DHIS2 for Education at CIES 2025: Advancing Digital Innovation in Global Education

The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2025 conference, held in Chicago from March 22-26, brought together global education experts to explore the theme “Envisioning Education in a Digital Society.” The event attracted over 3,500 members from more than 125 countries.

The DHIS2 for Education team participated in the conference alongside partners from GPE KIX, contributing to discussions on digital innovation in education systems:

Panel Discussions

“Long-term adaptive approach to scaling digitalization” – Knut Staring from the University of Oslo (UiO) presented on scaling and systems change in international development. He highlighted the debate between scaling innovations and broader systems transformation, emphasizing the need to integrate a systems perspective into scaling efforts for sustainable, large-scale impact in complex development contexts.

“Empowering districts and schools with data” – Monica Amuha from HISP Uganda presented her PhD work on using digital platforms to co-create and scale education management information systems (EMIS) innovations. Her presentation was part of a panel discussing evidence on national governments’ transition to more dynamic and granular data systems, exploring challenges and opportunities in digitalizing education system governance.

Modernizing EMIS

Associate Professor Terje Aksel Sanner from the University of Oslo shared insights on modernizing EMIS through digital technology, capacity building, and participatory approaches. His work in The Gambia has focused on:

• Developing a demand-driven master’s degree program in EMIS
• Researching EMIS decentralization
• Implementing DHIS2 software as the new EMIS platform
• Introducing digital learner records
• Piloting a software module for managing learner and teacher enrollment

These contributions have significantly advanced data-driven decision-making in The Gambia’s education sector.

The CIES 2025 conference provided a valuable platform for the DHIS2 for Education team to engage with global experts, share experiences, and contribute to the ongoing dialogue on leveraging digital technologies to improve education systems worldwide.