Building a Worldwide Higher Education Community
| Technology in Higher Education |
Technology has an important impact on all aspects of higher education worldwide. It brings new opportunities for improving access and the quality of higher education. Yet, the inclusion of how to use technology to improve higher education is uneven from region to region, country within a region, and institutions within a country. Thus, while pursuing the important potential to bridge divides and to reduce inequalities in terms of access to knowledge and information, it is important to acknowledge that the risk of exacerbating existing or creating new inequalities is equally high as it requires means, infrastructure and human skills to harness the potential of technology in higher education. The aim of IAU’s action in this area is to pursue that the potential of technology is fully harnessed to improve the quality of higher education and to increase access to knowledge and education for all.
Strategic goals for 2016-2020:
The IAU strategic plan (2016-2020) outlines the following strategic objectives to guide the work of the Association in this area:
- Advocate for equity and solidarity between and within higher education institutions in ICT matters;
- Promote the design of inclusive ICT strategies in HEIs by encouraging and facilitating networking and cooperation between HEIs, international, and national bodies.
INTRODUCTION
The IAU activities in this field are organized around the following core functions:
Global advocacy
IAU placed technology as one of the four key priorities in its 2016-2020 Strategic Plan. The main priority for this period is to develop a policy statement, building on the previous statement: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Universities from 2004 and adapting it to the current context. An Expert Advisory Group (EAG) has been established to oversee the process. The EAG is composed of Board members and experts from different regions. It met in May 2018 to initiate the work.
Survey
As a global Association with members in all regions of the world, the IAU has a unique position to monitor trends around the world in order to favour exchange of best practices. The Association is currently developing a survey in to monitor the role of technology in higher education as a stocktaking exercise that will also serve to inform the revision of the statement Universities and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) from 2004.
Catalyst for collaboration and exchange
IAU has an important role to play as a catalyst for collaboration and exchange. In the field of technology and higher education, IAU seeks to pursue this mission through different activities.
One of them being this blog that allows Members to share their experience in this field including perspectives from all regions of the world. Visit the blog
IAU has also launched a new programme in 2019 which is the institutional site visits where higher education institutions that are very innovative or advanced in using technology in higher education in order to improve the quality or to widening access to higher education, invite IAU Members to attend a 2-day meeting to learn from their experiences.
Working Group:
The working group, composed of IAU Administrative Board members, provides advice to the Administrative Board and the Secretary General on the strategic direction in this field:
Chair
Remus Pricopie, Rector, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania
Members
Marta Losada Falk, Former President, Antonio Nariño University, Colombia
Pierre-André Pierre, Rector, Université Notre-Dame d’Haiti, Haiti
Daniel Hernandez Ruiperez, Former Rector, University of Salamanca, Spain
IAU Secretariat
Trine Jensen, Manager, Events and Projects
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GLOBAL ADVOCACY
IAU Policy Statement
In the context of the rapid development of technology, which affects society and higher education, IAU is currently developing a new IAU policy statement in order to outline the key principles and values that must underpin the digital transformation.
Expert Advisory Group
In order to oversee the drafting process, IAU established an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) composed of experts from different regions of the world as well as representatives of the IAU Administrative Board.
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Consult the list of the members of the Expert Advisory Group (EAG).
Hosted by the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA), the IAU Expert Advisory Group met in Bucharest, Romania on 28-29 May 2018 in order to commence the work. The structure and fundamental principles were discussed during the meeting in order to start building the policy statement.
It is the aim of IAU to have a large stakeholder consultation process in order to include the voice of most importantly the IAU Members, both also student representatives and the higher education community at large.
Consultation process
The first consultation process will be a collection of information from IAU Members and higher education institutions around the world in order to take stock of the current state of the digital transformation in higher education and the related opportunities as well as challenges. The overall drafting and consultation process will take place over the next two years (2018-2020) and the final version of the IAU Policy Statement will be submitted to the General Conference for adoption. The AIU 16th General Conference will take place in Dublin, Ireland in 2020.
IAU calls upon all Members to take an active part in the process and in shaping the digital transformation in higher education.
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OPEN CONSULTATION
Introduction
As a global Association with members in all regions of the world, the IAU has a unique position to monitor trends around the world in order to favour exchange of best practices. The Association is currently developing a survey in to monitor the role of technology in higher education as a stocktaking exercise that will inform the development of a new IAU Policy statement about the digital transformation in higher education.
The digital transformation in higher education and in society more broadly offers new opportunities to disseminate information, enhanced access to higher education, new learning pedagogies which are more student-centred among others. However, the digital transformation requires online access, technical devices to explore and benefit from the opportunities as well the necessary infrastructure (hard and soft), conditions which are very different among countries as well as within countries.
IAU plays an important role as a convener and facilitator for the exchange information and good practices beyond countries and beyond regions. IAU also strives for equal access to digital opportunities around the world, grounded in principles of collaboration and solidarity.
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Collectively defining and shaping the digital transformation in higher education
IAU is currently (2018-2020) in the process of developing a new policy statement in order to define the values, principles and ethics that must accompany the digital transformation in order to ensure that it contributes to the global common good. As part of the large consultation process for the development of the statement. IAU undertook an open consultation from 1 November 2018 to 1 April 2019 in order to take stock of the current state of digital transformation and to collect the views and opinions of the higher education community at large. The consultation was developed in collaboration with the Expert Advisory Committee (EAG) composed of Board members and experts from all regions of the world.
A report on the results and the proposed policy statement will be shared with IAU Members before the end of 2019.
Interested in receiving tailored updates and initiatives on Technology and Higher Education?
IAU SITE VISITS
Introduction
In March 2019, IAU launched a new programme entitled ‘Institutional Site Visits’. The purpose of these visits is to create opportunities for exchange among Members while meeting at a university that is very advanced in using digital innovations to improve higher education in order to learn from experiences at the host university. The aim of the programme is capacity building through exchange of information and experiences. The aim of the site visit is that the participants acquire new insights as to how to use technology and get ideas about how to adapt and use the information in his/her context.
The Institutional Site Visits are exclusively open to representatives from IAU Members (all categories). IAU charges a coordination fee of 150 € which covers the material and catering during the 2-day meeting. The fee does not include accommodation and travel.
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First IAU Site Visit at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
The first IAU Site Visit was hosted by Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) - the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) – which is the first fully online university worldwide. UOC welcomed 24 IAU Member representatives from 16 countries to Barcelona on 27-28 March in order to share their experience about online learning, the pedagogical and management model and its educational model based on personalization and accompanying students using e-learning.
When?: 27-28 March 2019
Where?: Barcelona, Spain
Watch a video from the Site Visit: click here
See the Agenda: click here
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Hosting an Institutional Site Visit
If you believe that your institution is a leader in this field and you wish to promote your institution and share your experience, consider hosting a site visit. Contact IAU to learn more.
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BLOG
IAU has launched a blog dedicated to the role of technology in higher education and to the transformation of higher education in the digital era. The aim of this blog is to share experiences and information about the digital transformation in higher education with perspectives from all regions of the world. IAU Members and beyond can share innovative initiatives and best practices or voice concern about developments in this field. IAU believes that through exchange and cooperation, we can contribute to shaping the digital transformation in higher education.
Click here to discover the blog
IAU invites its Members to consider contributing and submitting a contribution to IAU (max 800 words).
Please contact Trine Jensen for expressions of interest.
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