In preparation for the 6th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME6) in November 2017, the Ministry of Education of Korea hosted the inaugural ASEM Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Stakeholders’ Meeting on Thursday, 6 April 2017, in Seoul, Korea.
MOOCs are increasingly recognised and adopted as an integral part of new educational strategies in many countries across Asia and Europe. Building on the support received at the 1st ASEM Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) for ASEM ME6, this meeting sought to track the major positive developments of MOOCs, as well as initiate various collaborative projects involving MOOC stakeholders from across Asia and Europe.
In her opening remarks, Dr YOUNGWHA Kee, President of the National Institute for Lifelong Education in Korea, observed that “MOOCs have been playing a significant role in reforming and opening up higher education in Asia and Europe, thereby enhancing the country’s competitiveness, as well as laying the foundation for lifelong learning in the region”.
Mr Peter MACKENNEY, Project Executive for the Asia-Europe Foundation’s (ASEF) Education Department, joined some 30 other participants to share information and discuss in depth the scope of each project in the ASEM Network of MOOCs initiative, namely:
- Shared good practices in quality and innovative education
- Helped to nurture collaboration between ASEM Partners to achieve Goal 4 of the United Nation’s (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Discussed policies needed to build the next generation of workforce
The goal of these initiatives aligns with ASEF’s focus on lifelong learning under ASEF’s Education Policy Conference Series 2017.