The event “Special Dialogue: Online Education in the COVID-19 Response and Beyond” co-convened by Tsinghua and UNESCO will share university case studies, best practices, experiences in online education provided as emergency solution responding the global temporary closure of educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dialogue will be opened by Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, and Qiu Yong, President of Tsinghua University, with panellists including university presidents, professors and policy advisors across continents.

The scale and speed of the school and university closures represents an unprecedented challenge for the education sector. Countries around the world are racing to fill the void with distance learning solutions but the uncertain duration of the closures adds further complication to their efforts.

The Special Dialogue will feature presentations, discussion and attendance by over 30 institutions and organizations in 17 countries and regions across 6 continents. UNESCO international higher education experts, university presidents and professors, education policy advisors and executors, faculties, students and relevant education stakeholders will join the dialogue and share experiences, cases and observations from their respective regions and working experiences.

Tsinghua University is committed to its strategic goals of providing world-class education and contributing new ideas, knowledge, and technology to the world. It was one of the first universities in the world that turned all its courses online in face of the COVID-19 outbreak. Tsinghua University and UNESCO anticipate that this joint initiative will generate more collaboration on COVID-19 response.