drive research to better contribute to the digital transformation of IIOE partner HEIs.
Mr. Peter Wells emphasized the importance of conducting evidence-based research, sharing promising case studies and practices, and promoting cross-country high education accreditation. Bouchra Lebzar shared the experience and results of the first IIOE teacher training program for Francophone countries, which was developed by the Cadi Ayyad University and UNESCO-ICHEI. She emphasized the importance of practicing learner-centered concepts in teacher professional development and "human-centered" use of technology and digital resources in order to truly improve the quality of education.
Prof. Paul Prinsloo, Research Professor in Open Distance Learning, University of South Africa (Left); Mr. Peter Wells, Chief of Education, UNESCO Multi-sectoral Office for Southern Africa (Middle), Prof. Bouchra Lebzar, Centre for Lifelong Learning and Certification, Cadi Ayyad University (Right)
Finally, Prof. Lim Cher Ping expressed his gratitude to the participants for their active participation. He pointed out that IIOE will continue co-constructing and sharing with IIOE partner HEIs in Africa, achieving the localization of IIOE content, language and strategies to benefit the higher education workforce and HEIs in more countries. Accreditation of professional development and inclusiveness of digital education are also important topics for IIOE's development.
The rich and diverse perspectives of this consultation provided important references for the future direction of IIOE in Africa, and coalesced the consensus of IIOE's partner HEIs in Africa to continuously promote the digital transformation of higher education. The views of the participating members will be integrated into the IIOE three-year report, to ensure the future development of IIOE will align with the actual needs of digital transformation of higher education in Africa.
On 1 December, 2022, the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) organized the IIOE African Regional Consultation. Under the theme of "Charting the Way Forward for the Digital Transformation of Higher Education in Africa", representatives from IIOE partner HEIs in Africa, UNESCO offices in Africa, and international higher education experts
