On Decemeber 8th, 2023, the 2023 International Advisory Committee (IAC) Meeting of the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) was convened both online and in-person at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, China. The meeting was chaired by Professor LIM Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, and Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong, China. Upon the historic moment of the renewal of the designation of UNESCO-ICHEI as a category Ⅱ centre under the auspices of UNESCO, the meeting was held to review UNESCO-ICHEI's fruitful outcomes since its inception and jointly envision the roadmap of the forthcoming eight years.

The participants included (in alphabetical order): CHENG Jiangang, Professor at Institute of Education of Tsinghua University, and Consultant of Education Technology of UNESCO-ICHEI; Grace Oakley, Associate Professor and Deputy Dean of the Graduate School of Education, University of Western Australia; LIM Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, and Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong, China; Paul Prinsloo, Research Professor in Open Distance Learning, University of South Africa; SHEN Xiaoli, Chief Culture Officer of UNESCO-ICHEI; WANG Min, Industry-Academy Cooperation Senior Consultant of UNESCO-ICHEI; YANG Shu, Director of Institute for Central Asia Studies of Lanzhou University, and Consultant of Central Asia of UNESCO-ICHEI; ZHAN Tao, Director of UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE); ZHAO Jianhua, Professor and Deputy Director of Center for Future Education Research of SUSTech, and Senior Expert of UNESCO-ICHEI. Also present at the meeting were JIN Li, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, and Vice President of SUSTech; LIANG Jiansheng, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI; BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI; LI Ming, General-Secretary of IIOE Secretariat and founding Director of UNESCO-ICHEI; HAN Wei, former Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI; and other members of UNESCO-ICHEI.

Director JIN Li commenced his speech by extending his sincere gratitude to the IAC. He highlighted that in May 2023, UNESCO approved the renewal of UNESCO-ICHEI as a category Ⅱ centre under the auspices of UNESCO, and concluded the corresponding Agreement for an eight-year period, symbolising a new era for UNESCO-ICHEI. Under the leadership of the founding Director, LI Ming, UNESCO-ICHEI has identified its functions and missions progressively, adhered to the implementation of innovative models and the integration of global resources, and achieved remarkable development since its inception in 2016. The next eight years will witness a dramatic shift in higher education, international cooperation, and technology development. With the disruptions around the corner, UNESCO-ICHEI is in dire need of future development strategies and pathways to cultivate its core competitiveness.

BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, delivered the UNESCO-ICHEI 2016-2023 Work Report. Leveraging technological empowerment, and utilising the partner alliance as a solid foundation, UNESCO-ICHEI has engaged in multi-level, and multilateral collaboration with industry, academia, international organisations, and corresponding government departments worldwide. Flagship projects, namely the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) and Smart Classrooms, among others, have been launched. UNESCO-ICHEI has conducted pilot programs in blended learning, notably the Micro-certification for Higher Education Teaching Personnel Project, etc., empowering digital transformation in higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries with a view to foster the achievement of the Education 2030 Agenda and the SDG 4. Through seven years of development, UNESCO-ICHEI has evolved into a specialised institution within the UNESCO community, dedicated itself to the empowerment of digital capabilities for teachers in HEIs, and built a significant international influence.

Executive Deputy Director LIANG Jiansheng introduced the UNESCO-ICHEI eight-year development plan. Within the era of digital transformation in higher education, UNESCO-ICHEI perceives challenges as a driving force, centring around four major functions: knowledge production, capacity building, technical support, and information sharing. UNESCO-ICHEI will further engage in high-level intergovernmental dialogues and policy advocacy, strengthen collaborative efforts between academia, industry, and research through flagship publications such as the CLOUD, and strive to evolve into an international, and high-level professional think tank, policy advisor, and cooperation platform. UNESCO-ICHEI will facilitate the formation of an interconnected education ecosystem with joint contribution and shared benefits.

Subsequently, experts deliberated on UNESCO-ICHEI’s seven-year achievements and the eight-year strategic outline. Grace Oakley proposed that UNESCO-ICHEI should drive the development of bottom-up and practice-based research outcomes. The IIOE National Centres shall play a pivotal role in translating these outcomes into practice. By organising events such as the inaugural 'Higher Education Digitalisation Pioneer Case Award', UNESCO-ICHEI aims to encourage contributions of indigenous knowledge from the Global South in the realm of higher education. Grace Oakley went on to suggest the establishment of a long-term mechanism for project execution, to ensure continuous monitoring of progress and guarantee tangible results.

Paul Prinsloo gave credit to UNESCO-ICHEI's practice, stating that it highly appreciates regional disparities on which its solutions for higher education innovation are based, contributing to the implementation of the UN agenda on a global scale. While advocating bottom-up research in higher education institutes, UNESCO-ICHEI also champions a balanced and reciprocal partnership between universities and businesses. Going forward, UNESCO-ICHEI may move beyond publishing reports to a comprehensive application of research outcomes in practice.

