On 13 November 2025, Peter Wells, Head of Education Unit at the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (hereinafter referred to as "UNESCO ROSA"), and KONG Qingling, Education Programme Specialist at UNESCO ROSA, visited the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (hereinafter referred to as "UNESCO-ICHEI"). Prof. LI Ming, Founding Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE), along with BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, participated in the meeting. The parties held in-depth discussions on topics such as strengthening the digital and AI capacity-building of higher education professionals in Southern Africa and enhancing policy dialogue in the field of higher education.

Group photo of the participants

Peter Wells noted that the higher education systems in Southern Africa — including higher vocational education — urgently needed further strengthening to better address the impact of artificial intelligence on industrial development and to meet the pressing demand for upskilling and reskilling in the labour market. The practical experience of UNESCO-ICHEI in enhancing the digital and AI literacy of higher education professionals provides valuable insights for advancing higher education development and talent cultivation in the Southern African region. He suggested building on this foundation to deepen collaboration by working with the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) at the regional level, jointly leveraging IIOE course resources to carry out faculty training programs, and promoting the exchange and sharing of experiences within the region.

Peter Wells, Head of Education Unit at UNESCO ROSA

KONG Qingling pointed out that UNESCO-ICHEI's initiatives — such as the "IIOE Micro-Certification Project for Higher Education Workforce Digital Competency Building" and the project "Women Leading Change in Africa: Future Higher Education Professionals and Leadership in the Intelligence Era" — aligned closely with the priority areas of UNESCO ROSA. These initiatives help strengthen collaboration and jointly promote the development of higher education systems in the region. She suggested that UNESCO-ICHEI collaborated with UNESCO ROSA and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to co-host regional policy dialogues, supporting the innovation and effective implementation of higher education policies in the digital and intelligent era.

KONG Qingling, Education Programme Specialist at UNESCO ROSA

Prof. LI Ming emphasized that the Southern African region had tremendous potential for advancing the digital transformation of higher education. UNESCO-ICHEI is willing to deepen practical cooperation with UNESCO ROSA and relevant partners, working together to build a more open and collaborative higher education ecosystem. BI Xiaohan further stated that UNESCO-ICHEI would actively respond to initiatives such as implementing faculty training programs and organizing policy dialogues at the regional level, leveraging the IIOE platform, course resources, and network advantages to continuously support the high-quality development of higher education in Southern Africa.