School of Continuing Studies, City U of Macau, Jointly Organized the “2013 International Conference on ICT in Teaching and Learning” wtih Great Success

The 2013 International Conference on ICT in Teaching and Learning jointly organized by the City University of Macau School of Continuing Studies (SCS CityU Macau), HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) and St. Paul Convent School with the Macao Foundation as the sponsoring entity was held on July 10 to July 12, 2013 in Hong Kong and Macao.  The Macao conference was held on July 12 (Friday) at the Macao Science Centre.  Macau Tertiary Education Services Office Coordinator, Mister Sou Chio Fai, presented awards to the keynote speakers of the day.  City University of Macau Vice Rector, Professor Aliana Leong, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the Macao organizers.  HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education Director Emeritus and Special Advisor, Professor Enoch Young, HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education Head of Centre for Cyber Learning, Professor Zhang Wei Yuan, University Research Centre Director of The Open University of Hong Kong, Dr. K.C. Li, Associate Head of Centre for Cyber Learning of HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education, Miss Jeanne Lam, and other representatives of the Hong Kong organizing committee led all the delegates from Hong Kong to Macau for Day Three of the conference.  The theme of this year’s conference is, “Knowledge Sharing through Technology,” and it emphasizes knowledge exchange through the use of innovative technology and effective teaching methodologies.  Through a knowledge sharing culture, increased interaction and participation in learning activities both in class and outside of class creates collaborative learning and idea sharing.  Subject matter experts from over ten countries and regions (China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Canada, Italy, Japan ) participated in this conference with an aggregated number of academic papers close to 60.  The conference included  four keynote sessions, 30-plus paper presentations, and  eight conference workshops.  On the third day of the conference,  the School of Continuing Studies invited Professor Sanjay Nadkarni, Director of Research at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Dubai and Visiting Associate Professor at the City University of Macau Faculty of International Tourism and Management as keynote speaker while Mister Sino Lum, Manager of IBM Collaboration Solution in Hong Kong, presided the conference workshops.  Professor Sanjay Nadkarni  spoke about the “Role of Digital Technologies in 21^st Century Pedagogy – Opportunities and Challenges in Macao’s Education Landscape” while Mister Sino Lum’s conference workshop theme is “Learning Through Collaboration Century.”  Both the keynote session and conference workshop were received with overwhelming response and delegates actively participated in dynamic discussions. 

To properly utilize the impact of the conference as well as to enhance the dynamic collaboration and development of the secondary education institutes in Macau,  the School of Continuing Studies sent out conference invitations to schools, education institutes and the media.  Education institutes that came to the conference included representatives from Smart Education Co., Hou Kong Middle School, Millennium Secondary School, Workers’ Children Secondary School, Chan Sui Ki Perpetual Help College, Jardim de Infancia D. Jose Da Costa Nunes and Ha Wan Education Centre,  and many others.  Media that were present included Teledifusão de Macau, Macau Cable Television, Radio Macau, Macao Daily News, Tai Chung Daily and Macau Convention & Exhibition Economy Journal. There were many  participants interested in web-based and mobile learning.

Since its establishment in September 2011, the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) of the City University of Macau actively participates and creates  in the evolution of a learning society.  With the financial support of the Macao Foundation, the school enthusiastically engages in the design and development of online and mobile learning platforms.  This conference increases the dynamic development in ICT-enhanced teaching in Hong Kong and Macau.  Further, it heightens the recognition of  the school and positively contributes to  the school’s effort in the design, development, support and advancement of the online-learning platform.