First World Summit of Mega Universities
Heads of world’s largest universities meet in Shanghai
In response to UNESCO's call for international
cooperation, the Chinese National Commission of UNESCO,
China Central Radio and TV University, Shanghai Distance Education Group,
Shanghai TV University and UNESCO Headquarters in Paris jointly organized the 2003
World Summit of Mega Universities – those with the largest enrolments of
students in the world and offering education at a distance. The two-day event
was held in Shanghai, China, on 6-7 November 2003 with the theme “Innovation
and Collaboration – JointAction for the Future of DistanceEducation.”
Participating in the World Summit were the
Presidents or Vice Chancellors of mega universities from
several countries including China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Pakistan,
Spain, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of
America. A high-level delegation from UNESCO Headquarters consisting of
UNESCO's two Assistant Director Generals
for Education and Communication, namely Sir John Daniel, and Dr.
A.W.Khan, along with other senior officials of UNESCO were present. Government
representatives and university leaders from Bangladesh, China, Cambodia,
Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam and Uzbekistan also attended the
summit as observers.
The objective of
the summit was to provide a forum for presidents or vice-chancellors of mega
universities to exchange best practices, ideas, visions and innovative
strategies to tap the potential of distance education, open learning and
on-line teaching/learning in the provision of life-long education and the
development of a learning society. Besides this, the summit participants
explored the possibilities of international cooperation and networking.
After the two-day deliberations, the Presidents and Vice
Chancellors of Mega Universities signed the 2003 Shanghai Declaration, which
officially launched the establishment of the worldwide network called Global
Mega University Net (GMUNET) to promote mututal understanding and academic
solidarity. The areas for cooperation (related to open and distance learning
curriculum development; ICT and training; joint ventures and policies) were
also prioritised in the declaration.
The next World Summit of Mega Universities will be hosted
in 2005 by Indira Gandhi National Open University with Prof H.P. Dixit as
chairperson.
Reference: http://03summit.shtvu.edu.cn/
Regional training workshop on ODL, Shanghai
Policy makers review the Asia-Pacific ODL KB website
3-7 November 2003. Open and distance learning
(ODL) policy
makers from 14 countries flew to
Shanghai to look closely at ODL information tools
developed through UNESCO including the Asia-Pacific Open and Distance Learning
for Higher Education Knowledge Base or the ODL KB website.
3 November 2003. Opening Ceremony of the Training
Workshop forPolicy
Makers on Distance Education and Open Learning
The policy makers –from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China,
India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan,
Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam – gave the Asia-Pacific ODL KB a positive
rating overall, but suggested many points of improvement in content, design and
usability features. The workshop participants also contributed country
information for the databases housed within the ODL KB website.
Workshop participants are guided through navigating and
reviewing the Asia-Pacific Open and Distance Learning for Higher Education
Knowledge Base
At the end of the five-day workshop, participants came up
with a list of recommendations including future directions for the ODL KB
website as well as future meetings.
In addition to reviewing the ODL KB website, the training
workshop also allowed participants to gain knowledge and share country papers
on open and distance learning in the region.
Keynote speakers and resource persons for the training
workshop included: Prof. Wang Yibing (Adviser for the Secretariat of the
Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and Shanghai Distance Education Group);
Prof. Insung Jung of the International Christian University in Tokyo; Prof.
Chaiyong Brahmawong, a founder and former Vice-President for Academic Affairs,
Sukhothai Thammathirat University, Thailand; Ms. Carmelita Villanueva of UNESCO
Bangkok; and Ms. Zeynep Varoglu of UNESCO Paris.
The workshop was deliberately scheduled within the same
week and venue as the First World Summit so that the participants could join
the first-day events (as observers) of the summit.
The training workshop was organized by UNESCO Asia and
Pacific Regional Bureau for Education and hosted by the Shanghai TV University
and the Shanghai Distance Education Group.
AAOU 2003 conference papers online
Access more than 70 AAOU papers with a click
Following the 17th AAOU annual conference
on 12-14 November 2003, the host organization, Sukhothai
Thammathirat Open University, has made uploaded more than 70 conference papers
for public access. Papers for the plenary sessions, concurrent sessions and
poster sessions may be viewed from the AAOU 2003 website.
Attended by more than 200 delegates across Asia- Pacific,
the papers for the 17th AAOU Annual Conference were in line with the main
theme, “Networking and Partnership for Strengthening Collaboration in Open and
Distance Education” and four sub-themes:
• Community and Industry-based ODE Programmes
• Collaboration in the Digital Era
• Collaboration in Media, Methods, Assessment and Quality
• Policy, Strategy and Scope
Speakers for the plenary sessions included: Professor Dr.
Wichit Srisa-an, Member of the Thai Parliament and Chairman of the House of
Representatives Standing Committee on Education in Thailand; Dato Professor Dr.
Gajaraj Dhanarajan President and Chief Executive Officer, The Commonwealth of
Learning; Professor Dr. Michael W. Churton, Director of Distance Learning,
University of South Florida; and Professor Paul Bacsich, Director of Special
Projects at UK eUniversities Worldwide Limited.
During the conference, Prof. Ram Takwale, Founder
Vice-Chancellor of the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, was
granted the 2003 AAOU Meritorious Service Award for his role in advancing the
cause of open and distance learning in Asia.
The 18th AAOU annual conference will be hosted by
Shanghai TV University on 2-4 December 2004 with the theme, “Equal access to
quality education – mission and challenge to open universities.”
2004 ICDE Conference, Hong Kong
http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/hk2003/
After months of postponement, the 21st
conference of the International Council for Open and
Distance Education (ICDE) will finally push through on 18 - 21 February 2004.
The Open University of Hong Kong will be hosting the conference with the
theme,“Lifelong learning the networked world.”
The conference will cover three areas of education –
basic education, higher education and continuing education including company
and workforce training. Within each area, the conference will explore the
challenges of providing lifelong
learning opportunities through open and distance
education systems that are enhanced by information and communication technology
(ICT) networks, under the following streams:
• philosophy, policies and strategies
• content and skills
• pedagogies and technologies
• support and services
• management
• research and evaluation
• quality assurance and accreditation.
The core events of the formal conference programme will
be plenary sessions and discussions, parallel sessions, poster sessions, expert
panel discussions and special sessions.
Practically every two years since 1938, ICDE has been
organising World Conferences on Open and Distance Education. These conferences
are major events, and offer a large variety of presentations on the issues
related to open and distance education in all parts of the world.
Visit http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/hk2003/ for more information
about the 2004 ICDE Conference in Hong Kong.
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