On May 12-13, 2016, representatives from nine institutions gathered at the second Asian e-Table to explore collaboration opportunities and challenges in developing online learning in Asia.

Participants included:

• Dr. Huang Hoon CHNG, Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education), National University of Singapore
• Professor Toru IIYOSHI, Deputy Vice President for Education, Kyoto University
• Professor Joon HEO, Director of Open & Smart Education Center, Yonsei University
• Ms. Helie KIM, Yonsei University
• Professor Xiaoming LI, Assistant President, Peking University
• Professor Benson Yeh Ping-Cheng, Director of MOOC Program at National Taiwan University
• Professor Chetwyn CHAN, Associate Vice-President (Learning and Teaching), PolyU
• Professor Roger CHENG, Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning, HKUST
• Professor Nick Noakes, Director of Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching, HKUST
• Professor T.C. PONG, Senior Advisor to Executive Vice-President and Provost, HKUST
• Professor Isabella POON, Pro-Vice-Chancellor / Vice-President, CUHK
• Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President & Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning)

At the event, we also skyped in Anant Agarwal, the CEO of edX, during our roundtable discussions.

This year we welcomed a new member from Yonsei University, Professor Joon HEO, Director of Open & Smart Education Center.

Together, participants discussed the possibilities and issues in:

1. developing an Asian consortium with gatherings of colleagues at different working levels;
2. developing a central repository for content sharing, including full courses, micro-modules, and pedagogical showcases;
3. enhancing professional development and teacher training;
4. launching a regional (E-)Teaching Excellence Award so as to encourage teaching staff to invest more efforts in e-learning and establish a common standard of teaching;
5. co-creating MOOCs (possible topics include computational thinking and MOOC production);

and

6. creating better E-portfolios.

The HKU team also had the pleasure to share our recent experience in developing an online course from a grassroot level in the BOLT project.

Looking forward
Asian e-Table is an annual conference on e-learning initiated by HKU in 2015. We endeavour to gather experts in the region “to build a platform, a foundation, to something that can be sustainable and vibrant in the years ahead,” as pointed out by Professor Ian Holliday. The ultimate goal is to facilitate knowledge exchange and build a community of practice. Click here for a more detailed report on the event.

Technology has no borders, so is education. Contact us if you are interested in developing online education in Asia with us.

More photos of the event can be found on our Facebook, twitter and instagram.