Asia is transforming rapidly into a middle-income region with a knowledge-based economy. This presents both challenges and opportunities for collaboration in education development and open educational resources (OER). Key challenges include widening inequality, demographic trends like population aging, and the need to improve skills and lifelong learning. However, Asia also has advantages like a history with open and distance education and leading cross-border collaboration. There are opportunities to shift the focus of OER from content development to utilization, and for collaboration at different levels and sectors depending on dynamics. The evolving political economy of education in Asia transforming Asia could also present opportunities for expanded OER collaboration.

1. A Transforming Asia: Challenges and
Opportunities for Collaboration in
Education Development and Open
Educational Resources
Jouko Sarvi
Practice Leader for Education
Asian Development Bank
Regional Symposium on OER:
Beyond Advocacy, Research and Policy
24 – 27 June 2014,
Wawasan Open University, Penang

2. Presentation Structure
1. ADB’s support to education – overview, key
themes
2. The context: a transforming Asia
3. Collaboration in education development and OER:
challenges and opportunities
4. Some inquiries

3. • Education is among core operational areas in ADB’s Strategy 2020
• Mid term review in 2014: ADB to expand support to education
• Education by 2020: A Sector Operations Plan guides implementation
• Financing + knowledge + partnerships
ADB’s Support to Education –
Overview, Key Themes

4. Examples of Knowledge Work

5. Public-Private Partnerships in
Education

6. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and
Workforce Skills Development

7. An Annual International Forum

8. Higher Education in Dynamic Asia – Series

9. From Access to Participation
• Asia makes a strong
case for shifting the
higher education
development agenda
from the narrow
perspective of access
to widening
participation and
strengthening
inclusiveness in
higher education.

10. Knowledge Based Economy
Key Pillars:
- Economic
- Human resources
(role of education)
- Information
infrastructure
- Innovation
systems

11. Partnerships for Innovation in
Education
Transforming
Education
for Impact

12. The Context: a Transforming Asia
• Accelerating to a middle income region: by 2020
only two low income countries
• Widening inequality
• Strong demographic trends
• Old distinctions (rich-poor/developed- developing
countries; aid providers- recipients) breaking down
• Composition of development assistance & financing
changing
• Collaboration for development: evolution of
strategies and approaches?

13. Education landscape : What are the
challenges and opportunities for taking OER
forward?
Secondary Education:
Expansion and transformation of
basic education toward universal
secondary education.
Basic Education:
Overall, enrollment
rates have improved
toward universal
primary education.
However, problems of
quality and completion
are persistent.
Higher Education:
Countries expand and
diversify higher education to
support economic
development and improve
competitiveness.
Skills Development:
From TVET to workforce skills
development, with greater role of
industry in training provision, to
improve relevance and cost-efficiency.
Demand for both cognitive and non-
cognitive skills (“soft skills”).
Lifelong Learning:
Sound formal
education is necessary
but no more sufficient.
Boundaries between
formal, nonformal, and
informal learning
become blurred.

14. Advantage: long history with open
universities and distance education
• Participation rates in OU provisions in Asia are
perhaps the highest in the world
• Education technologies embraced and utilized
• Distance education provisions cut across all
sectors of education.

15. Leading in cross-border
collaboration and student mobility
• Evolution of education hubs: student, talent,
knowledge/innovation
• 70% HE student mobility will be in Asia
• Crossborder collaboration evolving among
students, faculty, institutions
• From physical to virtual mobility, facilitating
direct collaboration in education (not merely
access to education programs)
[Knight 2014]

16. Inquiry 1: OER drivers or
outcomes?
• Equity (from access to participation,
strengthening inclusive development)?
• Cost-efficiency?
• Change through education policy and/or
pedagogical practice?
• Institutional change?
• Other drivers or outcomes?

17. Inquiry 2: Knowledge generation on
and capacity development for OER?
• Should the focus shift more from
collaboration in content development to
collaboration in the use/utilization of OER?
• Is collaboration in OER more feasible in
certain subsectors of education than others?
• Dynamics of collaboration in OER: e.g. among
teachers, within institutions, between
institutions? National level, regional level?

18. Inquiry 3. ‘Political economy’ of
OER?
• Political economy of education development is
evolving in the context of a transforming Asia.
• What opportunities does this present for taking
collaboration in OER forward?

19. Thank you.