Seminar on Online, Distance and Digitally delivered Learning

Background

Driven by growth in middle classes in developing countries in Asia and Africa, the demand for higher education is set to increase from 160 million students in 2015 to over 414 million by 2030, according to UNESCO. To meet this surge, the world would have to build four universities that serve 80,000 students every week, every year. The two largest nations in the world, China, and India, which account for a quarter of overseas students, cannot accommodate student demand for higher education within their borders. They are far from unique. In Bangladesh, a country with a young population of 170 million, and Sri Lanka, there are an estimated five students competing for every available university place, according to the British Council.

Online, Open and Flexible education represents a core range of strategies within a variety of contexts, utilising media and information and communication technologies (ICT), to contribute to meeting this growing demand, while ensuring equity, access, and quality learning outcomes.

The seminar on Online, Distance and Digitally Delivered Learning will help make sense of the current rapidly changing landscape particularly the opportunities and challenges it poses for higher education systems, for students, employers, and the community at large as they grapple to find alternative to traditional means of learning while ensuring that students do not lose out on a high-quality learning experience. 

The seminar hopes to explore best practices of universities round the world, the scope and scale of delivery and the nature of regulatory and market oversight of the learning offered through open and digitally educational experience. 

Programme Schedule:

Venue: Theatre, British Council, Delhi, 17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg

Date: 30 January 2025