Posted on 7 November 2025
Leading experts in open and distance education will converge next week for the 30th ICDE World Conference at the Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, from 10 - 13 November.
The influential event co-hosted by Te Kuratini Tuwhera o Aotearoa Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa Massey University will bring together hundreds of international delegates from over 50 countries, including distinguished keynote speakers, to explore the theme of Ako: Exchanging ideas for inclusive, scalable and sustainable education. Delegates will explore the latest challenges and developments across the globe focusing on: accessibility and resilience, context and quality, indigeneity, and innovation and openness in education.
Vocational Education Minister Hon. Penny Simmonds will speak at the Education Policy Forum on 10 November. This policy-oriented, high-level forum brings together political and education leaders, policymakers and practitioners in the field of open and distance education to examine key questions of interest to the international education community, with a focus on Australasian and Pacific regions.
Executive Director Learning Design & Development at Open Polytechnic, and current ICDE President, Dr Mark Nichols highlighted the significance of the event and the opportunity to engage with international colleagues whose practices closely align with those of Open Polytechnic.
“As a specialist distance learning provider Open Polytechnic’s ability to operate at scale in Aotearoa New Zealand is unique; I am looking forward to the conversations with like-minded experts in the field from around the globe.”
“With over 40,000 individual learners a year, Open Polytechnic is an example of how vocational education providers around the world can deliver inclusive, scalable, and sustainable education. Many representatives at the conference are from mega-universities with more than 100,000 learners. It’s great that these universities are joining us at the conference, because we meet them as peers. The alignment in thinking and practice is inspirational.”
At the conference Dr Nichols will also launch a book he has edited, titled Mega-universities and opening education by design. He says it is a thirty-year revisit of the seminal book, Mega-universities and knowledge media, released in 1996 by Sir John Daniel, an open distance flexible learning notary.
Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa Massey University Provost Professor Giselle Byrnes, who leads the university’s education and research portfolios, says the conference is an opportunity to extend the warmth of Aotearoa New Zealand hospitality to conference delegates from around the world and to learn from one another.
“I can’t wait to learn from all the delegates who will soon gather in Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington) for this exciting conference, especially those travelling to Aotearoa New Zealand. With such a wonderful gathering of experts from a range of countries, I’m hoping the conference will be a space where bold ideas, global collaboration, and a shared commitment to open, scalable, and accessible education will shape the future of learning.”
ICDE Secretary General Torunn Gjelsvik underlines the anticipated value the local expertise will bring.
“For the first time ever, Indigeneity takes centre stage as a dedicated theme at an ICDE World Conference, thanks to our incredible hosts in Aotearoa New Zealand. I look forward to joining together as a global community to see how Indigenous knowledge and voices can inspire greater inclusivity, growth, and sustainability for education worldwide.”
The conference promises to be a global event in the heart of Wellington with nearly 500 international and domestic delegates attending.