Pakistan – 17^th October 2024 – The 37^th annual conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) officially ends today in Islamabad, with a strong focus on digital transformation, innovative practices, and the future of open and distance education. Held by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), the closing ceremony marks the end of a successful event that gathered educators, policymakers, and renowned innovators from every area. Today’s program started with the keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum, Executive Director of the Higher Education Commision of Pakistan. His speech titled “Shaping New Future: Digital Transformation in Higher Education: Leveraging Novel Technologies to Transform Learning and Assessment” covered how recent technology has been sparking revolution in learning and assessment in the digital era. This session was led by Prof Dr. Arshad Saleem Bhatti, Vice Chancelor of Virtual University of Pakistan. Before thr Closing, Dr. Zahid Majeed, Coordinator of Conference, addressed the recommendations concluded from the conference. These recommendations covered discussions and key suggestions from the conference, with the main emphasis on the importance of collaboration and innovation to ensure that open and distance education is accessible, inclusive, and effective. 

In the closing session, AAOU President – Prof. Ojat. Darojat, Rector of Universitas Terbuka (UT), gave his compliments for the success of the event while promoting talks around important and relevant issues within open and distance learning, especially the role of the continuously advancing technology and its use in the world of education. Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood, Vice Chancellor of AIOU, expressed his gratitude towards everyone and shared his optimism towards the improvement of ODL in Asia. 

The following Session is continued with the official launch of the book “MOOCs in Asian Higher Education Institutions” by Assoc. Prof. Rahmat Budiman, Ph.D., Secretary General of AAOU. This book, written by 56 writers from 7 Asian countries, summed up the initiative development of MOOCs in Asia, from the early phase until the present. 

One of the peaks that is long awaited for from the closing ceremony is the announcement of the winners of the AAOU Awards 2024 where UT successfully won 2 awards which acknowledged the amazing contributions of the winners of the following categories: 

1. Young Innovator Award: 

• Gold Medal: Lirong Du and Han Li from Jiangsu Open University, China 

• 1^st Silver Medal: Nazia Rafiq and Mariam Ahmad from Virtual University of Pakistan 

• 2^nd Silver Medal: Shabir Ahmed Wani and Khalid Waquar Abid from Indira Gandhi National Open University, India 

2. Best Practice Award: 

• Gold Medal: Arshad Taseen from Bishop’s University, Canada 

• 1^st Silver Medal: Shawira Abu Bakar, Nooni Ezdiani Yasin, and team from Open University Malaysia 

• 2^nd Silver Medal:  

3. Best Paper Award: 

• Gold Medal: Sun Chuanyuan from Shanghai Open University and Dr. Chulani Herath from Open University of Sri Lanka 

• 1^st Silver Medal: Maximus Gorky Sembiring and Sjaiful Munir from Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia 

• 2^nd Silver Medal: Nurul Hidayah Binti Mohamad Farok from Wawasan Open University, Malaysia 

One of the moments that left the most impression was when Dr. Zahid Majeed from Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) was awarded the prestigious AAOU Meritotious Service Award. This award is a sincere acknowledgement of Dr. Majeed’s incredible dedication and contribution to the ODL field, where he has given a deep and groundbreaking impact in improving ODL. His unshaken commitment in increasing the quality and accessibility of ODL, along with an incredible service to the AAOU community, made him a deserving recipient for the award.  

The conference was closed by the announcement that the 38^th annual AAOU Conference will be held in Beijing, China, in 2025. This awaited event will be held by Open University of China, where it’s predicted to be appealing to practitioners, educators, and policymakers within the world of ODL. While the delegates are waiting for this meeting, the conference in 2025 is hoped to be able to continue the momentum from this year’s achievements, further develop the field of ODL, and push collaborations in every area. 

See you in Beijing next year!