Global collaboration key to navigating digital higher education

Prof. Alan Chan (top right) joining leaders of Tsinghua University, University of Exeter, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Secretariat at the online education dialogue.

Provost Alan Chan shared his views on digital higher education and how the University goes about it at an online conference featuring university vice-presidents and other leaders in the sector from mainland China, the UK and Sweden, among others.

At the Online Education Dialogue 2022 of the Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance hosted by Tsinghua University in late April, Prof. Chan shared CUHK’s approach to enhancing education through curriculum refinement, programme development, infrastructural redesign, pedagogical innovation and educational technology, noting how digital technology has been fully embedded in this process.

To ramp up the digital literacy and computational thinking skills of students, a new mandatory course is on the way. New interdisciplinary programmes, including one on learning design and technology, have been launched to nurture the next generation of learning technology specialists to shape the future of education.

Throughout the process, the University has allocated sufficient resources to ensure the learning environment grows with pedagogical innovations. Moreover, it is heedful of students with special educational needs and those who are economically disadvantaged, so that they can equally benefit from the use of technologies in teaching and learning.

‘There is no future to digital teaching and learning unless it becomes human-centric,’ said Prof. Chan. Pedagogy must therefore be infused in the design of educational technologies, which takes engagement with faculty members, students and industry partners to ensure user-friendliness.

‘The future of digital higher education development must serve the purpose of delivering the desired learning outcomes and global collaboration is really a must,’ affirmed Prof. Chan, citing the University’s participation in the Future17—Sustainable Development Goals Challenge Program in partnership with Quacquarelli Symonds and the University of Exeter; and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Virtual Student Exchange programme as examples. He called upon universities to form living learning laboratories to share resources and to work on new educational technology tools and pedagogical innovations.

Please revisit the webinar here.