Global Fellowship
The OUM Global Fellowship is a signature initiative of the Centre for Digital Education Futures (CENDEF) at Open University Malaysia. It brings together leading scholars and practitioners whose work is shaping the evolving landscape of open, distance, and digital education (ODDE). Designed as a flexible, year-long engagement, the Fellowship enables Fellows to collaborate with OUM through research, public dialogue, and strategic exchange. Fellows contribute to the University’s mission by deepening critical, inclusive, and future-oriented approaches to education in a digital age.
Global Fellows 2026-27
Beyond Standard Scripts: Imagining New Futures in Digital Education
Listed in alphabetical order by family name
Prof Lim Cher Ping
Global Institute for Emerging Technologies, The Education University of Hong Kong
Lim Cher Ping is Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation and Co-Director of the Global Institute for Emerging Technologies at The Education University of Hong Kong. He is also a Visiting Professor at the UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovations. He served for more than 10 years as Editor-in-Chief of The Internet and Higher Education until 2025 and is now its Advisory Editor. Over the last 25 years, he has engaged major education stakeholders at the national, regional, and international levels as research and development partners to enhance equity, quality, and efficiency in the education sector through emerging technologies.
Prof Felicitas Macgilchrist
Department of Educational Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany)
Felicitas Macgilchrist is Professor of Digital Education and Schooling at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, where she heads the Re:Lab, Oldenburg’s EdTech Futures Lab. Her research examines the cultural politics of educational technology through critical, ethnographic, and speculative approaches. She leads projects on the ethics of AI in education, critical digital infrastructure, and everyday educational utopias. Recent books and special issues include Designing Postdigital Futures, Postdigital Participation in Education, and Digitalitaet und Unterrichtsalltag (Maintaining Change in the Digital Classroom). She is co-editor of Learning, Media and Technology.
Prof Bart Rienties
Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University (UK)
Bart Rienties is Professor of Learning Analytics and Director of the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) at The Open University (UK). As an educational psychologist, he conducts multidisciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, with his work published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are learning analytics, learning design, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Rienties is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education. He has successfully led a range of institutional, national, and European projects, currently leads the £5 million Research Capability Hub for the ESRC, and has received a range of awards for his educational innovation projects. He is President of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), the largest research community on learning analytics.
Prof George Veletsianos
College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota (USA)
George Veletsianos blends rigorous scholarship with a knack for turning ideas into practical impact. As Professor of Learning Technologies and Bonnie Westby Huebner Chair in Education and Technology at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, he investigates how digital environments shape (or don’t shape) teaching, learning, and the future of higher education. His career spans two decades, six books, more than 100 peer‑reviewed publications, and over $5 million in competitive funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Veletsianos’ work introduced the influential concept of Networked Participatory Scholarship, informed a technology‑rich computer science course now taught in 300+ high schools, and guides institutions worldwide on online learning strategy. Formerly Canada Research Chair, Commonwealth of Learning Chair, and Fulbright scholar, he has led various organizations in advancing educational excellence.
Listed in alphabetical order by family name
Prof Lim Cher Ping
Global Institute for Emerging Technologies, The Education University of Hong Kong
Lim Cher Ping is Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation and Co-Director of the Global Institute for Emerging Technologies at The Education University of Hong Kong. He is also a Visiting Professor at the UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovations. He served for more than 10 years as Editor-in-Chief of The Internet and Higher Education until 2025 and is now its Advisory Editor. Over the last 25 years, he has engaged major education stakeholders at the national, regional, and international levels as research and development partners to enhance equity, quality, and efficiency in the education sector through emerging technologies.
Prof Felicitas Macgilchrist
Department of Educational Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany)
Felicitas Macgilchrist is Professor of Digital Education and Schooling at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, where she heads the Re:Lab, Oldenburg’s EdTech Futures Lab. Her research examines the cultural politics of educational technology through critical, ethnographic, and speculative approaches. She leads projects on the ethics of AI in education, critical digital infrastructure, and everyday educational utopias. Recent books and special issues include Designing Postdigital Futures, Postdigital Participation in Education, and Digitalitaet und Unterrichtsalltag (Maintaining Change in the Digital Classroom). She is co-editor of Learning, Media and Technology.
Prof Bart Rienties
Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University (UK)
Bart Rienties is Professor of Learning Analytics and Director of the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) at The Open University (UK). As an educational psychologist, he conducts multidisciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, with his work published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are learning analytics, learning design, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Rienties is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education. He has successfully led a range of institutional, national, and European projects, currently leads the £5 million Research Capability Hub for the ESRC, and has received a range of awards for his educational innovation projects. He is President of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), the largest research community on learning analytics.
Prof George Veletsianos
College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota (USA)
George Veletsianos blends rigorous scholarship with a knack for turning ideas into practical impact. As Professor of Learning Technologies and Bonnie Westby Huebner Chair in Education and Technology at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, he investigates how digital environments shape (or don’t shape) teaching, learning, and the future of higher education. His career spans two decades, six books, more than 100 peer‑reviewed publications, and over $5 million in competitive funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Veletsianos’ work introduced the influential concept of Networked Participatory Scholarship, informed a technology‑rich computer science course now taught in 300+ high schools, and guides institutions worldwide on online learning strategy. Formerly Canada Research Chair, Commonwealth of Learning Chair, and Fulbright scholar, he has led various organizations in advancing educational excellence.
