Korea National Open University (KNOU, President Songhwan Ko) participated in the 30th ICDE World Conference 2025, held from November 10 to 13,  2025 at the Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wellington, New Zealand, demonstrating the excellence of Korean distance education on the global stage.

The conference was held under the overarching theme of "Ako: Exchanging Ideas for Inclusive, Scalable, and Sustainable Education." The term 'Ako' reflects the Māori educational philosophy of New Zealand, which views teaching and learning as mutually reciprocal. The event brought together more than 1,000 experts from around the world.

On the opening day, November 10, President Songhwan Ko and Prof. Jaehyung Kim, Dean of the Office of International Affairs, jointly attended the ICDE Global Presidents' Forum. Under the agenda topic of "Scale and Quality: Is There a Conundrum?", they engaged in in-depth discussions with leaders of open and distance universities worldwide. Prominent figures in attendance included Mark Nichols (ICDE President), Torunn Gjelsvik (ICDE Secretary General), and Melinda Bandalaria (ICDE Board Member), further strengthening KNOU's global network.

Throughout the conference, KNOU faculty members attracted significant attention by presenting their latest research on the intersection of AI and distance education. The presentations covered a wide range of topics: Prof. Namhyung Lee (Dept. of Economics) presented "AI as a Study Peer: A Case Study of Economic History and History of Economic Thought Courses"; A/Prof. Hosung Woo and Prof. Yong Kim (Dept. of EduTech) presented "Development and Application of Discussion Program Using Generative AI"; Prof. Young Ae Lee (Dept. of Early Childhood Education) presented "The Current Practices and Challenges of the Early Childhood Teacher Certificate Program at Korea National Open University"; Prof. Jin Gon Shon (Dept. of Computer Science) presented "Supporting Accessibility in Team-Based Learning: An AI-Driven Approach to Automated Feedback Provision"; and Prof. Namhyung Lee and A/Prof. Se Youn Jung (School of Advanced Engineering) presented "Students' Behavior in Using Large Language Models: A Case of Introduction to Economics in Korea National Open University."

President Songhwan Ko remarked, "This conference reaffirmed that KNOU is leading the way in AI-based personalized learning design and data-driven innovation. We will continue to collaborate with open universities around the world to build sustainable education models."

At the closing ceremony, it was announced that" the 31st ICDE World Conference will be hosted by the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) and is scheduled to take place in Cebu, Philippines, from November 15 to 19, 2027.