Te Pūkenga and Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa have won their joint bid to host the International Council for Open and Distance Education’s (ICDE) 30th World Conference in Wellington in 2025. The win was announced at this year’s ICDE World Conference in Costa Rica.
“Coolest little capital in the world”
Dr Mark Nichols, event Co-Chair representing Te Pūkenga and ICDE Board member, says hosting this international ICDE event will put Te Pūkenga and Massey University’s innovative work in broadening access to tertiary education on the world stage.
“Many of the open universities represented across the ICDE global membership have student numbers greater than the entire New Zealand tertiary sector. Internationally, the trend is toward increasingly available, time-independent solutions to learning where providers ensure they remove or reduce barriers to place, pace, and access. The small, distributed population of Aotearoa makes open and distance learning a key feature of our ako (learning and teaching) provision.”
ICDE Secretary General, Torunn Gjelsvik, says: “We are thrilled to be organising our next World Conference in Wellington and to highlight the diverse OFDL experience and knowledge in the region. We need local solutions to help tackle challenges to education on a global level and welcome OFDL experts and enthusiasts to join us in 2025.”
The conference bid was submitted with support from Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand and will be organised by professional conference organiser Conference Innovators.
Tourism New Zealand General Manager NZ & Business Events Bjoern Spreitzer says: “This is a fantastic opportunity for open education specialists from around the world to share their knowledge and to showcase our local expertise. We hope that visitors also take the time to seek out, explore and enjoy all New Zealand can offer.”
Find out more about business events in New Zealand here.