Keynote Speakers

Slides of keynote presentations:

  • António Dias Figueiredo – Onlife Learning and the Role of the Stakeholders

  • Niki Davis – Could Smart Partnerships level the playing field in the Arena of change with ICT in education?

  • Husein Abdul-Hamid – The Role of EMIS in Strengthening Education Systems

“The Role of EMIS in Strengthening Education Systems“


Husein Abdul-Hamid, is a Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank. Dr. Abdul-Hamid works on the education flagship initiative, Systems Approach for Better Education Results. His professional career spans international development, academia, and government.

He has more than 25 years of experience in the following areas of education: system reform, information systems and strategic planning, private education, education markets, institutional effectiveness and system accountability, equality in education and analysis of learning outcomes. Before joining The World Bank Group, Dr. Abdul-Hamid was a Professor at University of Maryland and served as Vice President for Institutional Planning. His tenure at the University led the efforts to regulate online instructions and improve e-learning. Dr. Abdul-Hamid holds a M.Sc. in Computer Science and Ph.D. in Statistics.

Increasingly, education management information systems (EMIS) are moving away from using data narrowly for compliance purposes and instead using data to drive system-wide innovation, professionalization, and most importantly, learning. This transition is evident in a variety of ways: from real-time learning data informing classroom instruction, to linking P-20W (pre-school to workforce) data as evidence for education reforms. Whether or not to prioritize and optimize data collection, management and utilization with a focus on student learning is no longer an option, but an imperative for education systems that aim to excel and achieve strong learning outcomes. This keynote will explore how EMIS can strengthen an education system with specific examples from a recent World Bank report that assessed EMIS in the State of Maryland in the United States. Attendees will learn about a variety of good practices that are relevant to education stakeholders who are working to deploy effective and innovative education data systems.


“Could Smart Partnerships level the playing field in the arena of change with ICT in education?“


Niki Davis, University of Canterbury Distinguished Professor of e-Learning in the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She is recognized internationally as a leading expert in ICT in teacher education. Sought by UNESCO, international agencies, and institutions for her expertise; she has over 200 publications and is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Open Flexible and Distance Learning (JOFDL).

Prestigious awards include an European Commission Marie Curie Fellowship with Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland; Oxford Internet Institute and Canterbury Fellowships, the international Society of Information Technology in Teacher Education (SITE) award for Outstanding Service to Digital Equity.Collaborative work includes culturally sensitive e-learning with success for indigenous peoples. Niki is currently working on a book and associated postgraduate course on change with digital technologies in education and training.

Could Smart Partnerships level the playing field in the arena of change with ICT in education?

Niki Davis’ arena of change with digital technologies in education recognises multi-layered systems in which both educational practices and digital technologies evolve separately and together, both locally and globally. Strategic development is required to reduce the digital divide by increasing cyber citizenship, engagement in education, and teacher development. Policy summits declare that multi-stakeholder Smart Partnerships are essential to enable “technology enhanced quality learning for all” to reduce threats locally and globally (e.g. UNESCO, 2015), but little is known about Smart Partnerships. In this keynote Niki Davis will explore the characteristics of Smart Partnerships that have been identified by working group she led in the most recent EDUsummit along with some illustrations.

Niki is supported by EDUsummit working group co-leader Margaret Leahy (Dublin City University, Ireland) and collaborating researcher Amina Charania (Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, India).


“Onlife Learning and the Changed Roles of the Stakeholders“


António Dias Figueiredo, Emeritus Professor of Information Systems at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Besides his association with the University of Coimbra, Antonio Dias de Figueiredo is also an independent consultant and researcher on IT in Learning & Education and on the Socio-Technical Sustainability of Business, Innovation, Education, and IT. His research interests also include Research Methods, Science and Technology Studies, and the Epistemology of Engineering and Design.

He was Vice-President for Western Europe of the Intergovernmental Informatics Program of UNESCO, Paris, between 1994 and 1996. He participated in the NATO Special Program Panel on Advanced Educational Technology of the NATO Science Committee, Brussels, for four years. He has participated in various European projects, both as a partner and as a science advisor, and acted on various occasions as a consultant to the European Commission in matters regarding the definition of strategies for ICT in Education. He has collaborated with OECD on various initiatives regarding ICT in Education. He was the Chairman of PROMETEUS (PROmoting Multimedia access to Education and Training in EUropean Society), a memorandum of understanding promoted by the European Commission, between 2000 and 2001. In 2004, he was the chair of the Context & Learning special interest group of the European network of excellence Kaleidoscope.

He was the proponent, in 1985, of the MINERVA Project, the Portuguese national computers in schools program, which he coordinated during its three-year pilot. He was the chair of the Accreditation Committee for Informatics Engineering of the Portuguese Engineers Association, in 1999/2000 and 2004/2005. He chaired the Evaluation Committee for Informatics Engineering and Computer Science of the Foundation of Portuguese Universities, and chaired R&D panels for the evaluation of projects submitted to the Portuguese Innovation Agency.


“Addressing European Union’s Digital Skills Gap – Mobilizing the Key Stakeholders”


Carlos Zorrinho, Professor at the Department of Business Administration, University of Évora, Portugal; Member of the European Parliament. Carlos Zorrinho was elected as member of the National Parliament in 1995, by the electoral circle of Évora. From 1997 to 1999, he coordinated the ProAlentejo – Programme for the Integrated Development of Alentejo.

In 2000, he was elected Member of the National Council for Education. Later that year, he entered office as Secretary of State Deputy to the Minister for Home Office (2000/2002). In 2005 he was appointed National Coordinator of the Lisbon Strategy and the Technological Plan, reporting directly to the Prime Minister (2005/2009). Under that capacity, he led the development of the Portuguese Digital Agenda, known as “Plano Tecnológico”, which aimed at improving the country’s competitiveness through technology, innovation and knowledge.

From 2009 to 2011, he served as Secretary of State for Energy and Innovation, within the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Development. Returning to the Parliament in 2011, Carlos Zorrinho was elected Leader of the Socialist Party’s Parliamentary Group in September 2011.

Following the 2014 European elections, Carlos Zorrinho was elected Member of the European Parliament, where he is Head of the Portuguese Socialist Delegation, Vice-chair of the Delegation for the External Relations of the European Parliament to Brazil, Member of the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee, EUROLAT and the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. He is also a Substitute Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee and the Delegation for the External Relations of the European Parliament to the MERCOSUR.

Other keynote and lunchtime spotlight presenters to be announced.