On January 8th, 2022, the Second Session of the Second Governing Board of International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) was successfully held in Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. The meeting was chaired by Mr. CHEN Zhifeng, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Education Bureau. The Governing Board Members present at this meeting included (in alphabetical order): Mr. CHEN Yidan, Core Founder of Tencent, Founder of the Tencent Charity Foundation, Founder of Yidan Prize, and Founder of Wuhan College; Mr. CHEN Zhifeng, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Education Bureau (on behalf of Governing Board Member Mr. CHEN Qiuming); Mr. Freddy Boey, Deputy President of National University of Singapore; Mr. JIN Li, Acting Deputy President of SUSTech (on behalf of Governing Board Member Mr. XUE Qikun); Mr. LI Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI; Mr. QIN Changwei, Secretary General of the National Commission of China for UNESCO; Mr. Shahbaz Khan, Director of UNESCO Beijing Office; and Mr. TANG Qian, former Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO.

Also present at this meeting were Ms. HAN Wei, Executive Deputy Director, Mr. WANG Guobin, Deputy Director, Mr. CHENG Jiangang, Director of the Institute of Higher Education Digital Transformation, and all the staff of UNESCO-ICHEI. The topics for discussion of this meeting included (1) UNESCO-ICHEI’s work report for 2021 and work plan for 2022; (2) debriefing on the Project 311 of UNESCO-ICHEI; (3) report on the budget execution of UNESCO-ICHEI in 2021; and (4) report on the renewal evaluation of ICHEI as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre.

Mr. LI Ming reporting the work of 2021 and work plan for 2022

Mr. LI Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, reported on the work summary for 2021 and work plan for 2022. From the perspectives of the progress and effectiveness of key projects, building a higher education innovation think tank with international influence, layout of ICHEI’s global partnership network, and the renewal evaluation of ICHEI and its internal capacity development, Mr. LI Ming comprehensively summarized ICHEI’s work achievements in the previous year. Regarding the work plan for 2022, Mr. LI Ming said that, in the next step, ICHEI will consolidate the effectiveness of the first phase of the UNESCO-Shenzhen Funds-in-Trust project and promote the establishment of the second phase, continuously enhance the impact and long-term results of the Smart Classroom Project, steadily promote the construction and operation of the IIOE platform, strengthen the output of research results on digital transformation of higher education, and strengthen international communication and continuously enhance the influence of ICHEI.

Mr. CHENG Jiangang reporting on the Project 311

Mr. CHENG Jiangang, Director of the Institute of Higher Education Digital Transformation of UNESCO-ICHEI, reported to the Governing Board on the Project 311. Mr. CHENG said, based on the urgent needs to to summarize the theories and practices in the process of digital transformation of higher education and vocational education in the information age, UNESCO-ICHEI has launched the Project 311, which includes The Handbook on Systematically Promoting Blended Learning and Teaching Reform, the Handbook on Developing Teachers' Teaching Competencies for Higher Education in the Information Age, The Handbook on Developing Teachers' Teaching Competencies for Vocational Education in the Information Age, the Research Report on the Digital Transformation of Higher Education, as well as the Education Innovation through Technology (EITT) Network.

Mr. WANG Guobin reporting on the budgetary execution in 2021

Mr. WANG Guobin, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, reported on the budgetary execution of UNESCO-ICHEI in 2021 and analyzed the flow of funds, for deliberation by the Governing Board.

Ms. HAN Wei reporting on the renewal evaluation

Ms. HAN Wei, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, reported on the renewal evaluation of UNESCO-ICHEI as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre. She briefed on the positive feedback on UNESCO-ICHEI’s work from UNESCO Beijing Office and the independent evaluation experts commissioned by it, and reported on the next steps about signing the agreement with UNESCO.

