Seizing Digital Opportunities in Higher Education: Building staff capacity for ICT-driven innovation in Cambodia and Sri Lanka

University of Colombo has been chosen as a lead implementing partner for a new UNESCO project on ICT-driven innovation; Seizing Digital Opportunities in Higher Education: Building staff capacity for ICT-driven innovation in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, A project supported by the Shenzhen Municipal Government within the UNESCO-Shenzhen Funds-In-Trust Framework (SFIT). Blended learning – the synthesis of online and face to face engagement between faculty and students – has been particularly appealing to a growing number of leading institutions in Asia-Pacific and worldwide. With support from the UNESCO-Shenzhen Funds-in-Trust Framework (SFIT), UoC will join a highly participatory process to assess student experiences and staff capacities to enhance blended learning and support effective institutional governance

The inaugural ceremony of the project was held on 8th  August in Shenzhen, China at International Centre for Higher Education Innovation (ICHEI) with the participation of Senior Professor Lakshman Dissanayake, (Vice-Chancellor of University of Colombo), Professor Chen Shiyi,( President, Southern University of Science and  Technology, P.R. China), Dr. Lu Chun (General Secretary of Southern University of Science and  Technology )  and Dr. Zhao Ke, (Assistant Director, International Centre for Higher Education Innovation (ICHEI), Chief Co-ordinator of Asia Projects) as the distinguished guests.

The overall purpose of this project on ICT-driven innovation is to increase access to quality higher education in Cambodia and Sri Lanka through technology and strategic partnerships that advance teaching and learning and promote effective institutional governance.