The International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) successfully held the Sub-forum 1 of the Global MOOC and Online Education Conference (GMOEC) on 6 December 2021, themed "Building Future-Ready Higher Education through Equitable and Quality Online and Blended Teaching and Learning". This Sub-forum 1 was one of the six sub-forums of GMOEC 2021, all relevant to the general theme "Leading Higher Education Innovation in the New Digital Era-Together for a Shared Future". Sub-forum 1 conducted deep discussions on how to implement equitable and quality online and blended teaching and learning to build future-ready higher education. Stakeholders shared their insights and experiences from the perspectives of global discourse and research, international/national policies and outstanding practices from higher education institutions worldwide through Keynote Presentations, Policy Roundtable, and Selected Case Presentations. Representatives from the ministries of education, higher education institutions and leading experts in the education field attended the conference, covering 15 countries of four regions.

Highlights of 2021 GMOEC Sub-forum 1
Prof. Qikun Xue, President of SUSTech, delivered the opening speech at the GMOEC Sub-forum. He pointed out that MOOC and online education have become the driving force for equitable and quality higher education and solutions to the global education crisis. He also said the SUSTech looks forward to participating fully in and promoting higher education worldwide.

Keynote Presentation
During the keynote presentation, Prof. Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of Practice in International Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and member of the International Commission on the Futures of Education at UNESCO, delivered a keynote speech titled Innovation in Higher Education, Using Technology to Build Back Better. Professor Reimers said: "Studying the University's responses during the pandemic provides insight into its responsiveness to complex social challenges, and its ability to operate as learning organisations, open to their outside environment." Dr. Roberta Bassett, Global Tertiary Education Lead at the World Bank Group, delivered a keynote speech titled STEERing Tertiary Education——Toward Resilient Systems that Deliver for All. During the speech, Dr. Roberta Bassett presented the World Bank's STEERing framework and approaches to developing effective, equitable, efficient and resilient higher education systems.

Policy Roundtable
Experts, scholars, representatives of higher education institutions, education officials and policymakers from West Asia, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region ran the Policy Roundtable titled Creating a Conducive Policy Environment for Building Future-Ready Higher Education driven by OBTL. Chaired by Dr. Libing Wang, Chief of Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development at UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, the session consisted of Dr. Janaka Jayalath, Deputy Director General of Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission in Sri Lanka, Professor Ulanbek Mambetakunov, Vice-President of the Academy of Education under the Ministry of Education and Science in Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Succeed Mubanga, Director of Planning and Information at the Ministry of Technology and Science in Zambia, Professor Tonny Oyana, Principal of College of Computing and Information Sciences, Makerere University in Uganda. The group discussed relevant strategies adopted by HEIs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, they highlighted that to meet the learning and teaching challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, HEIs should focus on building strong networks and digital infrastructure. The Policy Roundtable was highly productive and rendered fruitful results, sending positive signals of working closely together to meet the challenges and foster a favourable future environment for higher education.

Selected Case Presentations
The selected case presentations set "Innovative and Contextualised Practices in implementing Equitable and Quality OBTL" as the theme, and the session was chaired by Professor Cher Ping LIM, Chief Expert of IIOE at UNESCO-ICHEI and the Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong. Guest speakers shared their valuable insights on practice and experience of their respective colleges and universities in carrying out OBTL against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Fatima-Zohra Iflahen, Vice President of Cadi Ayyad University in Morocco, pointed out that how to build equitable and quality OBTL and promote it in the world is an important issue at present. Professor Danaa Ganbat, Director of Open Education Centre at Mongolian University of Science and Technology, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolian HEIs are rapidly moving towards online teaching, and local universities should accelerate the implementation of multi-dimensional measures such as research on online education and capacity building of teachers to ensure the effective implementation of local OBTL. Mr. Paul Kariuki, Director of Information Communication and Technology Centre at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, noted that since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Nairobi has upgraded its ICT infrastructure and worked with telecommunications providers to build an online education platform, ensuring the implementation and quality of local online education. In addition, Mr. Mingyu Guan, Global Talent Alliance Partner Operation Director from Huawei, introduced Huawei's "Learn ON" action plan and "Instructor-led learning platform" project.

Significance of GMOEC Sub-forum 1

In face of the COVID-19 pandemic, MOOC and online education provide pedagogical solutions to educational challenges for tens of thousands of higher education institutions worldwide. Today, MOOC and online education have charted toward open education resource sharing and become leading roles in response to the global education crisis. This year's Global MOOC and Online Education Conference continues to tackle the global education crisis while exploring the future of online education.

UNESCO recently released Reimagining Our Futures Together: A new social contract for education, highlighting the crucial role of higher education institutions in the future of education, from supporting research and the advancement of science to becoming contributing and collaborative partners to other stakeholders around the globe. The Sub-forum 1 hosted by UNESCO-ICHEI, themed "Building Future-Ready Higher Education through Equitable and Quality Online and Blended Teaching and Learning", provides a more concrete direction for global MOOC and online education development. At the same time, the sub-forum may serve as an informative platform for key stakeholders of higher education worldwide to refer to developing and localising equitable and quality online and blended teaching and learning (OBTL) strategies. It also aims to promote the digital transformation of higher education and chart the way forward for using digital technology, implementing equitable and quality OBTL and collaboratively reimagining the future of education.

Relevant Organisations

Global MOOC Alliance:
Initiated by Tsinghua University, Global MOOC Alliance is a small and diverse group of 17 world-leading universities and 3 online education platforms from across 14 countries in all 6 continents and speaks 10 different languages. Global MOOC Alliance serves as a mechanism for exchange and cooperation, providing leadership of global higher education efforts to address digital education challenges and implement practical policies in local communities and around the world. Key activities include collaborative teaching, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and public advocacy.