Members of the Governing Board presenting

Members of the Governing Board reviewed and discussed the above reports, fully affirmed and spoke highly of the remarkable achievements made by UNESCO-ICHEI, and put forward relevant suggestions and comments. (In the order of speaking)

Mr. TANG Qian highlighted the recommendations put forward in the renewal evaluation report of UNESCO-ICHEI. First of all, it is hoped that UNESCO-ICHEI could have a clear mechanism in project evaluation to better evaluate the specific impact of the projects. Secondly, it is recommended to strengthen the work on gender equality. Thirdly, it is suggested to strengthen South-North-South cooperation from a strategic perspective. Mr. TANG Qian also indicated that while expanding its own vision, UNESCO-ICHEI should fully integrate own resources and characteristics to steadily advance the work.

Mr. QIN Changwei congratulated UNESCO-ICHEI on its substantial achievements driven by its precise positioning, and suggested that UNESCO-ICHEI should stick to the current direction and continue to forge ahead, seriously study the renewal evaluation report, strengthen gender equality through the digital transformation of higher education, and pay more attention to the latest developments within the UNESCO family and in the field of higher education, and further enhance the internationalization of UNESCO-ICHEI by expanding its international partnership network.

Mr. Freddy Boey said that UNESCO-ICHEI has made timely contributions at the global scale during the special time period caused by the pandemic. He suggested that UNESCO-ICHEI should pay close attention to the "last mile" of the digital transformation of higher education. The willingness to accept higher education digital transformation among the students is a major barrier. UNESCO-ICHEI could integrate more resources from the high-tech companies to bridge the "last mile" of the digital transformation of higher education.

Mr. CHEN Yidan indicated that the positioning of UNESCO-ICHEI is well integrated with the internet and internationalization. It is in the right direction to carry out the International Institute of Online Education and the Smart Classroom Project. The establishment of the Institute of Higher Education Digital Transformation has allowed UNESCO-ICHEI to strengthen research based on its project practices. Mr. CHEN Yidan suggested UNESCO-ICHEI should make longer-term planning so that more education practitioners will recognize, participate and support UNESCO-ICHEI’s projects.

Mr. JIN Li, entrusted by Mr. XUE Qikun to speak, said that the work of UNESCO-ICHEI is a way of deeply implementing the concept of "community with a shared future for mankind" proposed by President XI Jinping of China. He pointed out that what UNESCO-ICHEI has been doing is to use the theories and practices of China in its endeavors of higher education digital transformation to impact developing countries. He hoped that UNESCO-ICHEI could exert more influence and constantly pioneer in higher education innovation in both China and abroad.

Mr. Shahbaz Khan said UNESCO-ICHEI's approach is a representative and model of how the education community should respond to social change, and hoped that UNESCO-ICHEI will continue to make contributions, including technical support, experience sharing, creating better platforms, etc., to help realize the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr. LI Ming replied by saying that the suggestions put forward by all the governing board members are very valuable. UNESCO-ICHEI will thoroughly and seriously consider them and improve for the better in the next stage. For example, pay more attention to gender equality and the digital education for women and girls, attach great importance to the integration of research and project implementation, and strengthen the talent building by attracting PhD and postdocs to join the centre.

Mr. CHEN Zhifeng delivering concluding remarks

Mr. CHEN Zhifeng, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Education Bureau, made concluding remarks and put forward three suggestions to UNESCO-ICHEI. Firstly, continue to deeply advance the Belt and Road Initiative, promote international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and construct a distinctive platform in Shenzhen to facilitate the Belt and Road Initiative at the national level. Secondly, establish a platform for higher education internationalization in Shenzhen, facilitate to promote the high-quality development of higher education in Shenzhen, expand international cooperation and exchanges with higher education institutions in developed countries on the basis of further deepening cooperation with colleges and universities in Asian and African developing countries, and promote more cooperation projects to land in Shenzhen. Thirdly, bring into full play the role of ICHEI as an international organization, make full use of its existing global network resources to support the development of the Research and Training Centre for UNESCO Asia-Africa TVET Project at the Shenzhen Polytechnic, and help more international organizations to settle in Shenzhen.