Recognising the new plan of UNESCO-ICHEI, ZHAN Tao shared his recommendations: first, strengthening policy dialogues through campaigns such as educational leadership forums and educational leaders' field visits to enterprises; second, expanding research and training in the governance of education with the integration of AI to empower higher education; third, promoting learner-centric and outcome-based research ahead of the application of cutting-edge technology, while calling for "green lights" over "red lines" for the technology employment; fourth, acquiring sustainable funding through the establishment of a foundation. ZHAN Tao looked forward to a long-term future collaboration between UNESCO-ICHEI and UNESCO-IITE.

CHENG Jiangang commented on the means for UNESCO-ICHEI to optimise its planning, including further clarification and differentiation of its three-year, five-year, and eight-year goals, as well as attention to the language used in the planning. He further recommended the exploration of avenues such as online training programs to enhance educational leaders' capacity to understand, support, and evaluate the growth of AI. CHENG suggested that UNESCO-ICHEI may use its Research Report on Digital Transformation of Higher Education Teaching and Learning, jointly released with Tsinghua University, as a basis for forward-looking and leading research in the future. While collaborating with the academic community, government departments, and UNESCO, quality and caution should be prioritised to maintain a steady progress in pooling resources for partners. Internally, UNESCO-ICHEI should strive for internal inclusion, sustainability and the capacity to self-evolution.

YANG Shu offered his insight on effective regional cooperation, with Central Asia as an example. He cautioned against a "one-size-fits-all" approach, and underlined the global strategic importance of Central Asia as well as its internal diversity among different nations, advocating for more customised and localised strategies of cooperation. Partners shall be driven to actively participate in collaborative mechanisms like the IIOE National Centre with a result-oriented approach, and the coverage of ICHEI's learning resources can be extended by launching Russian courses to better serve regional institutions.

Photo Source: UNESCO-ICHEI Official Website

ZHAO Jianhua advised that UNESCO-ICHEI undertakes the task of addressing challenges such as the cultivation of talents in the age of AI, the governance of emerging technologies, the global achievement of SDG 4 pertinent to quality education, and the alignment of UNESCO-ICHEI with UNESCO agenda including gender equality and Priority Africa while cultivating its distinctive features.

SHEN Xiaoli expressed the need for UNESCO-ICHEI to aim higher and look further in its course of self-enhancement as a leader and role model, while remaining true to its founding missions and inherent qualities, as it ponders on the question of "what are we, and how do we develop".

WANG Min remarked that UNESCO-ICHEI should strengthen its collaboration with industry and academia, particularly through investigation of the needs of enterprises to 'go global', so that enterprises may seize the opportunities emerging in the global higher education market with timely response, and enjoy substantial and lasting benefits from the collaboration with UNESCO-ICHEI. He also pointed out that UNESCO roadmaps can serve as an inspiration for UNESCO-ICHEI in developing its sensible goals, which may be detailed and dynamically adjusted in response to the evolving landscape. To implement such goals, emphasis should be placed on institutional regulations in the interest of standard operations and adherence to norms.

LIM Cher Ping highlighted the consensus among the panel. Building upon its uniqueness, UNESCO-ICHEI is recommended to encourage partners to participate further in tangible research and policy-setting, making its distinctive contributions to higher education governance and leadership, while adhering to the practice of gender equality and the leveraging of regional distinctiveness. In terms of internal governance, UNESCO-ICHEI can establish a diverse talent pool, expand diverse funding sources, and implement a scientifically flexible evaluation system to augment the vitality and adaptability of ICHEI.

LI Ming, Secretary-General of the IIOE Secretariat, began his concluding speech by thanking the experts for their insights. He suggested that UNESCO-ICHEI should transform itself into a think tank and thought leader in the digital transformation and innovation of higher education. It should be a catalyst for more cooperation, bottom-up research approaches, open education resources, and fruitful academia-industry collaboration. Furthermore, UNESCO-ICHEI should be able to produce diverse public goods such as policies, regulations, and standards by participating in high-level dialogues and policy formulation. As a Category II Centre under the auspices of UNESCO, UNESCO-ICHEI is encouraged to uphold multilateralism, inclusion, diversity, and equal partnerships with universities, enterprises, government agencies, international organisations, and other stakeholders, aiming for shared benefits. On this basis, UNESCO-ICHEI should find ways to localise the UNESCO global agenda, such as Education 2030 and the UNESCO’s global priorities of gender equality and Africa. The ultimate goal is to contribute to an international ecosystem of quality higher education and the sustainable development of UNESCO-ICHEI itself.