On September 6th, 2023, during UNESCO Digital Learning Week, the delegation of UNESCO-ICHEI had a meeting with Ms. Stephania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, and her colleagues from the higher education sector. Mr. LI Ming, Chair Professor of Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Prof. JIN Li, Chair Professor and Acting Dean of School of Business, Vice president of SUSTech, Prof. HOU Sheng Tao, Professor of Neurobiology, Director of the Brain Science Research Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, and Ms. BI Xiaohan, chief of Global Partnership and Programme Office of UNESCO-ICHEI, Mr.XUE Feng, chief of International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) of UNESCO-ICHEI, Ms.SU Rui, deputy chief of IIOE participated in the meeting. UNESCO-ICHEI introduced its ongoing programmes and future prospects and listened to the guidance and constructive comments from Ms. Giannini. Ms. Giannini highly appreciated the role of UNESCO-ICHEI in the transformation of higher education, especially the rapid expansion of IIOE global network. She emphasized her commitment to the use of technology in education, and hoped that UNESCO-ICHEI would continue to enhance its collaboration and synergies to exert greater impacts.
At the meeting, Ms. Bi Xiaohan, chief of Global Partnership and Programme Office, and Mr. Xue Feng, chief of IIOE, respectively presented achievements of International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) in the past three years and showed how UNESCO-ICHEI leveraged new technology to empower higher education innovation in developing countries and to improve the quality of education, and promote education equity contributed to the UNESCO 2030 Agenda and futures of education initiative.
Ms. Giannini highlighted UNESCO-ICHEI's pivotal role and its significant contribution to the transformation of higher education. She acknowledged the crucial impact of generative artificial intelligence on education landscape and expressed the expectation to jointly explore the improvement solutions through cooperation with UNESCO-ICHEI. She also indicated a keen interest in the ongoing development of UNESCO-ICHEI's initiatives. Additionally, the discussion extended to the integration of the IIOE network within the broader UNESCO framework, with an emphasis on fostering synergy and collaboration across different regions.
Prof. Li Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, pointed out that UNESCO-ICHEI empowers global partner HEIs to conduct quality digital transformation by offering micro-certification training to teachers, and by promoting industry-academia collaboration to address challenges regarding the integration of AI and education. He also extended the invitation to Ms. Giannini and the UNESCO Higher Education Sector to the IIOE Global Partners Summit on Digital Transformation of Higher Education, on which the successful cases exemplifying high-tech applications and industry-academia collaboration will be showcased, aiming to inspire deeper integration of AI and education.
Lastly, Ms. Giannini emphasized the importance of UNESCO-ICHEI's work and her belief that effective and visionary leadership and robust partnership connections will strengthen the power and benefit of both parties. Both sides clarified prospects for cooperation in the future.
On September 6th, 2023, during UNESCO Digital Learning Week, the delegation of UNESCO-ICHEI had a meeting with Ms. Stephania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, and her colleagues from the higher education sector. Mr. LI Ming, Chair Professor of Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Prof. JIN Li, Chair Professor and Acting Dean