Global Fellows 2025–26
Visionary Leadership: Charting the Futures of Digital Education
Prof Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria
Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria is a professor and former Chancellor at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). She served as President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) and has advanced regional efforts in massive open online courses (MOOCs), universal design for learning (UDL), and open educational resources (OER). Her #OPENFight initiative supported the transition to remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prof Insung Jung
Insung Jung is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, and was formerly a Professor of Education at the International Christian University in Japan. With over three decades of experience in open, distance, and digital education (ODDE), she has authored and edited several books with global collaborators, including Distance and Blended Learning in Asia, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and E-Learning, Open and Distance Theory Revisited, and the Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. Jung has served as a consultant and advisor in ODDE and elearning to national and international bodies, including the Korean Ministry of Education, UNESCO, the World Bank, and APEC.
Emeritus Prof Paul Prinsloo
Paul Prinsloo is Emeritus Professor at the University of South Africa (Unisa), where he previously served as Research Professor in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). He is Visiting Professor at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Research Associate at Contact North (Canada), and a member of the Center for Open Education Research in Oldenburg, Germany. A Fellow of the European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) and Executive Committee member of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), he also serves on several editorial boards. His research spans student success, learning analytics, and the ethics of data use in digital education.
Emeritus Prof Junhong Xiao
Junhong Xiao is Emeritus Professor at the Open University of Shantou, a branch of the Open University of China, and Visiting Professor at the Open University of Guangdong. He is a founding member of the Centre for Open Education Research (COER) at the University of Oldenburg, Germany. His earlier scholarship focused on English grammar, discourse analysis, and TESOL, before shifting in 2001 to open and distance learning. He has published extensively, including around 300 papers and 10 books. Xiao is Editor of the SpringerBriefs in Open and Distance Education series, co-founding Chief Editor of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (JODDE), and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals.
Prof Olaf Zawacki-Richter
Olaf Zawacki-Richter is Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, where he serves as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, and Director of the Center for Open Education Research (COER). With over 25 years of experience in open, distance, and digital education, he has consulted for bodies such as the International Labor Organization, the German Bundestag, and the German Science and Humanities Council. He has authored over 150 journal articles and edited several open access books, including Online Distance Education: Towards a Research Agenda, Systematic Reviews in Educational Research, and the Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. Zawacki-Richter is Executive Chief Editor of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (JODDE), Associate Editor of the Online Learning Journal (OLJ), and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals.
The OUM Global Fellowship is a signature initiative of the Centre for Digital Education Futures (CENDEF) at Open University Malaysia. It brings together leading scholars and practitioners whose work is shaping the evolving landscape of open, distance, and digital education (ODDE). Designed as a flexible, year-long engagement, the Fellowship enables Fellows to collaborate with OUM through research, public dialogue, and strategic exchange. Fellows contribute to the University’s mission by deepening critical, inclusive, and future-oriented approaches to education in a digital age.
Global Fellows 2026-27
Beyond Standard Scripts: Imagining New Futures in Digital Education
[to be announced soon]
Global Fellows 2025–26
Visionary Leadership: Charting the Futures of Digital Education
Prof Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria
Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria is a professor and former Chancellor at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). She served as President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) and has advanced regional efforts in massive open online courses (MOOCs), universal design for learning (UDL), and open educational resources (OER). Her #OPENFight initiative supported the transition to remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prof Insung Jung
Insung Jung is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, and was formerly a Professor of Education at the International Christian University in Japan. With over three decades of experience in open, distance, and digital education (ODDE), she has authored and edited several books with global collaborators, including Distance and Blended Learning in Asia, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and E-Learning, Open and Distance Theory Revisited, and the Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. Jung has served as a consultant and advisor in ODDE and elearning to national and international bodies, including the Korean Ministry of Education, UNESCO, the World Bank, and APEC.
Emeritus Prof Paul Prinsloo
Paul Prinsloo is Emeritus Professor at the University of South Africa (Unisa), where he previously served as Research Professor in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). He is Visiting Professor at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Research Associate at Contact North (Canada), and a member of the Center for Open Education Research in Oldenburg, Germany. A Fellow of the European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) and Executive Committee member of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), he also serves on several editorial boards. His research spans student success, learning analytics, and the ethics of data use in digital education.
Emeritus Prof Junhong Xiao
Junhong Xiao is Emeritus Professor at the Open University of Shantou, a branch of the Open University of China, and Visiting Professor at the Open University of Guangdong. He is a founding member of the Centre for Open Education Research (COER) at the University of Oldenburg, Germany. His earlier scholarship focused on English grammar, discourse analysis, and TESOL, before shifting in 2001 to open and distance learning. He has published extensively, including around 300 papers and 10 books. Xiao is Editor of the SpringerBriefs in Open and Distance Education series, co-founding Chief Editor of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (JODDE), and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals.
Prof Olaf Zawacki-Richter
Olaf Zawacki-Richter is Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, where he serves as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, and Director of the Center for Open Education Research (COER). With over 25 years of experience in open, distance, and digital education, he has consulted for bodies such as the International Labor Organization, the German Bundestag, and the German Science and Humanities Council. He has authored over 150 journal articles and edited several open access books, including Online Distance Education: Towards a Research Agenda, Systematic Reviews in Educational Research, and the Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. Zawacki-Richter is Executive Chief Editor of the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (JODDE), Associate Editor of the Online Learning Journal (OLJ), and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals.