6th Global Higher Education Forum (GHEF 6.0)
On October 9, 2018, IIIT’s Senior Researcher, Ermin Sinanovic, presented AEMS research agenda at 6th Global Higher Education Forum (GHEF 6.0) in Putrajaya, Malaysia. GHEF brought together an impressive number of leading researchers and thinkers in the field of higher education. In his presentation, Sinanovic highlighted IIIT’s recent turn toward research on education, as elaborated in its research program, Advancing Education in Muslim Societies (AEMS). He explained that IIIT sees itself as doing research in Third Space, defined as education for a whole person, emphasizing socio-cultural skills and well-being. The First two spaces are focused on education for employment gains and education for citizenship. Third Space does not contradict the first two spaces, but it adds to them by looking at a rounded education for socio-emotional literacy as defined by UNESCO. Sinanovic explained how Third Space is rooted in Islamic concepts, and elaborated on the current “Mapping the Terrain” research undertaken by IIIT.
Global Higher Education Forum 6.0 featured several notable keynote speakers from Malaysia, Ireland, Australia, and Singapore. They discussed topics ranging from social learning and community engagement, to Fourth industrial revolution, knowledge economy, global policy governance, and research development in higher education. GHEF 6.0 was co-organized by the Malaysian Ministry of Education, Science University Penang, International Islamic University Malaysia, The Head Foundation (Singapore), and HERA (Higher Education Research Association, Malaysia). It was truly an impressive international conference, which showcased Malaysia as a regional hub for higher education in Southeast Asia.
