ABU takes over leadership of International Institute of Online Education for 2024

From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Ahmadu Bello University has assumed the Rotating Presidency Unit of the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) for 2024.
Reacting to this yesterday, the Vice-Chancellor of the Varsity Prof. Kabiru Bala, accepted the challenge with all sense of responsibility and pledging to do his best to move the institute forward during the period.
With its assumption of the rotating presidency, ABU is expected to closely collaborate with UNESCO-ICHEI and IIOE secretariat by providing strategic guidance and support for the development of IIOE and the digital transformation of higher education in various regions.
ABU’s selection as the 2024 IIOE Rotating Presidency Unit was announced during the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Global Partners Summit held in Shenzhen, China from 7th – 9th December 2023.
The institution now takes over from University Putra Malaysia (UPM) as the IIOE rotating presidency unit for the year 2024.
The IIOE rotating presidency unit plays a crucial role in the governance structure of IIOE and it has been in place since its inception in 2019, rotating annually among partner universities in different regions.
Since the launch of IIOE in 2019, four IIOE partner universities have successfully served as the rotating presidency unit.
These institutions are Ain Shams University, Egypt (2020); University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan (2021); University of Nairobi, Kenya (2022); and Universiti Putra Malaysia (2023).
In his acceptance speech, the Vice-Chancellor, of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Kabiru Bala, said that ABU was greatly honoured to be offered the opportunity to serve as the IIOE Rotating Presidency Unit for the year 2024.
“It is indeed humbling that you have found Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and myself worthy of undertaking this responsibility.
“We have accepted this challenge with all sense of responsibility and pledge to do our utmost best to move the IIOE forward in 2024.
“We will also strive to onboard more HEIs on the ever-growing IIOE network”, he said.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that emerging digital technologies, AI, and other associated tools are already playing a big role in the digital transformation of higher education teaching, learning, and research.
“We must then be prepared to retool ourselves as teachers because as Carl Rogers said ‘The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change’.
“And as administrators, we must develop strategies and guidelines to ensure ethical, safe, and accountable use of these technologies and tools that will ensure equity, accessibility, and inclusiveness.
“We must do all it takes to ensure that our students are competitive on the global stage and we can achieve this by working together, especially in the area of the use of AI in HE”, the Vice-Chancellor stressed.