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Tohoku University's Graduate School of Education and Tsinghua University's Institute for Education jointly hosted an international webinar in December, to address the role of higher education and innovation in achieving sustainable development goals in the Asia Pacific region.

The event featured a series of lectures and case studies on innovative approaches to education, such as the importance of internationalization, the inclusion of AI and data science in the curriculum, and the quick adoption of online and blended learning necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his opening remarks, Director of UNESCO Bangkok Office Shigeru Aoyagi highlighted the importance of inclusive and quality higher education in achieving global peace, stability and sustainability.

The message was reinforced in the keynote speech, given by Tohoku University's Executive Vice President for Research, Motoko Kotani. She spoke on Society 5.0, Japan's plan to integrate cyberspace with physical space, and to achieve economic growth by addressing social challenges. She also introduced Tohoku University's Vision 2030, which identifies priority projects for the decade. "Education and research are key, but collaboration with society is also very important."

As part of Vision 2030, she said, the university will develop creative talent and future leaders by providing education with a global perspective, and giving students the AI and data-driven skills needed to succeed in a digitalized society. It also has a research-innovation ecosystem, which includes programmes to nurture young researchers, and a Core Research Cluster for innovative work on spintronics, disaster science, next-generation medicine and materials science.

Kotani added that the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 had strengthened the bond between Tohoku University and the community, and that the university is committed to community co-creation, and to "establishing partnerships with diverse sectors, create new societal values and lead innovations towards the future."

To address the COVID-19 pandemic, Kotani said that Tohoku University has started grants for research to create a more resilient society, and 10 projects have so far been given the green light. Japan's next-generation synchrotron radiation facility and the new Science Park at Aobayama campus, will further help in the search for pandemic solutions and research towards global sustainability.

The Chief of Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development at UNESCO Bangkok, Libing Wang, spoke next, focusing on the need for supportive ecosystems to make online and blended learning more mainstream in higher education.

Since the pandemic, online education has become "the most sought-after solution to maintaining the continuity of learning," he said, so there needs to be quality assurance mechanisms and proper recognition for different modes of education. Policy support from governments would go a long way, he added, because blended and online learning "will be the new normal, whether you like it or not."

He then offered ways that the future of education can be reimagined to achieve the SDGs. They include strengthening education as a common good; expanding the right to education to include connectivity; valuing the teaching profession; protecting social spaces provided by schools; making free and open-source technologies available; and ensuring scientific literacy within the curriculum.

In the second half of the webinar, three universities shared some of their best practices and strategies to achieving their SDGs.

Professor Zhou Zhong from Tsinghua University described an integrated course that takes students out of the classrooms into nature with local experts. She shared the example of a visit to a natural bird protection zone, where students learnt about the birds in relation to migration and disease, and also the conservation of lakes. "We always try to link real life to the research," she said. "We make students immersive into both feeling, and also rationally understanding, key issues of ecological sustainability in relation to - and sometimes in conflict with - social economic sustainability."

Professor Cheolil Lim, who teaches educational technology at Seoul National University, shared the current status of blended learning there. While Professor Yuto Kitamura of the University of Tokyo spoke about the importance of balancing regular activities with specially designed ones, and the need to constantly improve teaching methods, even in non-extraordinary times.

In the panel session that followed, participants discussed ways to construct quality blended learning with industry and other stakeholders; deal with the digital divide; and promote collaboration with industry while maintaining research independence.

Acknowledging the report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), that shows the region currently not on track to achieving its 17 SDGs by 2030, participants also discussed the challenges ahead.

Wesley Teter from the UNESCO Bangkok Office called on institutions to make teaching and research more relevant to local needs, and to ensure that vulnerable learners can access quality education. He added that the higher education community must take on the responsibility to do better to achieve the SDGs. "I am hopeful and I'm looking forward to seeing what our community can do together," he said. "We are in a unique position to change the trajectory of development, not just in Asia Pacific but worldwide."

This webinar was also co-hosted by UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, UNESCO Bangkok, The University of Tokyo, Global Asia Research Center, Waseda University, Sophia University, and the International Exchange Committee, Japan Comparative Education Society.