EdUHK Co-hosts International Forum on Emerging Technologies for Teacher Professional Development at Scale
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), together with eight international and regional partners, successfully convened the high-level forum “Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Enable Teacher Professional Development at Scale (TPD@Scale)” on 24 and 25 March. The two-day hybrid event fostered multi-stakeholder collaboration and knowledge exchange on advancing equitable and high-quality teacher professional development (TPD), with particular emphasis on the Global South.
The co-organising and supporting institutions (Alphabetical order) included:
- Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED)
- Global Institute for Emerging Technologies (GIET) Equity Team at EdUHK
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada
- Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS)
- Laboratory of Education Research and Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean (SUMMA)
- Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat
- UNESCO Chairs Programme
- UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE)
Spanning two days, the event featured three interconnected sessions designed to bridge research, policy, and practice.
The programme commenced with a closed-door High-Level Roundtable Policy Dialogue on 24 March. In her welcome remarks, Professor May Cheng May-hung, Vice President (Academic) of EdUHK, underscored the importance of aligning national priorities and contexts to strengthen TPD systems across regions. Senior government officials, academics, industry experts, and representatives of international organisations engaged in evidence-informed discussions, drawing on a policy brief co-led by EdUHK and SEAMEO Secretariat under the Empowering Teachers Initiative: TPD@Scale.
These exchanges laid a strong foundation for dialogue throughout the event, contributing to the advancement of equitable TPD systems in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) throughout the event.
The afternoon session featured the seventh edition of the Learning Innovations and Emerging Technologies Forum Series (Forum 7). The forum drew over 700 education leaders, researchers, teachers, practitioners, industry partners, and policymakers from 27 countries and regions worldwide. Professor John Lee Chi-Kin, President of EdUHK and UNESCO Chair in Regional Education Development and Lifelong Learning, delivered an online opening remarks, highlighting the University’s commitment to inclusive and quality learning opportunities through global partnerships.
"EdUHK is proud to champion inclusive and quality learning opportunities through global partnerships. Teachers are at the very core of meaningful education reform. That is why our focus today is so critical: to scale up quality Teacher Professional Development (TPD) practices, while ensuring localisation and contextualisation, so that these initiatives truly meet the diverse needs across different regions and communities," he said.
Forum highlights included:
- A keynote session on "TPD@Scale for Teacher Empowerment", by Professor Freda Wolfenden from The Open University, UK and Dr Dante Castillo, Policy and Innovative Practices Director at SUMMA.
- Case studies from Latin America, Africa, and Asia presented by Dr Alvaro Gonzalez Torres of Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez (Latin America), Professor Betty Ezati of Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (Africa), and Mr Carlo Fernando of SEAMEO Secretariat (Asia).
- A High-Level Policy Panel Discussion moderated by Mr John Arnold Siena of SEAMEO Secretariat, with four senior education officials from Southeast Asia to explore policy and practice implications for scaling up quality TPD.
In her closing remarks, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, Datuk Dr Habibah Abdul Rahim said, "One of the most encouraging outcomes of today’s dialogue has been the strong and shared recognition that no single institution can address these challenges alone. Let us move forward with clarity, grit, and intent to remain true to our commitments in ensuring that TPD@Scale becomes not only a policy aspiration but a tangible reality."
On 25 March, a Strategic Workshop on Developing AI-mediated High-Quality and Equitable TPD Systems was held. Guided by the TPD@Scale Global Learning Cycle framework, participants examined the roles of AI for large-scale TPD through the lenses of equity, quality, and efficiency, and formulated actionable recommendations for national and regional implementation.
The event reaffirmed EdUHK’s leadership in advancing educational equity and innovation, and strengthened collaborative partnerships with international and regional organisations in integrating emerging technologies into TPD systems across the Global South.
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