On August 22, the 2020 Global Smart Education Conference – “International Forum for ICT in Higher Education Transformation” (Forum) was held online and on-site, and was broadcast live through XuetangX. The Center for Higher Education Research (CHER) was one of the co-organizers of the Forum. About ten thousand people tuned into the live broadcast.

The theme for the Forum was “ICT Promotion of Higher Education Innovation and Development.” More than ten experts from China, the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries discussed cutting-edge topics such as ICT innovations in higher education and international higher education cooperation.

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Education Bureau Director Libing WANG opened the Conference. He said that the Forum provided an excellent opportunity to explore educational development opportunities through the application of ICT. It also offered delegates the chance to find ways to respond and implement the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around education.

UNESCO-ICHEI Director Ming LI introduced the innovative work carried out by ICHEI since its establishment. He pointed out that the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) has carried a variety of training activities that have supported university teachers in Africa and Asia.

During the Forum, CHER Professor Jianhua ZHAO discussed the 2019 China White Paper on Internet Learning. East China Normal University Professor Xiaoqing GU went through the 2019 China Higher Education Internet Learning Development Report. Beijing Normal University Academic Affairs Department (Graduate School) Technical Director Wei ZHOU released the VSE Primer: Concept, Technology, Architecture, and Implementation of Virtual and Simulation Experiment.

Higher Education Press Vice President Yun HAN, CHER Visiting Professor Chirp LIM, University of Hong Kong Professor Nancy Law, Nanyang Technological University Associate Professor Dr. Wenli Chen, Rain Classroom founder Shuaiguo WANG, Charles Sturt University Associate Professor Dr. Xiaodi HANG and University of Derby Professor Nicholas Bowkill all delivered excellent keynote speeches.

The round table discussion featured Peking University Professor Xiaoming LI,  University of Hong Kong Professor Carol CHAN, East China Normal University Professor Xiaoqing GU, and Dr. Wenli CHEN.

The Forum provided multiple perspectives on exploring the uses of ICT to promote innovative developments in higher education. The in-depth discussions were conducive to improving education quality, expanding its scale, and taking advantage of the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 situation.