The UCL Department of Culture, Communication and Media has become a member of the UNESCO Global Education Coalition as well as joining its sub-group, the Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC).
The coalition was originally created in 2020 as a platform for global cooperation to protect the right to education despite disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It strives to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4); the commitment to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all."
Today the Global Education Coalition brings together more than 220 institutional partners from the UN, civil society, academia, the private sector, non-profit organisations, and varied networks and associations.
The UCL Department of Culture, Communication and Media is proud to lead UCL’s participation in the coalition, contributing academic knowledge, toolkits and expertise to maximise the impact of the coalition’s efforts.
Currently, asymmetries in the use of digital technologies for learning hinder equity, inclusion, and sustainability. The Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC) is a tech-focused subgroup of the coalition that collaborates with governments to work to meaningfully address these problems by leveraging digital technologies in education policy, planning and implementation.
The Department’s expertise, working at the intersections of communication, culture, media, technology, and education, is specifically attuned to respond to these challenges. It houses the UCL Knowledge Lab, a leading research centre for human learning, media and technology. It recognises that technological innovation must be evidence-informed and human-centred to benefit humanity.
Some examples of the Department’s expertise include:
- Human-centred approaches to applications of artificial intelligence in education by Professor Wayne Holmes, whose work is creating and contributing to resources to develop effective and unified responses that match on-the-ground needs.
- The use of IT in education, including AI, by Professor Kaska Porayska-Pomsta, who is a UNESCO advisor, and juror on the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICT in Education.
- Systemic approaches to the piloting and evaluation of (digital) education innovations, as led by Professor Alison Clark-Wilson through multi-stakeholder 'EdTech testbeds’ that generate evidence of efficacy while providing opportunities for teachers’ (and learners’) digital upskilling.
- The development of AI competency frameworks for teachers and students, as led by Professor Mutlu Cukurova, who is an external expert to UNESCO’s Unit for Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Education, and has helped create policy documents including UNESCO’s recent reports on Guidance for generative AI in education and research, and on AI competency frameworks for teachers and students.
- Professor Eileen Kennedy and Emeritus Professor Diana Laurillard's work on the transformative potential of online learning, education and capacity-building for refugees, and evaluating the potential of MOOCs for the digital transformation of higher education.
Borhene Chakroun (Director, Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, Education Sector UNESCO), commented: “We are pleased to welcome UCL to the Coalition, and we look forward to working together to support countries in advancing equity-first, research-backed approaches to digital transformation in education.”
UCL colleagues working on research and knowledge to advance the coalition’s mission should contact CCM’s Research Impact and Engagement Lead, Professor Alison Clark-Wilson.
Links
- UCL Department of Culture, Communication and Media
- UNESCO Global Education Coalition
- UNESCO Digital Transformation Collaborative
Image
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).