The Ministry of Education hosted the “2024 ELOE International Conference on Digital Learning and Open Education Forum” from December 13 to 14, 2024. The “Digital Empowerment for Lifelong Learning Alliance,” led by Chung Yuan Christian University, won the prestigious SIG Grand Prize. This outstanding cross-university collaboration showcased remarkable achievements, shining brightly in the field of digital learning innovation.
To further enhance the development and refinement of digital learning infrastructure in universities and align with international standards, the Ministry of Education has been implementing the “University Alliance Program for Advancing Digital Learning and Innovative Applications” through an alliance model since 2022. Led by central universities in collaboration with partner institutions, the second phase of the program focuses on three key areas: developing digital literacy and training for teachers and students, refining alliance courses and promoting exemplary practices, and fostering international sharing and global collaborative learning in digital education.
Chung Yuan Christian University stated that, adhering to the philosophy of “holistic diffusion” and the role of universities as “social instruments,” it partnered with Providence University, Fu Jen Catholic University, Chinese Culture University, and Tunghai University—all members of the U9 League—to form the “Digital Empowerment for Lifelong Learning Alliance” to participate in this program. At the conference, alliance universities achieved significant results in learning analytics, technological integration, and open educational resources. Notably, Chung Yuan’s Yu Yen-Wei and Cheng Hsien-Yung, along with Fu Jen’s Wang Pei and Providence’s Huang Yun-Ting, were awarded the “Teaching Case of the Year Award.”
The Alliance Executive Director and CYCU Director of Digital Education Development, Dr. Lin Chih-Hao, highlighted that open education, driven by digital platforms, is increasingly becoming the norm and represents a new paradigm for next-generation learning. Over the years, alliance universities have accumulated substantial experience in building digital infrastructure, enhancing technical expertise, and developing digital courses. These efforts have facilitated the integration of modular courses and unique features, enabling course sharing both within and beyond the alliance.
CYCU’s Professor Yu Yen-Wei’s all-English MOOC course, Soft Power at the Workplace, offered on the international platform FutureLearn, was selected as one of the “Top 75 Most Popular Online Courses” globally by Class Central in August 2024. Additionally, in collaboration with Chinese Culture University, CYCU developed the Workplace Survival Guide series, including the MOOC course Workplace Communication Skills co-taught by Professors Wang Huang-San, Cheng Hsien-Yung, and Chiang Huai-Hsiao, which won the Excellence Award in the “Taiwan Open Education Awards” by the Taiwan Open Course and Education Consortium.
These achievements underscore the alliance’s collaborative model, where joint efforts and well-structured teamwork have driven significant progress in digital course development, promotion, and management. This approach not only yielded remarkable results but also surpassed previous milestones, marking it as a key factor for success.
The Alliance Program Director and CYCU President, Dr. Ying-Ming Lee, expressed gratitude for the Ministry of Education’s financial support. He highlighted that CYCU has been advancing digital teaching for over 20 years, accumulating extensive expertise in this field. CYCU is committed to sharing faculty and student resources, as well as support systems, with partner schools. Together, they aim to promote interdisciplinary innovation and diverse learning opportunities, collectively contributing to high-quality digital education.
