The recent global health crisis has highlighted the need for universities to be agile amidst disruptions. Educational institutions that had taken steps towards technology-enhanced instruction and flexible learning have proved to be more resilient in these challenging times. Beyond adaptations to the pandemic, these developments could be seen as opportunities for universities to strategically face the challenges of the future.
Parallel to this challenge is the increasing call for universities to be more concerned with issues of sustainability — accessibility, inclusion, equity, relevance, diversity, and quality. In addition, various threats to sustainability have cast doubt on existing models of development and put a spotlight on the importance of lifelong learning and constant re-tooling. The changing economic structures, work trends, and recent effects of pandemic have shown that the way education is delivered to learners needs to be revolutionized to remain relevant. Over the years, open and distance e-learning (ODeL) has carved out alternative paths for universities to make education more accessible to more diverse sets of learners. This conference aims to provide a virtual space for local and international ODeL practitioners, students, policy makers to discuss spaces and possibilities that ODeL has opened up as the educational sector envisions and prepares for the challenges of the University of the Future.