Forum explores the importance of digital immersion in higher education | Company

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Experts from academia, industry and government gathered at a forum held in Hanoi on October 21 to explore the importance, as well as the successes and challenges, of leveraging a digital environment in higher education.

The “Digital Immersion” forum was facilitated by the “Building University-Industry Learning and Development through Innovation and Technology” or BUILD IT project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Arizona State University, and the Hanoi University of Industry.

The Fifth Six-Part Playbook Forum forum The series also explored how to maximize the multiple modalities available to universities to better support their students in an increasingly digital world.

Thanks to digital pedagogy in Higher Education playbook, BUILD-IT university partners have access to proven best practices, methodologies and approaches for teaching and learning in a digital environment. A collaborative effort between ASU and its eight strategic partner universities, the Digital Pedagogy in Higher Education Teacher Training Program was launched at scale to expand the knowledge base and skill set of teachers in higher education in Vietnam.

For the past seven years, BUILD-IT has helped Vietnamese universities support their faculty and staff in creating professional development opportunities designed to better prepare them to become successful educators in the 21st century. Vietnam’s technological infrastructure, among the most impactful in Southeast Asia, provides a solid foundation to take advantage of all potential digital education offerings, whether synchronous or asynchronous.

Bringing together experts from local universities and Arizona State University, great strides have been made in establishing long-term, sustainable transformation in the digital education landscape. The Digital Immersion Forum celebrated the dedicated and visionary educators from BUILD-IT partner universities who have strived to build something that will positively affect education in Vietnam long after their partnership ends.

Participating in the forum, Dr. Bob Schoenfeld, Program Manager for BUILD-IT, said, “The reality of the tremendous opportunity that digital immersion offers is here, now, in Vietnam. The access and impact these opportunities provide can transform education, communities and industries. Everyone here recognizes that education is not static. He is evolving. The people who attended this forum want to be part of this evolution.

The forum also celebrated the winners of the USAID BUILD-IT “Increasing Digital Assets” program. This series of participant-centered workshops and mentor-supported instruction was designed to turn higher education personnel – faculty, staff, administration – into content creators. Recognizing that there is a need for professional education in many areas not limited to the classroom curriculum, faculty and staff have come together to turn their personal areas of expertise into digital assets that can be used by everyone. world in their university. This program has emphasized that relevant content can be created by anyone with the skills and expertise to present accessible education to their audience. The winners showcased their digital assets to a forum audience eager to see what a group of dedicated educators can do for their institution.

The forum ended with a workshop for members of the public who wanted to create the next steps for implementing digital immersion in their school.

While the benefits of BUILD-IT’s programs are evident in real time, the real value of BUILD-IT lies in its long-term support of higher education. To leverage seven years of programs, workshops, seminars and training sessions, BUILD-IT has created its Playbook series to help sustain the value of BUILD-IT long after the BUILD-IT program ends in 2023 .

The 2022 series of BUILD-IT forums celebrates the key topics of this series of BUILD-IT manuals, as prioritized by university partners. Topics in this series of manuals include Institutional Accreditation, Project-Based Learning, Digital Immersive Learning, Program Accreditation (AUN-ABET), Industry Advisory Boards, Women in STEM , the Maker Innovation Network, faculty development and active learning./.