On 1 September 2025, the “2025 International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Higher Education Digitalisation Pioneer Case Award” ceremony was successfully convened in Singapore. The event was organised by the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and sponsored by BGI Group. IIOE partners from 13 countries and international organisation representatives, 6 enterprise partners received the award, and over 2000 attendees from over 30 countries attended the ceremony.
Centred on the theme “IIOE Ecosystem-driven Promising Practices: Empowering Workforce, Innovation, and Collaboration”, the award received submissions in four categories:
- Developing Digital and AI Competencies through IIOE Micro-certification;
- Enabling Localised Digital Empowerment Initiatives through IIOE National Centres;
- Leveraging Smart Classroom Operations for Teaching and Learning Innovation and Excellence;
- Strengthening Global Industry-University Collaboration for Higher Education Digital Empowerment.
The Pioneer Award 2025 attracted 95 applications from 29 countries, including 48 higher education institutions and 13 enterprise partners. From these, 22 outstanding cases were selected, representing cutting-edge efforts across the Global South in areas such as teacher empowerment, curriculum innovation and digital infrastructure enhancement. These practices not only offer practical action models for higher education stakeholders in the global higher education sector but also offer reference examples and experiences that can be transferred to a broader scene of building, high-quality and equitable higher education.
The significance of the Pioneer Award lies not only in recognising excellence but also in uniting the collective strength of international organisations, HEIs and enterprises under the coordination of UNESCO-ICHEI to advance the global practice of educational digitalisation.
The ceremony was opened by speeches of Mr. Jin Li, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and Vice President of the Southern University of Science and Technology, Ms. Xiao Minfeng, executive dean of the BGI College and special scientist at BGI Research, Ms. Bi Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI and host of the ceremony, and Mr. Lim Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE and Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong.
This year’s award-winning practices have pioneered innovative models by embedding AI into disciplinary teaching and opening new pathways for the development of future-oriented education, by projects focused on equity and inclusiveness, creating favourable conditions for the long-term implementation of the micro-certification and its integration into national education strategies.
UNESCO IITE joined the Award’s jury panel and participated in the evaluation process, as well as took part in the presentation of awards and delivered conclusion remarks during the ceremony. Within the long-standing relationship and collaboration between UNESCO IITE and UNESCO-ICHEI, a series of Russian-language online courses including micro-certification on Generative AI use, learning analytics and media and information literacy for higher education workforce was developed and successfully launched.
Access to UNESCO IITE and UNESCO-ICHEI online courses
More detailed information about the ceremony and the Award winners
