The 1st Stakeholders’ Forum in April 2017, Seoul, Republic of Kroea

The 1^st ASEM MOOC Stakeholders’ Forum was held in Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, on April 6, 2017. 10 countries from ASEM and ASEF officially participated in the forum. In the starting phase of the Initiative, this Forum is set with the expectancy as a chance to build network and consensus on the ASEM MOOC Initiative. Additionally, directions, roles and responsibilities for each project are also set to be established through the Forum.

The Korean government has suggested the ASEM Network of MOOCs Initiative during the 1^st Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM1) for 6^th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting in November 2016. The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea hosted the ASEM MOOC Stakeholders’ Forum as the first step in launching the program.

At the Forum, member states featured discussions on the topics of the current status of MOOCs development in the ASEM region, and development of joint curriculum, quality assurance guidelines, roles, and responsibilities in each project. The Forum designated Thailand as the nominal leader of developing quality assurance guidelines and the Republic of Korea (NILE) would send a post-meeting survey for further clarification of roles and responsibilities by each partner.