Universities from around the world to discuss technology and higher education at the UOC

University representatives and experts in digital transformation and education from all over the world will meet at the UOC on 27 and 28 March for the institutional visit of the International Association of Universities (IAU). This global association brings together 650 institutions and national and regional associations from around the world. Under the theme “Education and SDG 4: the role of technology in higher education”, the participating institutions will gain first-hand knowledge of the UOC’s unique educational model and how the University deals with the main challenges of operating online. The event will be chaired by the Director-General for Universities of the Government of Catalonia, Josep Pallarès.

The UOC will welcome university representatives from Haiti, Iran, South Africa, Tanzania, Netherlands, Romania, Vietnam, Philippines, Belgium, Thailand and Ghana, among other countries. UOC President Josep A. Planell will open the event with a talk entitled "The UOC: 25 years' experience in online education", in which he will explain how the institution has adapted to the different needs of online teaching and research.

Pastora Martínez Samper, UOC Vice President for Globalization and Cooperation, will give a presentation illustrating the University’s contributions to one of its priority areas: the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Her talk, “The UOC and SDG 4 or how to contribute to sustainable development through online education” will explore how using technology in education improves quality across the board.

On the second day of the visit, UOC experts will offer in-depth analyses of various topics, including the accreditation of online education, the contributions chatbots and artificial intelligence make to conversation-based learning, internships in the virtual world and the advantages of virtual mobility. The programme for the second day, which has been designed to be interactive and meet the needs and interests of the participants, will also include subjects such as student assessment or the need for lifelong learning in a changing world.

Last May, Daniel Riera, Dean of the UOC’s Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, was appointed as a member of the IAU's technology and education group, and the UOC has recently been chosen to spearhead SDG 3 as part of this association’s work on the 2030 Agenda.

The International Association of Universities (IAU)

Founded in 1950, the IAU is a global association that includes 650 higher education institutions and national and regional associations from around the world. The IAU’s mission is to strengthen higher education throughout the world, providing a global forum for institution and association leaders to discuss and examine issues of common interest and agree on ways to address them.