The International Conference on "eLearning for Human Capability Development" will start tomorrow Monday in Riyadh under the patronage of Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh, chairman of the Board Directors of the National eLearning Center. The National eLearning Center is holding the conference, with the participation of national and international experts. Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh has emphasized that the international conference on "eLearning for Human Capability Development" is a defining global event in the eLearning and training sector, as it represents a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and ideas and learn about best experiences and practices. Moreover, the conference comes in line with the rapid developments in the evolving needs of the labor market. The minister confirmed that this conference contributes to achieving the national objectives in human capability development, in view of the unlimited support provided by the Saudi leadership to the eLearning and training sector; hence contributing to empower national capabilities to compete locally and globally. The National eLearning Center emphasizes that the conference is represented by remarkable national and international institutions and organizations, global experts and specialists of eLearning and Training, and human capability development. The conference will start with an opening session attended by Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Education and Training Evaluation Commission Dr. Khalid Alsabti; Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Dr. Abdullah Abuthnain; and Governor of Technical and Vocational Training Corporation Dr. Ahmed Alfahaid. The session will be moderated by Saudi Electronic University President Dr. Lilac Alsafadi. The conference agenda includes several sessions and workshops with the participation of a number of speakers; i.e. CEOs and executive directors, including CEO of Human Capability Development Program, Eng. Anas Al-Mudaifer; Deputy Director General for Training at Institute of Public Administration Dr. Badar Alharbi; Chief Executive Officer at IMS Global Learning Consortium, Dr. Rob Abel; Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning, Dr. Mark Brown; CEO of Coursera, Jeff Maggioncalda; CEO of FutureLearn, Andy Hancock; and Founder and CEO of edX Dr. Anant Agarwal. The National eLearning Center pointed out that the conference aims to review global experiences and expertise related to innovation in employing eLearning and Training to develop human capability worldwide. The conference will discuss the most important challenges of human capability development and eLearning and Training opportunities, and ways to overcome them. Also, the center stated that the conference consists of four key themes; eLearning as an enabler and accelerator for human capability development, skills enhancement, learning platforms, and micro-credentials, all of which will be addressed in discussion sessions with participation of over 20 speakers and a group of global experts from around the world. There will be 7 online workshops conducted on the sidelines of the conference on all days of the conference. Furthermore, the conference will shed light on innovation in regard to employing eLearning and Training to develop human capability, and discuss upskilling and reskilling and lifelong learning by presenting the experiences of UNESCO, International Labor Organization (ILO), European Union, India and other countries. It will also highlight the most significant eLearning platform strategies, and demonstrate the experiences of edX, Coursera and FutureLearn platforms in enhancing skills and meeting future labor market requirements. In addition to addressing flexible pathways, micro-credentials and their role in enhancing skills, achieving the alignment between learning outcomes and labor market needs through eLearning and Training, as a key accelerator and enabler in human capability development that aims to meet future requirements. It is worth noting that the International Conference on "eLearning for Human Capability Development" is a global platform that brings together decision-makers, experts, practitioners in eLearning and Training worldwide. This comes in alignment with the national approach of building a globally competitive citizen. — SPA
