On June 15th 2023, the ICESCO Chair in Open Education Inaugural Conference concluded successfully at the Faculty of Sciences at Mohammed V University in Rabat (FSR-UM5R), Morocco.
The Conference marked the establishment of the ICESCO Chair in Open Education at the Faculty of Sciences at Mohammed V University in Rabat, a scientific research project spanning the period 2023-2027. The Chair aims to raise awareness about Open Education and its transformative potential in the education system, and to ensure equitable access to inclusive and quality education by reducing barriers to access education and promoting Open Education and OER. The Chair also aims to enhance digital skills related to teaching and professionalisation of researchers and doctoral students through OER and Open Education.
The establishment of the ICESCO Chair in Open Education is the result of fruitful cooperation between ICESCO and Mohammed V University and with the international community. It serves as a crucial pillar in addressing the challenges of massification in education and promoting a culture of openness and knowledge sharing in Morocco and at a regional and global level.
With its comprehensive and diverse program, the ICESCO Chair will be an opportunity to strengthen the development of Higher Education in Morocco and ICESCO member states in line with several Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4, which focuses on equitable, inclusive, and quality education.
The Inaugural Conference on June 15th featured insightful discussions on the intersection of Open Education, digital transformation, and Artificial Intelligence. Esteemed representatives from FSR-UM5R, ICESCO, UNESCO, MOROCCO COM-NAT, and AUF delivered inspiring speeches highlighting the objectives and activities of the ICESCO Chair. The Conference included two round table discussions focusing on “Open Education and Digital Transformation” and “Open Education and AI.” The debates provided valuable insights into the transformative potential of Open Education in the digital age.
Part of the Conference was dedicated to presentations by strategic partners, including notable institutions like the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) from Spain, the University of Geneva (UniGe) from Switzerland, An-Najah National University (ANNU) from Palestine, as well as UNIMED. The collaborative efforts and support from these institutions were highly appreciated.
Professor Khalid Berrada, Director of the ICESCO Chair in Open Education, expressed his gratitude to the ICESCO Education sector for believing in the idea of creating such an initiative at FSR-UM5R, and also to Université Mohammed V and the Faculty of Science or Rabat for the institutional support to set up the Chair at the University. He emphasised their commitment to advancing Open Education through collaborative efforts. The dedication and efforts of the Faculty of Sciences staff and the ICESCO IT team were also recognised for their exceptional organisation and execution.
The UNIMED SubNetwork in eLearning and Open Education will support the ICESCO Chair in Open Education at Mohammed V University as strategic partner, in line with its priority commitment to opening up learning opportunities for every student and citizen from the Mediterranean basin and beyond, and will contribute to drive positive change in education, leveraging the potential of Open Education and digital transformation.
At this page you can find more information about the initiatives and projects UNIMED carries out in the framework of the Digital Education.
